3.18.2012

OT in DC and common sense

So the great team at AOTA's Federal Affairs branch has made a blog on OTC entitled "OT in DC." It has been very good thus far, and I wanted to make sure to share this post on why documentation is important- "How We Say It Matters." To me, that title is twofold- how we describe our OT services provided matters in getting reimbursed and recognized appropriately; and that there is a question we need to answer for our Fed Affairs folks and the public in general- how OT matters to the community and how that can be communicated.

This post is a great read to remind you that documentation is not just busywork, not just checkboxes, and not just a legal document. It's the proof that services of an occupational therapy practitioner were required and beneficial to the client. There is a common phrase that if it wasn't documented, it didn't happen. This post touches on the fact that clinical reasoning is invisible unless you, the practitioner, write it there. You know you did it, but does every person who could possibly be reading your documentation know that, and know that it was skilled? If we want OT to matter (and if you don't, you're probably reading the wrong blog) then we have to communicate our worth.

Also, on that note, not that anyone does this in writing but this is an important change to make in your oral communication. How often are you complimented for an idea or treatment and brush it off as "common sense?" Vow now to never say it again. If it was "common sense," it would not have required paying an OT to do it. That phrase diminishes all the intense coursework, fieldworks, and clinical reasoning of an OT. It seems "common sense" to you because of the framework you use for clinical reasoning, your experience, your intelligence. Not to be stereotypical, but women sometimes have a tendency to shy away from accepting compliments to avoid standing out or try to emphasize their cooperative tendencies. There is no reason not to accept a compliment to your clinical reasoning skills, you can do so gracefully (even returning one if appropriate) and acknowledge those skills instead of degrading them.

3.07.2012

Links to share

There have been several good links on twitter or my RSS feed lately and I wanted to make sure to save a copy for myself and get them out to those who aren't on twitter (or like me and might skip several days at a time)

There have been 2 great posts lately on the National Association for Neonatal Therapists blog, which I think people in any field will enjoy. The first discusses perfectionism, and that to beat it, you must take action. (I so need to remember that!) The second is about observing interpersonal interactions and seeing how much you can learn about a person by seemingly brief moments.

There are thousands of ideas on the inner child fun site, I've linked here to spring crafts, but the author has given us many ways to sort and find a great activity.

The explore education blog shared a set of myths about school prep, with good reminders of how to approach a child's learning experience.

And finally, your therapy source shared information on handwriting research that could be quite helpful for school therapists. I think that there could definitely be opportunities to share this with the educators and try to advocate to get HW instruction more formally addressed in school. Too often, I think we're getting RtI referrals too late in the process to reteach an efficient method.

That's all the sharing for one day- have a good one!