This week @GeorgiaVineOT and @margaretOT360 will be hosting here is what they had to say.

Being able to empathise rather than just sympathise with a service user will enable a better therapeutic relationship but, when the understanding is so strong it can be challenging to deal with the emotional response.

I’ve always been open about that fact that I’ve had occupational therapy input when talking with service users, and I always will be, although, because I have had occupational therapy myself it holds me back during intervention implementation.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am very determined and like to aim high in anything I do especially when it comes to my studies, but this emotional barrier is proving to be more difficult to get over than I initially thought.

I’ve had OT input ever since I was born and have always been a service user so, it’s hard to believe that I’m suddenly playing a collaborative role in the professional decision-making process. It’s okay that I feel this way and I’m grateful that my previous educator pointed this out as without her input I probably wouldn’t have realised it was holding me back so much and that’s even worse. This is because if I didn’t know what the problem was then how could I have done anything about it? Not that I’ve reflected I think I was holding back as I didn’t believe in my professional capabilities since I’vealways been the service user. Although I’m not a service user now it’s still hard to believe that I’m the professional as the tables have been completely turned.

Supervision is key, placement is a massive learning opportunity and, it enables me to make more sense of my situation and gain insight into what my limitations are going to be in the world of work.

Due to my disability being so visible I can’t make a clinically reasoned decision to disclose.

I’m always going to get questions about my disability and my capabilities within occupational therapy. These questions don’t annoy me as such because me disability is always going to be the elephant in the room, we all know how diverse OT is, so I know there is a role out there for me. However, I’d be lying if I said that at times, I don’t question myself about my future role.

Am I a service user, a student, a healthcare professional or all 3? At times I get confused over who I am, and which role plays the biggest part. Am I lacking in confidence because I’m a student or is it because I’ve been on the other side of the fence? I’m still working on this transition as it’s not going to happen overnight and will be a slow process.

As a second-year student this transition needs to happen sooner rather than later, because I have only got one more placement left after this one, and I want to feeling competent.

Now, I am doing a ground-breaking, virtual placement my confidence has grown, as I now know the area of OT that I want to work in, but due to that nature of my virtual I’ve had minimal contact with services users. In which this makes me feel a bit apprehensive for my next placement as when I go on placement it will be over a year since I’ve had face-to-face service user contact.

I want to leave the course feeling like I gave it my all with my personal experiences adding to my journey.

I wanted to do an OTalk to ask questions to those who may have had similar experiences, to enable me to make sense of my situation in order for me to reflect on my past, present and future as part of my placement experience …

Q1. What experience do you have of being a service user e.g. family members, personally, or an extended family member?

Q2. How does this experience effect your own views on the delivery of occupational therapy and its values?

Q3. Have you ever been in a situation as a therapist where you’ve had to disclose your own experiences of being a service user, if so, how did this affect the outcome?

Q4. What is the most useful piece information you could share with the OT community, about your experiences to enhance practice?

Q5. What online communities are you or your client’s part of, and how is access to these communities useful to you?

Post Chat Updates

Online Transcript from HealthCare#

PDF of Transcript: #OTalk 23 March 2020

The Numbers

1.902M Impressions
544 Tweets
46 Participant

#OTalk Participants

As a team of occupational therapists, we are aware that CoronaVirus will significantly impact on daily life, and we would like to hear your ideas for engaging in occupations, whilst socially distancing and self isolation.

https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response

The Government advice is regularly being updating and you can keep up to date on their website. Link above

We would like this to remain responsible and kind, please tweet your ideas for safeguarding health and well-being through occupation, and tag us @otalk_ #OTalk #occupationInIsolation #occupationalTherapy

Let’s come to together as a community.

This week SPOT EUROPE BOARD @SPOTeurope are hosting here is what they had to say

As the SPOT Europe Board, we aim to encourage and increase internationalisation and OT student connection across Europe, as well as ensure students voices are heard in the development of Occupational Therapy education. We are passionate about using the board to connect with other students to exchange experiences, opportunities, knowledge and ideas.

The idea was developed at the European Network of Occupational Therapy in Higher Education (ENOTHE) Congress and since then has made huge progress! SPOTeurope is run by students for students and, as such, thrives on new students getting involved.

Questions.

What does internationalisation mean to you and what opportunities have you had in your curriculum / practice for this

What is your vision for internationalisation? And how could this impact your studies /practice.

Has your vision of internationalisation changed since starting your studies / practice?

What opportunities do you wish you could have for internationalisation? What skills and challenges are there to this?

The SPOTeurope Board

Post chat updates:

Online transcript from HealthCare#

PDF of transcript: #OTalk 17 March 2020

The Numbers

2.170M Impressions
412 Tweets
31 Participants

#OTalk Participants

 

 

 

This week out host is Sophie Cresswell @93SophieC here is what she has to say.

