Occupational Therapy News OTnews July 2019 | Page 21

ANNUAL CONFERENCE REPORT Striking the balance N iamh Kinsella received the Pearson Award for Learning, Development and Research from RCOT and used the funding to attend annual conference, and to disseminate research findings from her PhD, in partnership with Queen Margaret University and Alzheimer Scotland. Reflecting on her experience she says: ‘Across the two days of the conference, having attended a number of paper presentations, seminars and observed poster presentations, I noticed a theme of “balance” emerging. ‘That is, balance in the kind of research that was being presented, balance in the perspectives on a topic, and balance between approaches to practice.’ Focusing on this further she adds: ‘The most thought- provoking presentation that I attended was Alice Hortop’s counter argument to social prescribing. She acknowledged the value of social engagement for persons that are experiencing loneliness, but emphasised the importance of distinguishing between loneliness and solitude. ‘She advocated for the need to develop awareness that social engagement is not always the best option for the person(s). She emphasised the importance of the occupational therapist facilitating a person’s time to “be”, to reflect on their situations and to understand them alone. ‘This presentation was the point at which I began to reflect on the theme of balance and its importance in making decisions about occupation with the people we are working with. ‘The key message I heard was that being able to facilitate balanced engagement in both social or co-occupations and solitary occupations may be more appropriate than focusing solely on social engagement.’ The theme was reflected in a session about the challenges of balancing the role of being a practitioner, researcher and academic. ‘Dawn Drury and Sophie Smith presented challenges in balancing these roles and situations in which decision making within one role can be influenced by professional identity of another role’, she says. ‘They also highlighted the challenges of not being able to identify as either a researcher, academic or practitioner. These challenges can raise ethical issues that the practitioner-researcher must learn to navigate. ‘The questions raised in this presentation and discussion prompted me to consider the ways in which practitioner- researchers can be supported to use their shared skills of practitioner and researcher effectively to support a balanced practice. ‘From a personal perspective, this question resonated with conversations I have had about becoming a practice enquirer and raised a number of important considerations about the nature of Niamh Kinsella talks to OTnews about the theme of ‘balance’ she saw emerge at this year’s annual conference such practice that I expect many practitioner-researchers also contend with.’ She explains: ‘The term practice enquirer is used to describe an occupational therapist who routinely reflects on and questions their practice in order to understand, refine and share it with other practitioners. In contrast, I use the term practitioner-researcher to describe a practitioner that does research that is not necessarily related to their own practice and is theoretical in nature.’ Finally, Niamh reflects on the Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture speaker, Sarah Kantartzis, who challenged delegates to look beyond current practice and to understand the need for, and possibilities involved with, ‘shifting the focus’ of practice to a systems perspective (see page 18). ‘Essentially, this would involve a movement from individualised practices, which were suggested to be dominant in the UK, to collective practices in which occupational therapists work with communities and populations to change situations in which occupational deprivation, injustice and alienation occur,’ she says. ‘This key message seemed to be a reminder of the influential power of the systems that practice is embedded in on the opportunities that persons, communities and populations have to engage in healthful occupations. ‘On reflection, it also seemed to be a call to balance focus on understanding the individual with collective perspectives and practices. It appeared to be a powerful acknowledgement of occupational therapists’ latent potential to facilitate systemic change that could influence the lives of persons who experience occupational therapy practice and those who do not have such opportunities. ‘As a person who hopes to experience, facilitate and be part of systemic change, and values a professional focus on collective occupations, being offered examples and shown a way forward was energising and inspiring.’ She concludes: ‘The three key messages I heard were: balancing social occupations with solitary occupations can be beneficial and social prescription should be made with a person’s occupational needs in mind; balancing practitioner-researcher- academic roles is challenging and understanding the nature of each part of the role is essential; and balancing attention to occupational issues on a collective level with individual level occupations has potential to influence change related to occupational issues at a systemic level.’ Niamh Kinsella, lecturer in occupational therapy, Division of Occupational Therapy and Arts Therapies, School of Health Sciences, Queen Margaret University OTnews July 2019 21