http://otconnections.aota.org/search/?o=DateDescending&tag=documentation,Driving+Rehabilitation,Amy+Lamb,disabilities&orTags=0Search resultsen-US7.x Productionhttp://otconnections.aota.org/Public_Forums/f/7813/p/16507/122491.aspx#122491Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:10:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122491Jkirschke/Public_Forums/f/7813/p/16507/122491.aspx#122491 Hey Matthew,     Here is my typical day at a SNF: Show up between 6:30-9:30 (different for each facility), get my schedule, see who could be a co-tx. I try to plan out who I'm going to be seen when. I usually start with my eval pt's or those with appointments later in the day. Then I just go do it. I usually save the last hour for documentation. Everyone is different though.  I understand the dilemma of starting in a practice area that you weren't originally interested in. I never thought I would enjoy SNF's, but as a traveler which has most of their placements at SNF's, I have found something unique and enjoyable in it. Like I said earlier, each place is unique. Not all places have as many MedA pt's as you would like, but it really gives you a chance to fine tune your skills with MedB's. That's just my opinion. Give SNF's a chance and go into it with an open mind. Nothing is forever. Look at it as an enriching experience only furthering your skills and knowledge base as a practitioner.  Oh and there are so many types of pt's you will see. Stroke, TBI, COPD exacerbation, amputees, ortho (hips/knees), dementia... a diverse population. Basically individuals who can't tolerate 3 hours or have given their best shot at inpt and need less intense therapy.  Hope this helps! http://otconnections.aota.org/Public_Forums/f/79/p/9285/122490.aspx#122490Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:15:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122490alejandroduran/Public_Forums/f/79/p/9285/122490.aspx#122490 Caustic or True :                 Since you called my email caustic, I’m wondering if you have the consideration to acknowledge some of the truth of my examples in the post about evading facts and questions. One of these was that I asked Dr. Toto why she voted against the motion and got no answer. The second example was regarding Helen Kirkpatrick’s suggestion that social justice was not an issue for other boards. She not only failed to respond to Dr. Alterio’s research on the matter, she failed to answer my own question regarding whether she had done any research on the matter before she made the suggestion. Don’t these examples substantiate my claim about the social justice supporters evading facts and questions?                The third example had to do with Kathy’s experience with an Ethics Commission member at the conference. Here you have accurately contradicted the Ethics Commission member who accused Dr. Alterio of being a trouble-maker and engaging in vicious attacks on OTConnections. You know very well that he such descriptions cannot be applied to him. But what I want to ask you is if you think the Ethics Commission violated Principle 7 of the Code of Ethics when in response to a letter from Dr. Alterio the Ethics Commission investigated itself and found itself to have acted in a professional manner. Recall that Principle 7 forbids acts that create even the perception of a conflict of interest. I don’t think being a member of the Board of Directors should be a reason for evading this question. I think principled leadership requires leaders to publicly stand for principles.  The should do this even when one of their own has erred.           I would also like to know whether you think that my experience with Dr. Theresa Smith of Towson University substantiates my claim that occupational therapy has a defective culture as it regards philosophical diversity. Recall that I merely sent her an invitation to my table where I was promoting a reading project. Her response was that I should find another profession. The invitation is the same as the one I posted in this forum except that I stated I was a student. Isn’t Dr. Smith an instantiation of what I have been claiming all along?           Also, what do you think about Dr. Reed’s post to these forums? Would you defend her three arguments for keeping the social justice requirement in the Code of Ethics ? Or do they represent limited and flawed knowledge on the matters she was overseeing as chair?           Finally, what do you think of Dr. Hemphill’s ghost-like tenure as chair of the Ethics Commission? Did Dr. Hemphill act responsibly by posting Dr. Reed’s statements? Has she acted like a principled leader now by washing her hands of her posting of Dr. Reed's message?           Perhaps it is caustic to state that the last two chairs of the Ethics Commission demonstrated limited and flawed knowledge of social justice as well as poor judgment in the exercise of their duties, but is it true?  http://otconnections.aota.org/Public_Forums/f/79/p/9285/122489.aspx#122489Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:07:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122489alejandroduran/Public_Forums/f/79/p/9285/122489.aspx#122489 The Relevance of Forced Membership To Dr. Braveman,           You state that the AOTA Student Circle membership program “ is not a topic of discussion I wish to address. ” I looked up the program and found that this is not a program directed at students, but to the “Program Director” at universities. Can you let us know why you do not wish to discuss it? If not, I think it is a warranted inference that you do not want to discuss it because promoting forced membership reflects poorly on AOTA. The numbers you gave – roughly 30% of AOTA are student members with roughly 50 thousand total members – means that student membership accounts for about a million dollars a year in revenue. It would be interesting to know how much of that money comes from forced memberships.           