Implication For Occupational Therapy ( 2014 )

To be able to participate in one 's own life, to do the things we want to do, and to competently perform the activities that form part of our daily, weekly or monthly routines, is a common goal for most people.  This not only includes taking part in the basic activities of self-care, such as grooming and dressing, but also extends to our work and leisure activities.  It is through doing things that we learn and develop as human beings.  The occupational therapy profession believes that being prevented or hindered in some way from participating in the activities that are important to us could adversely affect our health and wellbeing.

Occupational therapy was founded on the principle that participation in meaningful activity is important to the health of individuals. Mental health is very important to the well-being of an individual and those around them. 450 million people experience mental and neurological disorders around the world. These disorders are the leading 5-10 causes of disability worldwide. As services for individuals with mental illness have shifted from the hospital to the community, there has also been a shift in the philosophy of service delivery. In the past, there was an adherence to the medical model; now the focus is on incorporating the recovery model. (2) Occupational therapy’s focus that taking part in engaging and meaningful activities benefits the mental well-being of the individual.

Occupational Therapist enables people to engage and participate in everyday activities trough occupation. The latter role is not only applicable for individuals but also groups or populations. Eventually, with the increase of the aging population, expensive health care services, occupational therapists will have to incorporate health promotion practices into their actual roles.To cope with this phenomenon and to better meet older adult’s needs, the occupational therapist 's role would benefit from being enlarged.Expanding their knowledge and their practices in promoting health will facilitate their work in other domains.This will help them to shift from an individual to a population approach. To achieve that transition, therapists should be more involved in decisions taken by politicians regarding health and to develop services and programs that promote well-being, health, and quality of life. Also, collaboration with other fields such as schools, workplaces, industries, deputies and organizations will help them spread strategies that promote awareness and enable the population to control and maintain an independent healthy lifestyle. Also, therapists understand that the environment can be a crucial factor on health population. Therefore ,they can put pressure on the government to make public places more accessible to disabled people such as providing the subway of a wheelchair ramp and adapt crosswalks to the blind by adding pedestrian signals that include speakers at

The name of the society changed in 1923, due to hospitals wanting a national directory of qualified occupational therapists. There now was a minimal standard of training that had to be met before an individual was put in the directory (AOTA, 2009). The name was changed to the American Occupational Therapy Association. The American Medical Association worked with the American Occupational Therapy Association starting in 1933 on getting improved education programs for occupational therapists (AOTA, 2009).

Occupational therapy is much more than enhancing activities of daily living to me. I see occupational therapy as helping people achieve daily freedom and making attainable goals to improve their physical and mental health while providing a professional relationship to encourage trust and reliability throughout treatment. Something as simple as tying shoes or being able to grab a fork to eat can make all the difference in the world to the patients an occupational therapist will treat. I have been working at a hand clinic since September and have seen that the small achievements like the tying of the shoes of the ability to bend the finger 10 more degrees puts a big smile on the faces of the patients and improves their outlook and demeanor towards their injury. Encouraging home exercise, helping with self cares, teaching writing skills and helping provide custom splints are all aspects that I have seen with my job and observation of occupational therapy as a whole. When I started my job at the hand clinic a therapist told me that the most basic occupational therapy explanation she could provide me is that occupational therapy is a way of helping others achieve a better level of daily living for things that they want and or need to do in life than when they sought help from therapy.

Occupational Therapy has played a role in helping those with Mental and physical disabilities in the United States since 1917. Before that time, Occupational Therapy was used solely in mental institutions to help people that were "more normal" and able to function in a social status. These patients enjoyed things like arts and crafts. It seemed that those who engaged in such activities where perceived as "more healthy". These findings lead Drs. to encourage patients to engage is such activity to improve there overall health. (http://quoccupationaltherapy.weebly.com/history-of-occupational-therapy.htmlhistory-of-occupational-therapy.html)

Purpose: Each biennium and upon initial licensure clinicians are required to take a course related to the Laws and Rules of Practice for Occupational therapy. Through this course clinicians will increase awareness and understanding of the laws and rules that direct licensure as a provider of occupational therapy services.

