{"id":8973,"date":"2022-04-04T06:00:06","date_gmt":"2022-04-04T12:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.summit-education.com\/?p=8973"},"modified":"2022-03-31T07:02:52","modified_gmt":"2022-03-31T13:02:52","slug":"occupational-therapy-month-are-you-an-advocate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devsite.hooliv.com\/blogs\/general\/occupational-therapy-month-are-you-an-advocate\/","title":{"rendered":"Occupational Therapy Month: Are You An Advocate?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Written By: Elizabeth Abadiotakis, OTD, OTR<\/strong><\/h5>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Are you an Advocate<\/em><\/strong> for OT? OT month is a great time to ask ourselves this question! There are many areas of advocacy; client-centered advocacy, professional advocacy, and legislative advocacy. Identifying yourself as an advocate can feel a bit intimidating. After reading this blog hopefully, you will be ready to take on this title and consider yourself an Advocate<\/em><\/strong> for OT.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s learn about types of advocacy and what we can do to get involved. Whether large or small acts, every practitioners\u2019 efforts count towards the promotion of occupational therapy for client and professional success!<\/p>\n

Client-centered advocacy<\/em><\/strong> is a way in which therapists reduce barriers to occupational success. This can look very different from client to client. For an older adult, this may be as simple as recommending a home safety visit prior to or just after discharge. For a young adult, this may be facilitating the client to share their interests and strengths in order to find a job or housing that represents their personal interests and needs. In young children, this can be offering resources to the family to assist them in better supporting their child\u2019s unique needs. Advocating for our clients falls within our Practice Framework and is innate in our everyday practice (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2020b). <\/u><\/p>\n

Professional advocacy<\/em><\/strong> is a way to promote the profession of occupational therapy and ensure the standards of practice within our workplace are appropriate and ethical. As advocates of the profession and active practitioners, we should all be familiar with both the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process-Fourth Edition (2020b) and the AOTA 2020 Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics (2020a). In addition, AOTA joined the Choose Wisely Campaign in 2016 in an effort to promote appropriate care based on best practice recommendations. There are currently 10 Don\u2019ts in OT practice on the list of items clients and practitioners should question. Professional advocacy begins with the foundation of collective professional knowledge. These AOTA documents allow us the most up-to-date information and terminology to ensure that we are all advocating in alignment with one another. <\/u><\/p>\n

Legislative advocacy<\/em><\/strong> allows our collective voices to be heard by politicians creating the laws that guide how we practice. There are federal and state statutes with corresponding regulations that explain how a law is carried out. In OT practice, different practice arenas are regulated by different laws. It is important as a first step to understand what laws apply to OT in your practice arena. OT practitioners may be referred to in different ways within legislation i.e.: certified health professionals, therapeutic specialists, specialized instructional support personnel.\u00a0 Being familiar with the language used can make legislation easier to scan. Keeping up to date on when a law will be updated and possibly renamed and when new potential laws are being proposed can be tedious and time-consuming. Getting involved in both your state and the national OT organization allows you access to legislative information that is readily available and digestible. <\/u><\/p>\n

So where do your skills stand out?<\/p>\n