The information on forced membership is relevant as it applies to the Code of Ethics and how the leadership’s practices may conflict with the values therein . Here I remind the forum of the words of Ms. Deborah Slater and her co-author that:             “ The hallmark of a profession is the development of ethics standards that make a statement to the public about the values the profession considers important ” ( The Occupational Therapy Manager 5 th Ed, p. 474).              Forced membership is relevant to seeing just what actual ethics standards are in place by the leadership and thus what statement it is making to the public about the values the profession considers important. It is a piece of information relevant to members in deciding whether the leadership is leading as it ought to. I think that a program of forced membership makes a shambles of the Code of Ethics . Let me give some examples:               Around the time of the original discussion here in 2011, I started my website uscindoctrination.com. One of the first things posted there was a letter I wrote to my department chair and AOTA president Dr. Clark, where I pointed out that her position as AOTA president and her forcing us to join AOTA represented a conflict of interest that harmed students (see uscotindoctrination.com under tab titled “Letters” for letter “Why I Started My Website.” Since I wrote that letter, I’ve learned about Principle 7 Subsections E and F of the Code of Ethics , which prohibit doing things that create a real or even a perceived conflict of interest.                Principle 7 Subsection H also prohibits exploiting human resources for personal gain. For professors/administrators to make students members of an organization where the students will then be in a position to vote for or support institutional initiatives of the administrator/professor who has a leadership position in AOTA is a form of exploiting students for personal gain.                On top of that, Principle 7 Subsection B requires members to preserve, safeguard and respect private information of students. My AOTA membership number is private information, but I am forced to turn it over to the university and I do not know how they use that information. That is hardly respectful of my private information. I would also like to know if AOTA is giving USC my information to verify membership.                  Principles 6 Subsections B and F require members to refrain from using misleading or deceptive claims. Not distinguishing between forced and voluntary membership is misleading and deceptive. A forced Gold Member is not a member in the sense that other members who voluntarily joined are members. It is deceitful to sell it as if they are the same. It is also incredibly degrading at USC to be thanked for “ participating ” in the “ circle” because we “ recognized the power ” of AOTA. What we did was recognize the power of a department that would not let us graduate because we did not meet a requirement.                  You say that you “ do not have access to data related to the AOTA Student Circle membership program. ” I understand that this information may not be in your computer right now, but, are you saying that you CANNOT email someone in AOTA and ask for that information as you asked for the statistics on the conference information? http://otconnections.aota.org/Public_Forums/f/79/p/9285/122488.aspx#122488Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:01:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122488alejandroduran/Public_Forums/f/79/p/9285/122488.aspx#122488 Hi Dr. Braveman,              Thank you for responding. I think part of the problem lies in your Saturday June 15 post at 11:36 A.M., where in the first paragraph, you wrote:             “ Attendance at annual conference is a pretty good cross representation of our profession ” (emphasis added).              Note that you are referring here to the “ profession, ” which I understand refers to all involved in occupational therapy as students, professors, and practitioners  in the country , and not just the AOTA membership. The next sentence from that post is the one I quoted:               “ Attendees are not disproportionately students. ”               Next is the issue of what I wrote. I should have added the phrase “ in the country ” as I do here when I wrote, after quoting you, that “ Perhaps if we totaled up the number of people [in the country] who are either professors, practitioners, managers and students and found that out of this group 25% are students [then we can say student attendees are not disproportionate to the attendance at the conference.] ” Whether or not it was fair to expect you to keep in mind the exact context of your recent sentence in light of all the long posts, it was, nonetheless, poor writing on my part to exclude the phrase “ in the country. ” The reason it was poor writing is that we do write for all members in the forum when we post, so context should have been specified. I am sorry I did not use the phrase “ in the country ” to specify context.              