The question to be studies related to problems women experience on a regular basis with lymphedema. With this study there were many previously completed qualitative and quantitive studies that were used as the relevant information for the study. After the study was completed, there results conclude that there are many aspects of woman life that are effected by lymphedema, and those from a lower social economic status suffer more chronic symptoms, but with better education and support systems women are able to experience and feel a decrease in their lymphedema symptoms in their daily

Occupational therapy helps to heal a multitude of disabilities; the current high demand for therapists is somewhat due to modern issues, but some have been occurring since the beginning of mankind. Missing a limb is one problem that has occurred for millennium. There is documented evidence that humans have tried to replace a missing appendage since approximately 950 B.C. Throughout time prosthetics have mainly been produced with crude leftover supplies like wood, metal, and leather. More recently, rapid advancements in technology have helped progress the artificial limb from a beam of wood to a robotic arm controlled by the persons own thoughts. To fully understand the accomplishments of today, it is essential to understand the evolution

Afflicted by left-side Hemiplegia and bound to a wheelchair, my grandmother’s life was not one of ease. By the time I was born she had been living with her barriers for thirty years and had learned to compensate due to her astounding will and surrounding subpar medical practices. As a child I thought nothing of the fact that my grandmother was stricken with paralysis until I witnessed her take a turn for the worse and suffer another hemorrhagic stroke. Her recovery was long and arduous yet, it was a blessing that brought us closer together and nudged me down the path of Occupational Therapy.

Theories are essential in occupational therapy (OT) practice as they provide a conceptual foundation and framework for enhancing growth of clients, justifying reimbursement for care, and validating intervention applications to family and patients (Baum, Bass, & Christiansen, 2015). Theories provide knowledge and an explanation for how and why certain interventions would be more beneficial than others. Theories can be used to support the understanding of a client’s symptoms and environmental impacts. The theories used in OT can be classified as models, frames of reference, or paradigms (Baum, Bass, et al., 2015). After visiting Paxton Ministries and interacting with several residents, I identified the following theories, models, and perspectives

I saw an unmet need, but I had no idea on how to meet this need. However, through the excellent direction of Dr. Priganc, it became imperative to raise awareness of this lymphedema intervention that exists to address a societal need by increasing the awareness of an effective intervention.

Lymphedema can lead to pain, discomfort, and increased susceptibility to skin infections such as cellulitis, (Moffatt, et, al 2005). Cellulitis accounted for 7, 806 acute hospital admissions (HSE, 2009). As lymphedema is a chronic condition which has an impact on both physical and psychological health (Murray, 2010) it is imperative that early diagnosis is made in order prevent costly

One of the important aspect of Occupational Therapy is to write goals that are attainable, measureable and related to client’s need. As an OT, we assess patient’s needs, make clinical judgments and use clinical reasoning to write goals that are important for the patient’s to attain their occupation. As a COTA, I only have chance to update goals that were written by my OT. However, with each passing semester we had many opportunities to practice and write goals that has helped sharpen my writing skills. I feel more confident and understand the process of writing goals better. It has undeniably helped me refine my professional skills. I continue to learn and take advantage of every opportunity to assist my OT during goal writing in my workplace.

Lymphedema is a chronic disease which can be caused by primary defect of the lymphatic system or secondary to external causes such as lymph node dissection, trauma, venous insufficiency, radiation and more. It manifests in swelling of a body part/s that may cause physical, social and emotional problems (1). The recommended conservative treatment for lymphedema is complex decongestive therapy which includes compression bandaging for 24 h in the intensive phase or wearing compression garment in the long-term phase of therapy, exercises, light massage and skin care. This treatment aims to reduce swelling, improve symptoms and improve function (2). Understanding whether a true change has occurred during the process of care is of utmost importance in lymphedema management secondary to cancer treatments.