Maintaining an occupational therapy lens
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Eka Ndarake and Tracey Mottershead are passionate about our profession . Here they share how they are helping colleagues , students on placement and people who access their service to better understand the unique role of occupational therapy .
I t has been our drive and passion , as occupational therapists , to aid in the growth , diversity and understanding of why occupational therapy is important in helping individuals to live life to the fullest potential .
The word ‘ occupation ’ may mean different things to different people ; it is unique , vast and difficult to define , due to the holistic nature attached to it and its individualised interpretation . According to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary , occupation is ‘ an activity in which one engages in ’.
While the World Federation of Occupational Therapists ( 2022 ) states : ‘ Occupations are the everyday activities that people do as individuals , in families and with communities to occupy time and bring meaning and purpose to life ’.
Our interest in clearly defining the occupational therapy role is not only based on our passion , but also the idea that people who receive our services fully understand and appreciate its value . Our attempt to increase the profile of occupational therapy has been challenging . However , through educational opportunities we hope that we have been able to make a difference .
These opportunities have enabled us to highlight the significance of our role in supporting people to engage in everyday activities and enabled service users , families , our colleagues and students to gain a better insight on the impact of occupational therapy .
Service users and their families
We have observed that our service users and their families are not often familiar with the role of
occupational therapy . Most times there has not been prior involvement with occupational therapists and the question ‘ What is occupational therapy ?’ is often asked as they commence their rehabilitation .
Therefore , we find it necessary to ask service users and their families to describe their understanding of the role of occupational therapy on our first encounter and if they have no knowledge of our service , we then use the opportunity to educate them .
We also ask each service user about their experience with the aim to broaden their knowledge and this has also been an effective feedback tool in evaluating the service we provide .
Strengthening colleagues ’ understanding
Our colleagues have approached us many times to help strengthen their understanding of the profession . As expected , the diverse nature of the role can lead to some confusion about what it entails , especially where the intervention strategies vary across settings .
Over the past three years , we have used RCOT ’ s OT Week as an opportunity to highlight the occupational therapy role and based on their feedback , they say they have gained a better understanding of our holistic approach and that this has also had an impact on the referrals we receive , making them more appropriate .
We continue to hope that we have removed stereotypical ideas , such as ‘ occupational therapists only treat hands ’, ‘ are only useful to prescribe
50 OTnews April 2023