My reference was to the total number in the “ profession, ” not just AOTA members. And I should also ask you to clarify when you referred to our “ profession ” in the sentence I quoted above whether you meant the entire profession, or if you just meant AOTA’s membership.           I will address some other parts of your email separately. Alex http://otconnections.aota.org/Public_Forums/f/101/t/16639.aspxTue, 18 Jun 2013 00:38:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:16639mscota/Public_Forums/f/101/t/16639.aspx0 So I'm 20 years old and I just accepted to the OTA program at my school Adventist University of Health Sciences. I am so excited to start the program and to be part of such an amazing field that I am in love with. I started college right after high school  and at first I didn't know what my true passion was. After praying about it a lot and thinking about it a lot, I realized that the OT field was the best fit for me. I mean I love everything about it, I love that I will be able to make a difference in people's lives by restoring their functional ability, help their regain independence and I also love the fact that unlike other branches of the medical field like nursing, OT doesn't have to deal with blood, giving shots and life and death situations.   But anyways, I have a few questions as far as advancements in the field. I am from Orlando, my family is from there as well so I definitely want to attend a school close to home and the school that I go to has both the OTA and the MOT program. I applied to the OTA program because it will allow me to join the field in the quickest amount of time without the long process of waiting to get my bachelors for two more years, then take the GRE and God forbid I don't get accepted to the MOT program, it would have been a waste of time. Not to mention MOT programs are very expensive, I already have loans but I should pay those with no problems when I become an OTA so in my opinion, I think it was pretty smart of me to do OTA instead of MOT because it's certainly a good backup plan. I also heard that OTAs work more with the patients while MOTs do more paperwork and evaluations. When I'm done with the OTA program, I plan to work full time and maybe complete my bachelors degree in management and supervision online. Later on, it is possible that I will go for my MOT but I just want to go into the field and decide what to do based on my own experience of OTA vs OTR but I think either one of these two professions is a very amazing and rewarding career Getting to the point, my question is for current OTA or OT practitioners, are there any opportunities for career advancement for OTAs without the need of more education. Can an OTA obtain a supervisory position without having a bachelors degree or are supervisory positions mainly for OTRs. http://otconnections.aota.org/Public_Forums/f/7894/p/16622/122485.aspx#122485Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:55:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122485amyers5/Public_Forums/f/7894/p/16622/122485.aspx#122485 Excellent questions Andrew. Please note for further discussion I've attached a Microsoft Word Handout from my presentation to give insight as to the content of the talk. You will notice it is very much specific to my facility and the population we work with. The bullets are filled with case examples and specific treatments/assessments used on the unit as well as a walk through of the evaluations I complete with individual patients. The basic outline is theory, evaluations (looking at the patient through an “occupational lens”), treatments, specific assessments and lastly tying this all into discharge planning and team dynamics. Barriers experienced were only during the initial phases of implementing this in-service due to staff resistance to having “another mandatory” event to attend. The key to following through with this was gaining support from my supervisor and making it a part of the already occurring monthly meetings for staff. I also held a specialty in-service for the social workers to go more in-depth on discharge planning and how we can assist one another. This has resulted in nursing, social work, physician assistants’, and the medical students (standard monthly in-service) cueing me into patient’s occupational needs or areas of concern before I have a chance to review the chart, allowing those conversations of occupational performance, safety, and competency to occur early and often. Steps I’ve taken to develop and apply the principles learned from conducting these in-services are included within my proposal to present at the 2014 AOTA Annual Conference and the 2013 Maryland Occupational Therapy Association (MOTA) Conference. I am focusing on the development, format, and benefits of “Inter-organizational forums” amongst occupational therapists to (a) advance the application of evidence-based principles to practice, (b) increase opportunities for collaboration amongst researchers, educators, and