ARCHIVES CORNER
ASIA KIM , CHES ®, OTS , KATHY PREISSNER , EDD , OTR / L , FAOTA , ASHLEY STOF- FEL , OTD , OTR / L , FAOTA , & STEVEN J . TAYLOR , OTD , OTR / L
The ILOTA Archives Committee is committed to collecting stories from occupational therapy practitioners in Illinois to document the history of our profession and important contributions that have been made . The Archives Committee has conducted several interviews to share stories through the ILOTA Communique Archives Corner and in the official ILOTA Archives which are housed at the Library of Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago . If you or someone you know would be interested in participating in this effort , ( either as an interviewer or interviewee ), please reach out to Ashley Stoffel ( astoffel @ uic . edu ) or Kathy Preissner ( kpreiss @ uic . edu ).
Janet Engbring ’ s occupational therapy ( OT ) journey began in the 1950s . With guidance from Beatrice D . Wade , OTR , FAOTA ( 1903 – 1994 ), Engbring attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts , the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from 1953-1954 , and then joined the University of Illinois at Chicago for a midyear program ( entered the Chicago phase of the OT program in January 1955 ) under Miss Wade ’ s Illinois Plan , and she graduated in Summer 1956 . The Illinois Plan included taking courses along with experiences at the University of Illinois hospital in Chicago in areas such as in pediatrics , medicine and surgery , psychiatry , and orthopedics . Engbring shared that her education was based on the medical model as opposed to an arts and crafts model . Similarly , she stated that Miss Wade fought valiantly to preserve the medical model in occupational therapy education . Furthermore , Engbring ’ s two , eight-week fieldwork experiences took place at the Boston State Hospital for chronic psychiatry and the Glenn Dale Hospital tuberculosis sanatorium outside of Washington , D . C . After graduation , Engbring was hired by Miss Wade to be an occupational therapist at the University of Illinois Hospital where she worked in pediatrics and medicine and surgery . Engbring transitioned to working full-time in medicine and surgery , where she also supervised fieldwork students and taught medical classes . Engbring proceeded to pursue her master ’ s degree in Special Education at Illinois State University . After receiving her master ’ s degree , Engbring was asked by Miss Wade to return to Chicago to set up a teaching unit at the Cook County Hospital . The purpose of this teaching unit was to support OT students in their didactic education , and students could complete their clinical work at the Cook County Hospital . Additionally , at Cook County Hospital , Engbring set up the pediatric division , and she was involved in physical rehabilitation , medicine and surgery , and the psychiatric unit .
When asked what types of interventions Engbring used in her OT practice , she stated that at first it was primarily arts and crafts , which included woodworking , weaving , pottery , decoratives , sewing , embroidery and fly tying . Later , it gradually developed into the emphasis of self-care , work , and leisure activities . Engbring stated that activities of daily living ( ADLs ) became the standard , helping patients develop or redevelop skills lost after an illness or injury .
Engbring returned to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1973 to set up a program on campus that would allow OT students to graduate without having to go to Chicago to finish the OT curriculum . After this , Engbring moved back to her hometown , Effingham , where she worked with 0-3 populations , special education , and the nursing home at Sarah Bush Lincoln Hospital in Mattoon . She was given the opportunity to direct the rehabilitation staff for the region out of Mattoon , Illinois , which covered 33 counties . There was a staff of about 13 , including physical therapists , occupational therapists , physical therapist assistants , occupational therapy assistants , and adapted physical education staff . Engbring worked in this role for several years .
Engbring stated that the modalities and evaluations she used in her career from the 1950s to the 1980s included range of motion , sensory evaluation , ADLs , play histories , interest inventories , occupational his-
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Illinois Occupational Therapy Association | 2021 ISSUE 1 10