OT Potential Podcaster

The term cultural competence can feel too soft and narrow to really push our profession towards equity and justice. But, the article we are reviewing today from the top 100 OT-related articles, brings up several essential points for discussion. The mention of OT in the article is grim. The article highlights “culturally blind” attitudes of OTs that…

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) weaves together multiple concepts that OTs are already familiar with and often use in practice. On a personal level, it provides helpful tools we can utilize as we navigate complex situations in our work. But, not only is it personally helpful, the research we’re looking at today shows us why we need to be aw…

This prestigious guideline on Parkinson’s Disease (PD) treatment, that we’ll be covering in this podcast episode, recommends that rehab therapies are started at the time of diagnosis and continued throughout the disease course. This article will update you on key information about the PD disease process, the pervasiveness of non-motor symptoms, and…

How we understand our role as occupational therapy practitioners makes a huge difference in how we show up for our clients. But, unfortunately, some theories of OT practice fail to aid us in practical clinical reasoning that focuses on occupation. Luckily, the theories of OT practice that are emerging are getting closer to capturing the care we asp…

Our spinal cord injury clients stay in our hearts and minds. After all, we help them and their families navigate tremendous life changes. This week’s article gives us a solid big-picture review of what we know (and don’t know) about spinal cord injury rehab. You’ll learn about commonly used assessments, as well as which treatments are gaining tract…

In this 1 hour course, we will be diving into an incredibly helpful journal article that summarizes the evidence behind pediatric OT interventions. The authors take 52 pediatric OT interventions for children with disabilities and rate the evidence behind them. They organize the evidence into a traffic light infographic—where green means “the eviden…

Spending time in research can deliver the humbling, but needed, reminder that not all therapy leads to clear value for our clients. For example, in the United States, we can now see that in the 2010s therapy was being delivered in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs)—beyond what was helpful for clients. Part of the problem was the fee-for-service paym…

It can feel like everyone is discussing the benefits of mindfulness. Yet, with all this fanfare, we must ask: does the evidence justify incorporating mindfulness into occupational therapy? The systematic review we will look at in this one hour course says, “YES!” (At least for specific chronic pain conditions.) The authors provide a great overview …

Research is backing up what many of us are experiencing in our communities: the pandemic is exacerbating mental health issues. And, one can imagine how this would be true for new mothers—so many families’ birth experiences have been drastically impacted by COVID protocols, followed by increased isolation once the family arrives home. The article we…

In this one hour episode of the OT Potential podcast, you will be introduced to the Kawa model and how it can be used to foster collaboration for a rehab team. The Kawa Model uses the metaphor of a river to depict one’s life journey. In this mental model, occupational therapists enable, restore, and/or maximize their client’s life flow. The model c…

What is the future of OT? How will your own OT career look over the next decade? How will our profession change and evolve? The journal article we explore in this podcast is very concise, but it certainly packs a punch. It lays out a vision set by the American Occupational Therapy Association for where they would like to see the occupational therap…

If you haven’t been following the exciting research behind the CO-OP Approach™, this episode is for you. CO-OP stands for Cognitive Orientation to (Daily) Occupational Performance. This is a trademarked approach with a formal certification program, so we won’t be teaching the actual method. However, we’ll be discussing the research behind the CO-OP…

The research we explore in this podcast calls pelvic floor dysfunction a significant and neglected public health issue. The authors share a discouraging statistic: despite pelvic floor dysfunction impacting around 25% of women in the US, there is a profound lack of understanding of the disorder and how to treat it. The good news is that OTs are per…

The research we discuss on the OT Potential Podcast has a recurring theme: therapy goals should always support what is meaningful to the client. But, lurking behind this best practice is an important question: what do we do when a patient is not of sound mind? We’ll explore an article that hits the question head on, looking at client-centered care …

We’ve had compelling evidence for a while now about the benefits of providing acute care hospital services from the comfort of a patient’s home. (This model is widely known as “hospital in the home.”) But, for us in the US, it has been hard to imagine how our complex medical system would ever change to accommodate such a fundamental shift in health…

We became occupational therapy practitioners to deliver transformative care to our clients. This is a tall order to begin with—and we also hold justice as one of our core values. So, we want to transform lives AND do so in a socially responsible way. This is hard and complex work. It requires that we question and move beyond overly simplistic theor…