clinicians, and of course (c) empower occupational therapists to advocate and educate others on their roles within their respective institution. I have also initiated the “Tri-State Occupational Therapy Forum” where occupational therapists (researchers, educators, clinicians, and AOTA reps) specializing in mental health from Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia have a chance to gather and simply learn from and support one another as we each seek to promote occupational therapy in our respective institutions and states. http://otconnections.aota.org/Public_Forums/f/7894/p/16622/122483.aspx#122483Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:43:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122483amyers5/Public_Forums/f/7894/p/16622/122483.aspx#122483 (Please visit the site to view this file) http://otconnections.aota.org/community_blogs/ot_blogs/b/meridian_career_assistance/archive/2012/11/20/new-graduates-heed-my-advice.aspxMon, 17 Jun 2013 21:02:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:27345priccihttp://otconnections.aota.org/community_blogs/ot_blogs/b/meridian_career_assistance/archive/2012/11/20/new-graduates-heed-my-advice.aspx Does a recent COTA graduate in Pennsylvania with no experience need a years experience to work in homecare ? http://otconnections.aota.org/more_groups/advocacy_and_leadership/research_news_and_resources/f/7203/p/16599/122482.aspx#122482Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:51:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122482Dudgeon/more_groups/advocacy_and_leadership/research_news_and_resources/f/7203/p/16599/122482.aspx#122482 Mary Warren PhD, OTR/L, SCLV, FAOTA Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy Director, Graduate Certificate in Low Vision Rehabilitation Co-Director, UAB Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation University of Alabama at Birmingham Technical Reviewer: Maryland Industrial Partnerships Program for an intelligent online eye evaluation system, May, 2007. Reviewer: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Technology Assessment on Vision Rehabilitation Services. 2004 http://otconnections.aota.org/more_groups/advocacy_and_leadership/research_news_and_resources/f/7203/p/16599/122481.aspx#122481Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:42:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122481Dudgeon/more_groups/advocacy_and_leadership/research_news_and_resources/f/7203/p/16599/122481.aspx#122481 Hon Yuen, PhD Professor and Director of Research Deopartment of Occuational Therapy University of Alabama at Birmingham Grant reviewer (invited) for the following study sections (last 10 years) o Lupus Foundation of American – (May 13, 2013) o Alzheimer’s Association grant -- (May 6, 2013) o Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Sciences, NIA –(June 29, 2012) o NIDCR Interdisciplinary Research on Oral Manifestations of HIV/AIDS in Vulnerable population (P01) grant – (June 20, 2012) o Loan repayment, NIDCR—(March 15, 2012) o Special Emphasis Panel/Scientific Review Group (NIDCR) on the Effectiveness of Treatment for Oral Diseases in Medically Compromised Patients--(March 12, 2012) o Special Emphasis Panel/Scientific Review Group (NIDCR)—(June 09, 2011). o NIDCR Behavioral or Social Intervention Planning and Pilot Data Grant (R34)--(May 18, 2011) o Loan repayment, NIDCR—(April 5, 2011) o NIDCR Special Grants Review Committee: F, K, & R03 Applications--(Oct 21-22, 2010) o NIDCR Scientific Review of P01 Applications: Interdisciplinary Research on Oral Manifestations of HIV/AIDS in Vulnerable Populations--(Oct 20, 2010) o NIDCR Special Grant Review--(June 10-11, 2010) o NIDCR loan repayment applications--(May, 2010) o Health Services Organization and Delivery Study Section, DHHS/NIH--(Feb 4-5, 2010) o American Cancer Society- Hollings Cancer Center, MUSC--(Dec 9, 2009) o NIDCR Special Grant Review--(Oct 15, 2009) o NIDCR Research Infrastructure “Grand Opportunities” (RC2)--(July 15, 2009) o NIH, National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities--(July 10, 2009) o NIH RC STTR Challenge Grants (RC2)--(June 6, 2009) o Charleston VA REAP internal peer review for Merit Review Award--(May 27, 2009) o NIDCR R03 review--(Feb 23, 2009) o NIDCR Special Review Committee (K23)--(Feb 19, 2009) o NIDCR small grant applications (R21), special emphasis panel--(June 18, 2008) o Community Influences on Health Behavior, NIH--(June 12, 2008) o NIDCR Centers for Research to Reduce Disparities in Oral Health--(March 5, 2008) o NIDCR small grant applications, special emphasis panel--(Feb 5, 2008) o Community Influences on Health Behavior, NIH--(October 18-19, 2007) o Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Sciences, NIA--(March 8-9, 2007) o Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Sciences, NIA--(March 8-10, 2006) o Oral Health Disparities and Special Needs Populations, NIDCR--(October 19, 2006) http://otconnections.aota.org/more_groups/advocacy_and_leadership/research_news_and_resources/f/7203/p/16599/122480.aspx#122480Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:25:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122480Dudgeon/more_groups/advocacy_and_leadership/research_news_and_resources/f/7203/p/16599/122480.aspx#122480 Laura K. Vogtle, PhD, OTR/L,  FAOTA