1. Invests in the acquisition of evidence through participation in workshops, continued education and pursuit of additional degrees.
During my first Level II Fieldwork placement, I had the opportunity to attend the Louisiana Occupational Therapy Association Conference in Monroe, LA. I was able to interact with various Occupational Therapy Practitioners that has accumulated an enormous amount of knowledge throughout their years practicing. I was able to fully participate in the LOTA Conference and attend a workshop being held on COTA supervision. I was intrigued to learn about the supervision differences and similarities between Tennessee and Louisiana. I also made the decision during this placement that I want to pursue my CLC in the future.
2. Is a knowledgeable consumer of global research related to occupational therapy and utilizes an evidence-based approach to practice.
In my second Level II Fieldwork placement, I had the opportunity to expand my adult community resource library to provide an evidence-based approach to practice. Since this was a specialty placement, I also was able to utilize various protocol books to ensure the patients were receiving the best care that has evidence to stand by it. Below are just a few of the various resources and books that I utilized during this experience.
3. Integrates individual clinical expertise and patient values with the best available external clinical evidence.
During my second Level II Fieldwork Placement, I encountered a patient that was struggling to read writing on a piece of paper due to the font being smaller. We instructed the patient to use the magnifier app on his iPhone to enlarge the print to be able to read. The majority of the clinical staff, along with myself, was unaware of the various accessibility features that the iPhone now has. I decided at this point to look into the accessibility features on my own and then provided an in-service to all of the clinics that they may teach to their patients and utilize in treatment sessions.
4. Applies the domain of occupational therapy in gathering, evaluating, setting goals, planning, and implementing occupational therapy.
I have had the opportunity to apply the domain of occupational therapy in gathering, evaluating, setting goals, and implementing occupational therapy throughout both of my fieldwork placements. I am thorough and efficient when gathering information necessary during an evaluation and utilizing this information to set goals then form an intervention plan before starting treatment. I have also found it beneficial to explain to the patient the "why" behind the activities to loop them in on what our targeted/desired outcome is which I have noticed boosts their motivation and participation.
5. Contributes to the knowledge base of OT practice by mentoring students, performing research, publishing, presenting and/or teaching.
I have had the opportunity to contribute to the knowledge base of Occupational Therapy throughout both of my Level II placements. During my first placement, I was able to assist and conduct research regarding the Occupational Therapist's role in feeding and the new flood of tongue-ties. During my second placement, I had the opportunity to provide my own in-service to not only the clinic I was in, but also streamed to all of the other locations. I also had the opportunity to mentor a Level I Occupational Therapy student for one week while I was on week 6. I was very proud of how easily I took on that role and was able to provide demonstration for techniques I had quickly learned within my first 5 weeks at the facility.
6. Incorporates continued education as a lifelong practice with the commitment to remain up-to-date and well-informed.
I consider myself a very organized person, which is why I will stay committed to remaining up-to-date and well-informed throughout my career. Occupational Therapy Practitioners are considered lifelong learners and I plan to uphold this throughout my career. I am currently an active member of AOTA and plan to continue this membership throughout my future. I was previously a member of TNOTA and plan to become a member of LOTA. During my fieldwork experience, I had the opportunity to attend the fall LOTA conference. I have also subscribed to various websites such as Tools to Grow and The Lactation OT to notify me of new courses or tools to utilize during practice.