OTnews August 2020 | Page 60

FEATURE CAREER DEVELOPMENT Delivering better support As described, working this way benefits your working practices and pushes you professionally, but how does this help your patients and clients? Well, put simply, portfolio working delivers for both you and your clients and patients. Occupational therapists often initially see people at their lowest crisis point and are often limited in what they can achieve because of various constraints, whether this be care or equipment provision. In many ways, portfolio working allows you to free yourself from some of this restriction and think more creatively for the client or patient. Through the points already discussed you can ultimately influence the outcomes of individuals more effectively. By working across disciplines, Elaine comments on how individuals have been able to move forwards more effectively in their rehabilitation. ‘I have been able to assist people who have been at a very low, vulnerable point in their lives with significant injuries and my assessments and reports help them to start to recover and move forward, which is really important to me,’ she says. By diversifying her work Caroline has seen and worked with more wide-ranging equipment and adaptations: ‘It allows me to be creative and flexible with my recommendations, and offers me great options to develop my knowledge of new equipment and adaptations which would normally be out of reach for clients within the statutory sector.’ By choosing to work in the third sector she can use more personal experience to drive change. ‘I chose to work for Canine Partners because I have personal experience of how life changing assistance dogs can be, and I wanted to use my skills and experience to give something back.’ But does a portfolio career make you a stronger occupational therapist? Caroline adds: ‘My knowledge has grown considerably and I am able to recommend items of equipment that I didn’t even know existed when working within the statutory sector.’ Angela Jamieson, who works in the NHS, but also as an expert witness, comments that she values being treated as an expert whose evidence and opinion is essential to the outcome of a case. ‘I command as much respect as a professor of surgery in this area of work,’ she exclaims. 60 OTnews August 2020 Want to learn a bit more? To supplement the evidence provided in this article, Jacqueline Webb is providing an additional, virtual learning opportunity for those interested in this work. Visit: www. jwebbexperts.co.uk/learning-library to review a recent workshop discussing this topic. The top tips for working this way! But what does this mean for occupational therapists with an interest in working this way? Asked to name the single piece of advice they would give another occupational therapist starting their portfolio working journey, It was clear from the anecdotes that working with reputable, established businesses is key, to give security in both ongoing work and income. Also, it is vital not to jump in with both feet, and to keep something familiar, so as not to overwhelm yourself with new learning. With the recent, significant rise in working from home, this is a key skill to master in a disciplined and organised way; mastering this will give you greater options in where you can obtain work and ultimately who you can support clinically. Finally, consider your current clinical experience and be sure in your clinical confidence, as much of what you do may be independent of others and therefore open to scrutiny. Simon Dickinson, recruitment, talent and selection manager, Jaqueline Webb, with contributions from occupational therapists Elaine Miller, Caroline Wright, Angela Ariu, Carol Kendall, Angela Jamieson. Contact: [email protected] ©GettyImages/onairjiw