Professor and Director, Postprofessional Master’s Program #338 SHPB, 1705 University Boulevard University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL  35294-1212 lvogtle@uab.edu Grant Reviewer, NIDRR Small Business Innovation Research Grants, April 2-4, 2013 Ad Hoc Reviewer, MFSR National Institutes of Health Review Panel, Santa Monica,             CA, February, 2013 Proposal Reviewer, Indo-US Science & Technology Forum, October 2012             Grant Reviewer, NIDRR Field-initiated Grants, May 30-June 2, 2012             Grant Reviewer, Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation, 2012, 2013             Guest Reviewer, Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 11/11 Ad Hoc Reviewer, MFSR National Institutes of Health Review Panel, Washington DC,             October 28, 2011 Ad Hoc Reviewer, MFSR National Institutes of Health Review Panel, San Francisco,             CA, Feb 7, 2011 Ad Hoc Reviewer, MFSR National Institutes of Health Review Panel, Washington DC, June 14, 2010 Ad Hoc Reviewer, MFSR National Institutes of Health Review Panel, Washington DC,             October 5, 2009             Grant Reviewer, Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation, 2009 Ad Hoc Reviewer, MFSR National Institutes of Health Review Panel, Pasedena, CA             February 1, 2008 Ad Hoc Reviewer, MFSR National Institutes of Health Review Panel, Washington DC,             June 9, 2003. (205) 934-7326  Phone (205) 975-7787  FAX http://otconnections.aota.org/more_groups/advocacy_and_leadership/research_news_and_resources/f/7203/p/16599/122478.aspx#122478Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:22:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122478slavens/more_groups/advocacy_and_leadership/research_news_and_resources/f/7203/p/16599/122478.aspx#122478 I am a reviewer for NIDRR FIR&D. http://otconnections.aota.org/Public_Forums/f/1605/p/16637/122474.aspx#122474Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:32:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122474karenjacobs/Public_Forums/f/1605/p/16637/122474.aspx#122474 Dear Robert,   Greetings. I sent you an e-mail that I would be happy to speak with you. Please check your e-mail for the information on times we can speak. You project sounds wonderful.   Cheers, Karen Karen Jacobs, Ed.D., OTR/L, CPE, FAOTA  Clinical Professor  Program Director, Distance Education Post-professional Occupational Therapy Programs Boston University  College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College  Department of Occupational Therapy  635 Commonwealth Avenue-Room 511A  Boston, MA 02215  617 353-7516  617 353-2926 (fax) 617 838-1872 (mobile)  kjacobs@bu.edu   http://blogs.bu.edu/kjacobs/ OT4OT website: http://ot4ot.weebly.com/index.html   “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead   From: Robert Henson [mailto:bounce-rlhenson@aota.org] Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 10:20 AM To: backpackday@aota.org Subject: [backpackday] Backpack Awareness Event   My name is Robert Henson and I am an OTA student at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Two of my classmates and I are hosting a Backpack Awareness Event as part of a group project assigned during our Community Practice class this semester. As part of this project we need to interview an "expert" in the importance in backpack awareness. We are looking for suggestions to help us identify the type of professional would be best suited to target for this interview on the importance and potential impact of improper backpack etiquette. Thanks, Robert L. Henson http://otconnections.aota.org/Public_Forums/f/1605/t/16637.aspxMon, 17 Jun 2013 14:19:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:16637rlhenson/Public_Forums/f/1605/t/16637.aspx1 My name is Robert Henson and I am an OTA student at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Two of my classmates and I are hosting a Backpack Awareness Event as part of a group project assigned during our Community Practice class this semester. As part of this project we need to interview an "expert" in the importance in backpack awareness. We are looking for suggestions to help us identify the type of professional would be best suited to target for this interview on the importance and potential impact of improper backpack etiquette. Thanks, Robert L. Henson http://otconnections.aota.org/AOTA_Blogs/b/pulsecheck/archive/2013/06/17/enjoying-summer-with-sensory-issues.aspxMon, 17 Jun 2013 13:38:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122243syamkovenko/AOTA_Blogs/b/pulsecheck/archive/2013/06/17/enjoying-summer-with-sensory-issues.aspx0 School is out. The summer heat is in. How do you keep kids cool and having fun, especially when children have sensory issues? I’ve gathered up some great summer fun articles and resources to answer that question. Get ready for Friday’s official start of summer with the following: For many children, swimming is a great way to cool off during the summer months but children with sensory issues may have problems getting in and enjoying the pool . The Kansas City Star reported on a Kansas University occupational therapy program that helps teach children with autism how to swim. Accompanied with some great photos of OT in action, this article about the swimming program highlights the way occupational therapy can help all children participate in activities.  