Occupational Therapy News OTnews October 2019 | Page 52

REPORT DIVERSE AND EMERGING ROLES Diverse and emerging settings Reflections on the key highlights of the fourth national conference for occupational therapists working in diverse settings L ast month saw the University of Brighton welcome delegates back for the fourth national conference for occupational therapists working in diverse settings. Following the success of previous years’ conferences, over 70 practitioners, researchers, academics and students from all over the UK came together for an event facilitated by Dr Channine Clarke and Sarah Mead, who have a long-standing interest in this area of practice. Lecturer Luci Carnall-Moore and two graduates, Odile Rapoport and Emilie Papadopoulou, who completed the first role-emerging placement in a local drug and alcohol service last year, kicked off the day’s proceedings. It was fantastic to see the graduates back at the university presenting at the event, having only left in the summer, and to hear that the service is using their work to put in a bid for an occupational therapist to join the service. Sarah Meharg then shared her experience of setting up a mental health focused personal training service, reinforcing the importance of physical activity on mental wellbeing. Pam Toothill presented her MSc research, which highlights the value of role-emerging placements for the host organisation, before Trish Chipman shared her experience and stories about the occupational deprivation experienced in refugee camps and the positive impact the profession can have in these settings. Jodie Carolan and Majella Brennan then spoke about their interesting new role as ‘neuro navigators’ in the South East London Neuro Navigation Services and the unique skills they bring as occupational therapists. Rachel Bootham also reflected on how she is able to use her core skills in her role leading the education of health professionals at the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Later in the day, Ley Robinson led a workshop where delegates considered the role of the profession in social prescribing services. It was clear that 52 OTnews October 2019 occupational therapists have a key contribution to make and delegates were also able to have some fun and get creative, using pipe cleaners to reflect on therapeutic relationships. Jane Moseley then gave an interesting presentation about her role as a high intensity lead, working with people that are frequent attenders in accident and emergency (A&E), to engage them in meaningful activity and link them with local support services to reduce their A&E attendance rates. Last, but not least, delegates were inspired to consider research careers by Aelfrida Palmer, Faye Dunford and Amanda Henderson, who shared their experiences of developing, leading and working on clinical trials and research projects. Channine and Sarah have developed a website – the ‘Community of Practice of Occupational Therapists Working in Diverse Settings (COPOTDS)’ – which is becoming a well-used resource, and they concluded the day by focusing on and promoting the resource. Occupational therapists were encouraged to send in case examples of their work to share on the website among the community. Visit: http://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/copotds/. Once again, feedback was very positive from all those who attended, valuing the opportunity for continuing professional development, networking and sharing best practice: Delegates were quotes as saying: ‘…fabulous to spend time with occupational therapists, learning and sharing together’; ‘It was great to go over all the skills we share and how transferable they are; ‘Inspiring to hear all the talks and connecting with other occupational therapists’, and ‘What a refreshing and inspiring day’. Dr Channine Clarke, occupational therapy academic lead, University of Brighton, and Sarah Mead, freelance occupational therapist, now working and promoting occupational therapy in diverse settings in France. If you would like to send any case examples of your work in diverse settings, to help the development of the resource section of the website, please email Channine: [email protected]