The research is clear—adults living with cancer have significant unmet therapy needs. But how can we, as occupational therapy professionals, best serve this population? It’s a great question, and one we’ll explore in-depth on this one-hour episode of the OT Potential Podcast! First, we’ll dig into the research around disability in activities of dai…

Many of us feel the benefits of spending time in nature. But, these outdoor experiences often seem pretty far removed from our traditional occupational therapy work. There’s a good chance you’ve already heard of nature-based therapy, as it is a hot topic in the OT world. However, you might not be aware of the breadth of research available on this t…

Racial and ethnic health disparities have been heavy on our hearts over the past few years—and they should be. We have much to reckon with, not only in terms of our own personal biases, but also regarding the structural inequities within healthcare. In this one-hour, podcast-based CE course, we’ll look at how the Latino community is impacted by dis…

The ability to affordably track brainwave activity has opened up tremendous opportunities in occupational therapy. Regardless of where we work (or the patient populations we treat), our work has the potential to be significantly informed by this technology over the next few decades. In this one-hour course, we will look at a research study on brain…

As autistic individuals transition from adolescence to adulthood, they encounter a new and unique set of challenges. Yet, at this critical time, the support available to them drops dramatically. This is known as the “services cliff.” In this one-hour continuing education course, we’ll begin by looking at the journal article “Service Needs Across th…

Any occupational therapy practitioner knows that we often face tough questions surrounding ethics and justice. We work in imperfect systems, and each day we see how societal systems favor some, while placing others at a disadvantage. So, how do we process all of this? And, how do we see ourselves as contributing to the greater good? One framework t…

You probably spent a lot of time learning about “therapeutic use of self” during OT school. As it turns out, this phrase is just one of many frameworks that describe the relationship between therapists and patients. Over the past decade, many other relationship models have been developed and studied. This course will orient you to various concepts …

Over the past few decades, our understanding of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has evolved quite a bit. And, that means the prognosis of RA patients has improved in turn. Many of the “classic” deformities associated with RA are becoming less common. And, as we learn more and more about RA and its impacts on patients, your OT care should evolve according…

In neuroscience, there is a rapidly growing and evolving understanding of sensory function that is important for all occupational therapists to be tracking—and particularly those who work with autistic clients. In this one hour continuing education course, we’ll dive into a research review, where the authors take three main assumptions that both ne…

In many ways, the past year has changed how we practice occupational therapy. OTs and OTAs have worked in a variety of settings as we’ve seen new and different needs arise. We have been called to learn new safety protocols, new technologies, and new ways of approaching care. At the same time, OT professionals have burned out at higher rates than ev…

This podcast episode discusses the important topic of how to support those who care for people with dementia. Dementia tends to inform many conversations around caregiving, largely because it is such a pressing public health concern. Yet, this is a conversation that goes beyond a single diagnosis. After all, many of our occupational therapy clients…

The struggles of COVID-19 long haulers have caught the attention of the medical community. In many cases, symptoms seem to correlate with a little-known condition called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). But, even before the pandemic called attention to POTS, research and advancements in treatment were taking place in the background…

Whether we’re students, educators, or clinicians working on the frontlines of care, we all have a stake in the world of occupational therapy (OT) education. The changes in clinical education this year are so large that even those working in academia have struggled to keep up. This 1-hour CE course will ask you to reflect on trends in higher educati…

The number of adults diagnosed with autism is rising. Yet, we currently have very few evidence-based interventions to offer this population. We seem to be falling short of truly supporting autistic adults. We need to do better, not just by addressing their challenges, but also by bolstering their unique strengths. This 1-hour episode is going to pu…

So much about the COVID-19 era feels unpredictable and beyond our control. But, the research analysis covered in this course will open your eyes to some ways where we can be extremely helpful. Not only can you use your occupational therapy skills to help patients in acute care, but you can even help those who are home with mild symptoms. I know we …

In this 1-hour course, occupational therapy practitioners will gain an introductory understanding of a hot topic (and controversial diagnosis): postconcussion syndrome. On one hand, postconcussion syndrome has a well-described pattern of symptoms. But, on the other hand, we don’t know what causes it. Plus, because the symptoms are subjective, postc…

In this 1-hour course, occupational therapy practitioners will learn about the concepts of eHealth and participatory medicine—and, how they are shaping the future of our profession. Both eHealth and participatory medicine will give you a new lens to understand some of the seismic shifts that are happening in health care right now. And, the good new…