This time last year I was taking the final steps in my Occupational therapy degree, ready to don my green trousers and enter the wonderful world of OT!  During my training I was lucky to have placements in a broad range of settings from paediatrics to palliative care which helped me to develop my clinical reasoning and ‘bread and butter’ skills. A notoriously difficult area to get a placement in was complex learning disabilities and PMLD, this is where my previous role as a support assistant had given me insight into the OT role with this population. 

When an opportunity came up for a band 5 position at a specialist college for young adults with complex physical, learning and communication needs I jumped at the chance. A year on and I am loving the diversity of clinical input and the opportunity for creativity that the role offers.

Around 60% of occupational therapists work within the health sector, providing essential input to individuals from all walks of life. Occupational therapists are becoming an integral part of diverse services such as in charities, ambulance services and within community centers. In recent years, strategies and initiatives such as the NHS five year forward have placed focus on preventative measures and supporting individuals to remain healthy and independent in their own homes wherever possible.

In response, occupational therapists are working in more diverse and non-traditional settings than ever. However these posts are generally less accessible to newly qualified therapists, often requiring direct experience in the field or several years of practice under the belt.  

This chat aims to explore the options and opportunities for newly qualified therapists in a range of diverse settings and examines how we can create more opportunities and develop as a practitioner in a non-traditional setting. The following questions will be considered:

1. What are the main factors influencing/that did influence your first post as a newly qualified?

• Direct experience of entering 3^rd sector

2. What are the possible benefits and challenges of entering a static, 3^rd sector post as a newly qualified practitioner?

3. What do you think could be done to open up doors for newly qualified therapists in 3^rd sector settings?

4. What resources and strategies could you use as a newly qualified to support your development as a practitioner in a non-traditional setting – where formal preceptorship may not be available?

• RCOT resources
• Peer supervision 
• Keeping up with CPD events e.g. the OT show

 

Post chat updates

Online transcript from HealthCare# Project.

PDF of transcript #OTalk 10 Feb 2020

The Numbers

858.453K Impressions
263 Tweets
52 Participants

#OTalk Participants

This #OTalk will be led by Dr Jenny Preston, Consultant Occupational Therapist @preston_jenny

Research studies are generally classified within two main categories:

1. Commercial
2. Non-commercial

Commercial research is the term used to describe studies that are sponsored and funded by pharmaceutical companies or biotech industry for commercial purposes.  If the study is sponsored by the NHS or an Academic Institution then it is defined as non-commercial research.  

Clinical trials are essential to the development of beneficial treatments for NHS patients as the consumers of medicine and healthcare.  Clinical trials supported by the pharmaceutical industry play an important part in keeping the NHS at the forefront of modern treatments and research (NHS R&D Forum, 2005).  In addition, commercial research activity offers clinicians early access to the latest technologies for diagnosing and treating disease and is essential for the development of new medicines and healthcare technologies.  

Research active occupational therapists are more likely to engage in non-commercial research studies although there are increasing opportunities for occupational therapists, as part of clinical research teams to become involved in commercial research.  The Government is committed to promoting partnerships between the NHS and other funders of R&D, for the benefit of the health and wealth of the nation. The NHS is encouraged to support commercially sponsored research and views it as an opportunity to: 

• Participate in drug and device development 
• Evaluate new equipment 
• Become involved with the development of improved treatment for current and future NHS patients 
• Promote partnerships between the NHS and commercial research sponsors
• Generate income for re-investment back into research, facilities and patient care 
• Attract and retain staff 

Research-active NHS Trusts that value participation in commercial research as an element of their clinical research portfolio should ensure that their management arrangements can support the necessary work involved in negotiations and trial co-ordination. A Trust must recognise that for the pharmaceutical, device, or equipment industry to consider the Trust a suitable site to participate in commercial clinical trials, it must be able to demonstrate that it can (NHS R&D Forum, 2005) : 

• Provide the service that the sponsor requires 
• Provide the service to an appropriate level of quality 
• Provide the service at the right price 
• Ensure the sponsor is made aware of the service that is available 

Throughout this chat we will consider the potential opportunities for occupational therapists to become involved in commercial research through discussion of the following questions:

• Do you have any experience of commercial research?
• What sorts of tasks were you involved in?
• How did you get involved in commercial research?
• What were the benefits and challenges?
• Are there any ethical concerns or conflicts of interest for occupational therapists?
• Is there any additional training required to engage in commercial research?

POST CHAT

Online Transcript

#OTalk Transcript March 3rd 2020

The Numbers

226.226K Impressions
40 Tweets
12 Participants
32 Avg Tweets/Hour
3 Avg Tweets/Participant

#OTalk Participants