Expert in Enabling Occupation
OTs use knowledge of occupation, occupational engagement, and other appropriate processes and interventions of enablement in the evidence-based provision of client-centered services. OTs provide services that are current, ethical and resource-efficient, and use effective communication with clients, other service providers, and the community. Client perspectives and diversity are taken into account. OTs use evidence-based processes that focus on clients occupations as a medium for action and outcome.
My Experience...
In both of my fieldwork experiences, I ensured that one of my objectives that I identified through the CBFE was to research interventions and assessments to determine their effectiveness with the population that I was working with. During my second placement opportunity, which was role emerging at a local high school in Kingston, my role was to provide mental health promotion strategies and education to the students. Due to this placement being a role emerging placement, I didn’t have an OT on-site and because of this, I did not receive a structure for how to develop interventions with this population. This placement opportunity was truly a learning experience in regards to how to develop and implement interventions with a specific population. Through this opportunity, I realised that the most important aspect to providing an intervention is to ensure client-centeredness and evidence based. To ensure this, my OT partner and I developed an initial questionnaire asking the students to inform us of topics that they would like to learn about. At midterm and final evaluations, we asked the students if they felt that what they were learning was beneficial or if they had any suggestions to make our interventions better suited to their needs. By doing this, we were able to develop interventions that consisted of education as well as strategies that can facilitate self-management. It was also important to appreciate each students needs and uniqueness, and through doing this as student therapists, we had to be flexible with the interventions that we had in mind to provide to the students. Being fluid with interventions meant that more students needs could be met in the interventions and that their wishes and needs were respected and heard.
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Facilitating client centered and evidence informed practice, has empowered me in ensure that I continue to develop and reform my skills as I become a therapist and grow in my future career. I will continue to facilitate this mindset through continuing to keep the entire person at the forefront of interventions while ensuring that I have scholarly support for my actions.