Blog – OT 4 Lyfe

Welcome to the first ever edition of the Best of Occupational Therapy aka “The BOOT”.

I am so excited to share this new project with you and having been working diligently for the past few months in order to get this rolling.

Here’s the deal:

Throughout the week, I’ll consume all sorts of wonderful occupational therapy related material, from podcast episodes, to blog posts, YouTube videos, journal articles, social media posts, you name it. Then I’ll pick a few of my favorites and feature them here for you to enjoy.

That way you get a taste of all the amazing OT content that is out there sent right to your inbox, and you don’t have to do any of the digging. Unless that is, you are a pediatric therapist who works with clients in a sand box. In that case, sorry, you will always be digging.

So without further ado, let’s see who gets BOOTed this week:

Hot OT Topics

What better way to kick things off then with a blog post highlighting some hot topics in occupational therapy as told by the research. Sarah Lyon, OTR/L from OT Potential has been tirelessly scanning through the research to find the most influential OT related journal articles.

But in this post, she takes it one step further and summarizes some of the major themes that she has been seeing and the best part is they are all backed by evidence.

Check out her article: Hot Topics in OT (2020)

Getting on the OTD Soapbox

Speaking of hot topics in occupational therapy (in the United States), the OTD mandate is definitely one of them. It’s been on and off the ballot a few times recently and I believe it is back on the ballot as of the time of this posting.

Dr. Michael Roberts, the host of the I Love OT Podcast, put together a fantastic episode detailing his concerns about going to the single point of entry for entry-level OT programs at this time.

Whether you agree or disagree with the mandate, take a listen here: The OTD Soapbox Episode

Mindfulness in Motherhood

Danielle Delorenzo, OTR/L who blogs over at Mornings With an OT Mom whose professional life (working in pediatrics/ early intervention) and personal life (having a 2 year old son) collided when she noticed some developmental delays in her son.

Her raw and honest account shows the humanistic side of our profession. It highlights the fact that when we as therapists meet our clients for the first time, they have a whole story behind them that got them to where they are right now.

Check out the 4 part series here:

Being Fast When It Comes to Strokes

Coming in from the Instagram interwebs is a post from Crystal aka The Brainy OT as she also recently had an intersection between her personal and professional life. She shares the important signs and symptoms of a stroke and how quick actions (BEFAST) can save your brain.

This post is imperative for every OT practitioner, every student, and quite honestly everyBODY to know. So read her post and then share with everyone you know.

See the post here: Stroke Alert

5 Months, 9 Countries, and 25 States

While you are reading this I am just getting back from a multi-month trip starting with a road trip from Los Angeles, CA to Annapolis, MD (where my husband is from) via the northern route of the US. My husband and I then flew to Europe for three months, galavanting around places like Portugal, Germany, The Netherlands, and Italy to name a few. After almost wearing out our travel visas, we flew back to Annapolis, MD for Christmas and then took off on our return road trip back to California via the southern route.

All in all, I added four new countries: Estonia, Finland, Canada, and Belgium. And I added fifteen new states to my travel belt and saw much of the vast diversity that the world has to offer.

During my time off, I spent many hours reflecting on OT 4 Lyfe, my role as an occupational therapy practitioner, and everything that has happened this past year.

I have a lot of big things planned for 2020, including stuff on the blog, amazing podcast guests, and some other projects that I can’t disclose of quite yet.

Cheers to the new year and the first BOOT!