Whitney OT425

I chose to research and blog about occupational therapy's role in the emerging area of hand transplants and bionic limbs. With technology and science being at an advanced stage and continuing to advance, people living without limbs have endless opportunities. According to AOTA, about 1.7 million people are living with a limb loss and about 1 in 200 Americans have had amputations of a limb. I think the fact that surgeons can transplant a hand is incredible, but what happens next? That's where OT's come in. Occupational therapists working in the area of hand transplants need to be experienced, up to date with research, and committed.  OT's may work for years with someone who has received a transplant. The Vision 2025's core principles are that occupational therapy is accessible, collaborative, effective, and contains leaders. I think when it comes to the emerging area of hand transplants, collaboration is important and necessary. Occupational therapists will collabo...

Today, I shared with my group about Muhammad Ali and Parkinson's disease.  Muhammad was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at the age of 42. I explored what it might be like for him to receive occupational therapy services. I think what is important in his case, especially because he is so active in society,  is learning how to manage Parkinson's. My group agreed that a good intervention would be education and medicine management. While doing this assignment, I learned the great things that Muhammad Ali did for Parkinson's disease. He not only raised a great amount of awareness for the disease, but he funded the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center.

We had the opportunity in Neurological Aspects of Occupational Performance to hear from Fletcher Cleaves, a public speaker who shared hope and inspiration with us. Fletcher was a supreme athlete in high school and had the opportunity to play as a scholarship football player in college. During his first semester of college, he was in a car accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. I can’t imagine. His life was completely changed. Fletcher is unbelievably positive and has and will continue to inspire and make a change. He was swerving from a distracted driver when his accident happened. She appeared to be texting or doing something that required her to look down at her phone. I’m guilty of this all the time. Since Fletcher spoke to our class, any time I look at my phone while driving, I think of him and put my phone away. I NEVER want to be the reason someone swerves and has an accident.   https://www.fletchercleaves.com  

During the professional development lecture, I began thinking about all the different certifications occupational therapists can get and which ones I might be interested in one day. While working as a tech for 2 years before beginning school, I became close to two clients who were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The PTA I worked with mentioned the LSVT Big and Loud program and the success it was having for people with Parkinson’s.   This may be a certification I would be interested in after practicing for a few years.

“Clinical reasoning enables practitioners to •     Identify the multiple demands, required skills, and potential meanings of the activities and occupations and 
 •     Gain a deeper understanding of the interrelationships between aspects of the domain that affect performance and that support client-centered interventions and outcomes.” – OTPF An integral part of the OT process is using clinical reasoning. As discussed in class, acquiring the skill can take time as an OT. It is something for us, as students, to remember as we travel through the program. We have opportunities through fieldwork and RKS to not only watch experienced practitioners use clinical reasoning, but to practice and mold our own clinical reasoning.  

Although the process used by occupational therapists is similar to the process used by other health care providers, it’s important for us, as students, to understand the focus of the OT process. Many professionals use the same process including three phases: evaluation, intervention, and outcomes. The unique part of the OT process is the focus on occupations. The occupational/client profile is a huge part of the evaluation. I’m glad that we are getting practice doing the occupational profile in foundations and neuro aspects because I think it is so important. It not only gives the OT an insight into the client’s life, but I believe it lets the client know that the OT cares about every aspect of their lives…going back to the top down approach.    

Will Traynor I just completed a neuro note on the movie Me Before You,  but after the discussion about Cameron's case study I was reminded of an important key to occupational therapy. The main take away I got from this particular case is to always remember that each client's situation is going to be different with SCI. Will has goals that may be different from other clients and it's important to focus on his specific goals.