Last summer, a feature article in OT Practice outlined how occupational therapy practitioners can help children with sensory processing disorder choose a sport such as swimming. The article provides several case examples as well as a resource table that separates sports by characteristics such as static, vestibular, and tactile. AOTA members can log in and read it here . Finally if you’re looking for ideas for sensory play during summer, this list on the OT blog Your Kid’s Table is a great starting point. The blogger goes beyond the usual sensory summer play ideas (like sandboxes and swimming pools) and gives some easy ideas on encouraging outdoor sensory play . Read it here .  Have you come across any great summer play ideas? Have tips for helping children with sensory issues enjoy the summer heat? Tell us in the comments. To comment, please log in to OT Connections (it's free to join!). http://otconnections.aota.org/Public_Forums/f/79/p/9285/122473.aspx#122473Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:57:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122473claudot/Public_Forums/f/79/p/9285/122473.aspx#122473 Brent,  I appreciate your making time in your busy schedule to participate in this forum. I also appreciate your providing some statistics about the attendees at conference.  Your numbers indicate that 38% of the attendees self reported themselves as educators or students. Getting a handle on the academic participation in AOTA is not just a reflection of the numbers, and from this we may not really have a clear picture of the snapshot that is the annual conference. If an educator has a history working in pediatrics and teaches only pediatric classes, they may self identify themselves in the "pediatrics" group, even though currently they function as an educator.  The other information that you have provided about the clinical focus of association activities is accurate...AOTA recognizes that it's membership is primarily clinicians who want and need clinically focused products, both in terms of books/CE/website and advocacy/political lobbying. AOTA's products/services primarily target a clinical population which is appropriate.  And i believe that you agree that it is by and large easier for academic OTs to participate at the local, state and national volunteer leadership levels due to the support they receive from their employers as compared to the lack of support provided to clinical OTs by their employers.  Anecdotally, I have personally seen a gradual but significant shift in the membership in the state presidents group (CSAP and later ASAP) as well as in the RA ... More educators, fewer clinicians.  The question is, has that shift had any impact on the vision of the Association, and therefore, on the policies and statements being made by the leadership on behalf of the entire membership?  And is it possible that Principle 4 Social Justice, which was added to the AOTA Code of Ethics by an Ethics Commission and approved by an RA that is dominated by an academic orientation, would not have been included by similar groups if they had a stronger clinical orientation? And, lastly, is this shift in orientation of the leadership of the volunteer leadership of AOTA from clinical to academic a problem  to be fixed or a natural progression of a professional association? Claudette On Jun 16, 2013, at 10:43 AM, "Brent Howard Braveman, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA" bounce-brentbraveman@aota.org wrote: Chris, I am home for the first time since Wednesday morning. Most of the rest of today is going to be spent burning off the travel meals since I left and socializing with my partner and friends. I will reply to your posts early in the week. Brent http://otconnections.aota.org/Public_Forums/f/79/p/9285/122472.aspx#122472Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:50:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122472cjalterio/Public_Forums/f/79/p/9285/122472.aspx#122472 A colleague raises an interesting ethical case that could have been a test for Principle 4, but I think was really actually managed with Principles 1 and 5.  Take a look at the thread at otconnections.aota.org/.../122471.aspx Christopher J. Alterio, Dr.OT, OTR http://otconnections.aota.org/Public_Forums/f/79/p/16611/122471.aspx#122471Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:46:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122471cjalterio/Public_Forums/f/79/p/16611/122471.aspx#122471 Hi Mary,  I think that since the reimbursement is Medicare that there must be some set of guidelines that influenced all your statements and actions.  That makes a lot of sense to me. To explain my thinking, if the patient was paying privately, and if the family was fully informed about poor prognosis anyway, technically they could have asked you to continue providing therapy and there might not have been 'restrictions' on your thinking - or perhaps as many restrictions. From an ethics standpoint, as long as they were informed of the likely outcome anyway, there are fewer potential barriers for continuing therapy if the family is willing to pay.  