In this 1-hour course, occupational therapy practitioners will learn about promising research regarding stroke rehab—specifically, interventions that are geared toward self-management. The good news is that much of the research backs what we are already doing. The authors build upon our existing foundations of OT, providing practical ideas for twea…

My first thought after I read this article was that I need to share it with our hospital’s CEO. This is exactly the kind of article that I want our administrators and leaders to be reading. My second thought was that every OT needs a copy of this article to display on their desk like an inspirational poster :-) It’s that huge. This is the largest (…

We OTs are navigating an ever-changing maze of legislation, reimbursement, and care-delivery models. But, this week’s article calls us to focus on our profession’s most important relationship of all: our relationship with our clients. Get ready to really ponder the nature of our partnerships with clients...and to consider these relationships in ter…

During this time of COVID-19, we OTs are doing what we do best: being adaptable. In this case, a global pandemic has us reimagining what our therapy can look like. It is our hope that the OT Potential Club can help you do that in a proactive way. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been looking at research that highlights new opportunities to reach our …

Therapists across the globe are advocating that telehealth delivery be covered by our licenses (and reimbursed by insurers). Now, more than ever, I think it’s important to examine the research that backs up these efforts. The reality is that even before COVID-19, telehealth was showing significant promise to help reach more clients, and even improv…

One of the general trends we’ve been following on the podcast is the potential of using coaching strategies in occupational therapy. And, as therapists around the globe are dialing into teletherapy, this research trend merits some consideration. After all, it may be an effective strategy to consider as many of us are seeking to restructure how we o…

The world has changed drastically in a week’s time—and we are being asked to change with it. I know this has meant long, exhausting days. And, that we have been left scrambling trying to figure out what a “new normal” will look like in the weeks ahead. For many of you, telehealth will be part of this new normal. This is why I wanted to spend this w…

Across the globe, our priority has shifted to quelling the spread of the novel coronavirus, which causes the illness dubbed COVID-19. The community in the OT Potential Club was created so OT professionals could collaborate on tough issues. This is exactly the time to share what is working in our healthcare settings—and what isn't. This week, we wil…

In this podcast, we discuss an article on transgender health that makes a very specific recommendation for the role occupational therapy professionals can play in providing care to the transgender community We'll also discuss some general recommendations and considerations to keep in mind next time you find a transgender client on your caseload. Fi…

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is one of those topics that we need to be keeping up with as OT practitioners, in part because there are some very compelling stories about its use that our patients may be encountering. This week's article gives us a helpful update on what we know (and don't know) about FES, and its use in a comprehensive st…

This week, the podcast tackles a topic that can be confusing: sensory processing interventions for kids with autism. We look at a systematic review that tries to categorize different types of these interventions, then examine the evidence around each category. To join in the conversation, join the OT Potential Club! Case-Smith, J., Weaver, L. L., &…

I’m sure most of us have experienced aspects of healthcare delivery that seem, shall we say, less than ideal. Maybe you’ve found yourself wondering just how, on earth, we managed to get where we are. How can our sophisticated healthcare systems, sometimes lead to such poor care? This week’s article is truly unique because it is a narrative review t…

I was reaching the end of this week’s article when my eyes suddenly flooded with tears. That’s because I encountered something we had not yet seen in the OT Potential Podcast: strengths-based recommendations. And I don't mean strength training. I mean focusing on our patients' strengths (rather than their impairments) and leveraging them so patient…

MELAS Syndrome is a rare and complex condition—but it is also statistically likely that someone in your community is living with it. This week's article provides a helpful overview of what we know (and don't know) about this syndrome, as well as considerations for our OT care. El-Hattab, A. W., Adesina, A. M., Jones, J., & Scaglia, F. (2015). MELAS…

I'm sure we all have people in our lives (or, at least on our caseloads) who suffer from chronic pain. This week's article explores chronic low back pain (LBP) and the biopsychosocial approach. You might feel a bit of deja vu, as we're finding again that a multi-faceted approach seems to work best to get results in healthcare—and, in my opinion, a …

Soft neurological signs are a hot topic in the OT community right now. And I can see why: soft signs give us a window into all the happening at a biological level in many common conditions. And, they may be impacting more patients your caseload than you may realize. This week's article on a specific soft neurological sign in ADHD gives you a window…

Dementia is poised to present the most profound global health challenge of the 21st century. The incidence of dementia is skyrocketing, and I believe OTs have a vital role to play in caring for these patients. This week's article is an extremely comprehensive summary of dementia care—and it covers all sorts of evidence about prevention, screening, …