Continuing professional development
I ’ m still an occupational therapist at heart , using my skills daily , and want to stay connected to the profession .”
Continuing professional development
Feature
I ’ m still an occupational therapist at heart , using my skills daily , and want to stay connected to the profession .”
‘ Many of these clients are experiencing occupational deprivation and addressing factors contributing to this is integral to this role .’
With no other occupational therapists there , supervision was not available on site . Joanne adds : ‘ I intended to update my skills and regain my Health and Care Professions Council ( HCPC ) registration after my return to the workplace .
‘ Unfortunately , due to the pandemic and the necessity for services to change the way they worked , in order to protect our most vulnerable client group , it was not possible to access clinical supervision .’
David McLoughlin , Day Services Manager at St Cuthbert ’ s Hospice , adds : ‘ I have been privileged to work in hospice and palliative care services for most of my career . My first experiences of palliative care occupational therapy were with an amazing team I worked with in South Australia .
‘ When I returned to the UK , I wanted to carry on the practice . Ten years on and with a lot of practice experience , I ’ m fortunate in my role to be in a position of implementing and managing hospice services that benefit service users .
‘ I ’ m still an occupational therapist at heart , using my skills daily , and want to stay connected to the profession .
‘ Additionally , as the line manager for the hospice therapy team , I want to make sure that the therapists on site have access to a variety of experiences to enhance their own knowledge and reasoning .
‘ The informal learning that comes from sharing experiences with each other has been invaluable .’
For Emily Smith , an occupational therapist at St Cuthbert ’ s Hospice , it ’ s her first experience of working within palliative care and in a hospice setting .
‘ I started my career as an occupational therapist at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in a hospital ,’ she explains . ‘ I worked predominantly on the medical wards and cross covering on care of the elderly , orthopaedic and surgery wards .
‘ Palliative care has always been an area of interest and I felt occupational therapy helps to provide services that are integral for people and their families living with life-limiting illnesses .’
Supervision collaborative
Everyone involved already had one-to-one line management supervision arrangements in place . In forming the supervision collaborative , it was agreed that it would be most beneficial for a group activity .
The therapists wanted to engage with everyone involved to maximise their learning . This is in keeping with the formative function of supervision , ‘ exploring practices , lifelong learning and growth ’ ( Hewitt 2023 ).
In line with RCOT guidance , the therapists decided that a peer support approach would be most appropriate , given the similarities between them . Peer support being defined as ‘ exploring cases , sharing experiences … using group discussions … to develop and provide support ’ ( RCOT 2015 ).
For Joanne , peer support provided access to an experienced registered occupational therapist required to support her return to practice application ( HCPC 2017 ).
It was agreed to catch up once each month and , in line with each organisation ’ s clinical supervision policy , this was not to lapse longer than once a quarter . Each service took turns to host the supervision group , giving each therapist the opportunity to engage and participate in the process .
Given the diversity of occupational therapy , it was no surprise that the topics covered were wide reaching .
The new HCPC standards of proficiency ( 2023 ) were discussed and the gap analysis tool was completed together . Experiences of how standards are met were shared , and the group encouraged one another with areas of development .
The group shared recent experience of a Care Quality Commission ( CQC ) inspection ; the ‘ what ’ and the ‘ how ’ of the CQC process . This allowed for debrief about the experience of the inspection process . It also gave others chance to prepare for their organisation ’ s inspection .
The group has also been talking about improvements to patient access to spiritual , pastoral and religious interventions and sharing actions , making connections with local community services to support patients .
And discussions on care and support for plus-sized patients at the end of life , with advice on effective equipment and transfer techniques to maintain safety and engagement have taken place .
As the sessions progressed , it became apparent that storytelling was the preferred method for sharing experiences .
42 OTnews November 2024