Of course with Medicare you have guidelines about eligibility and limits of intervention and many other factors (Principle 5). In a private pay/fully informed context the only barrier I can think of is whether or not seeing a private pay case that has likelihood of poor outcome would 'take you away' from seeing someone else who might be more likely to 'benefit' from your service.  THAT would be a more sticky ethical situation! Interestingly, this specific case could be a test for Principle 4.  Some might argue that ethical distribution of resources and access to care should prevent you from seeing the wealthy person who wants to private pay for services, because it would not be most appropriate to see people who need you most instead of those who can private pay.  Of course the difficulty in applying Principle 4 is that someone has to be in the business of determining who needs what - and that can get sticky. Another way to approach it would be through Principle 1, which would be 'promoting the good,' and would leave the situation in the hands of the therapist to make such a judgement with full knowledge of all the factors involved.  I personally would have more comfort with leaving it to the individual judgement of the therapist who knows all the factors rather than having some external ruleset that dictates who deserves and does not deserve therapy. Anyway, it is an interesting academic exercise related to Principles 1 and 4 and 5. I hope that this case resolved itself successfully for you in the end, and I appreciate your indulging the questions.  These kinds of situations are always very challenging - and in many ways I think that you followed Principle 1 (as well as Principle 5) the whole way through - showing appropriate concerns for the family, the patient, and of course respecting all the rules that you are required to follow under Medicare. Thanks again Christopher J. Alterio, Dr.OT, OTR http://otconnections.aota.org/Public_Forums/f/79/p/16611/122470.aspx#122470Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:09:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122470maryp223/Public_Forums/f/79/p/16611/122470.aspx#122470 Thank you. To answer the questions: Medicare and yes there was a d/c family meeting (MD not present). http://otconnections.aota.org/community_blogs/b/brentbraveman/archive/2013/06/16/md-anderson-department-of-rehabilitation-strategic-planning-process-update-slow-and-steady-wins-the-race.aspxSun, 16 Jun 2013 19:07:00 GMT9079418d-4ee6-4590-87f3-c0cc4c3814cd:122242brentbraveman/community_blogs/b/brentbraveman/archive/2013/06/16/md-anderson-department-of-rehabilitation-strategic-planning-process-update-slow-and-steady-wins-the-race.aspx0 It has been quite a while since I have posted in my blog about the strategic planning process at the Department of Rehabilitation at MD Anderson Cancer Center. One complaint about strategic planning as a process is often that it becomes about producing a document and not a process that has a real impact.  Plans are sometimes stuck away and not actually used. I would hate to leave the impression that is the case in my Department. True, the initial phases of cultural assessment, SOAR and SWOT analysis, developing an updated mission statement and creating the Department’s first vision statement were a bit more exciting to write about, but for the last year we have been where the rubber hits the road and doing our best to carry out the strategic objectives and goals we set. We are moving along pretty well and are ahead of schedule on some of our goals and behind on others. For example, our compliance program is going gangbusters under the thoughtful guidance of our Regulatory Specialist. We are also making good progress at establishing Rehabilitation Services at our Regional Care Centers with PT services at 3 and our first OT split between 2 of the 3. We anticipate adding another OT in the near future. We have struggled a bit on our goal of creating patient centered standards of care. It has been harder than we expected to find comprehensive templates for standards of care. We are using a couple of strategies to hold our feet to fire and keep ourselves accountable for making continued progress. One strategy is to identify “Spark Plugs” for each goal. A Spark Plug is a member of the Leadership Team who is responsible for monitoring progress on a specific goal. They are not responsible for doing the work to accomplish the goal, but might ask to have it on an agenda because we have not discussed it recently or may be getting behind. We just recently started using a “stop-light” approach to monitoring our strategic goal accomplishment. This approach involved going through the action steps for each goal and highlighting them as green if accomplished, yellow if underway but not finished, and red if not started. This process got us all on the same page as to where we stood and is a useful and easy visual for conducting a great review and highlighting where we need to focus next.  This first plan takes us through the end of Fiscal Year 14 which runs from this coming September 1 to next August 31 st . Over the course of the next year as we push to accomplish all of the strategic objectives and goals for our first strategic plan we will begin the process of identifying our next set of quality and operational gaps, revisit or SOAR and SWOT analyses and rescan the environment. Onwards and upwards as they say! We are making steady and good progress. Stay tuned!