Everybody's favorite Ms. Frizzle look alike joins the Dr. thOTs duo this week! Khalilah and Ryan welcome colleague Dr. Meghan Blaskowitz to the podcast! After a rousing return to 1990s PBS, Megan talks with the thOTs about post-secondary inclusive education and her work to be an ally for young adults with IDD at the collegiate level. The trio discuss university supports, red-tape, and the right to risk for people who have historically be stigmatize or infantilized. From research methods, to drin...
Sep 15, 2023•54 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Ok fam. This episode is a gas. Get ready for the Dr. thOTs duo to give you the skinny on generational differences and lingo. Khalilah and Ryan talk everything from bussin' to wet noodles in the classroom and in practice. From professional dynamics to work/life boundaries, the thOTs spill the tea on generational differences and similarities. From social media to sex work, the Drs. stan Gen Z and give the boomers down the road for bogarting. Highlights include: Ryan severely mispronounces a word, ...
Aug 18, 2023•49 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Come on interdisciplinary! The Dr. thOTs duo are excited to invite everybody's favorite "long time listener, first time caller" to the podcast. Dr. Suzanne Huot is an internationally known Canadian occupational scientist and geographer whose research focuses on immigration, space generation, and linguistic inclusion. However, she is also a unicorn of an occupational scientist because she is not an occupational therapist! In this episode Ryan and Khalilah discuss Dr. Huot's experience as a scient...
Aug 04, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 3Ep. 11
This is a gut 👏 buster 👏 of an episode. Your cheeks are gonna be sore from laughing so hard. Ryan and Khalilah invite everybody's favorite Karen to the podcast! The incomparable Dr. Karen McCarthy gives the Dr. thOTs duo one of the most playful episodes they've had yet. The thOTs are tickled with Karen's wit and biting humor, discussing comedy, play, and satire in practice, the classroom, and life! Discussion wanders from critiquing professionalism, to leveraging your Karen skills, to angry Ch...
Jul 20, 2023•59 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Doom scrolling got you down? SCOTUS got you suffering? Well, the Dr. thOTs duo is in the building with an episodic remedy. This episode is an ode to optimism and filling our cups when the negativity is rolling around. Filled with tangents and laughs, Khalilah and Ryan do a brief recap of how they got into OS, the benefits they've found from having that science brain, and the ways its been exciting in their work. They cover everything from wine to candy crush, drag and going to gym. The thOTs tal...
Jul 07, 2023•57 min•Season 3Ep. 9
The Dr. thOTs duo welcome the "great connector", Dr. Sue Coppola to the episode this week and partake in a beauty-filled, aesthetically pleasing, conversation with her as the three discuss humanities, art, and occupational therapy practice and education. If you ever wanted to know exactly what a painting on a wall has to do with occupational therapy - this is the episode for you. Dr. Coppola reveals the power of aesthetic analysis of occupation and understanding what is beautiful to a person as ...
Jun 23, 2023•50 min•Season 3Ep. 8
The Dr. thOTs duo welcome Sarah Lyon and Tomeico Faison to the podcast this week to talk business about business. These two practitioners have taken entrepreneurship to new heights, leveraging their OT approach in everything from real estate to evidence based practice education. Also sidenote: This episode marks the first "blending of the blues" in Dr. thOTs herstory - come on collaboration with rivals! The guests describe their experiences developing and running business using their occupationa...
Jun 09, 2023•50 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Let's just say this episode takes sass and mentorship and wraps into one big ball of joy. Ryan and Khalilah welcome Dr. Betsy Francis-Connolly to the podcast this week to talk about her leadership style and stories. Dr. Francis-Connolly shares her experiences in leadership positions and guiding teams in occupational therapy. She brings a humility and humor to the work that has the two thOTs laughing and learning at the same time. She may sound gentle, but she's got a fierce passion for good lead...
May 26, 2023•47 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Khalilah and Ryan are joined by the founders of B3 Coffee this week on Dr. thOTs. Former UNC OT and current SLP students, these three will knock your socks off. Jacklyn Boheler, Greg Boheler, and Hannah Steen come prepared to our recording with experiences, nuggets of wisdom, and reality checks for community practitioners and beyond. These three were doing Being, Belonging, and Becoming before it was cool. The three founders tell us about the origins of B3 and how its role in the community has e...
May 11, 2023•59 min•Season 3Ep. 5
This one is a long one but, y'all, the Dr. thOTs duo had a lot to unpack. After saying hi to new followers, Khalilah and Ryan kiki about AOTA Inspire 2023. They first cover the good and exciting things that happened at conference, recognizing the good work being done, networking and coalition building, and the amazing OTPs who are continuing to contribute to this profession and its progress. Then they get to the tea - which, let's be real, is really why y'all are here. They discuss the undercurr...
May 05, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Content Warning: This episode of Dr. thOTs discusses sexual harassment and assault, particularly within the OT profession. | Ryan and Khalilah are excited to welcome Dr. Rachel Proffitt to the podcast to discuss her recent article with colleagues regarding the #MeTooOT movement and revealing the realities of sexual harassment and assault within the occupational therapy profession. Dr. Proffitt discusses her impetus for leading this powerfully important study for our profession and the implicatio...
Apr 28, 2023•57 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Have the thOTs got an episode for you! Ryan and Khalilah welcome a phenomenal educator, researcher, and fashionista to the podcast, none other than a former senior White House staff member and one of Obama's Black 44, Dr. Lauren Mims! Dr. Mims walks us through her transitions from doctoral school, to politics, to the White House, and back to academia. She tells Ryan and Khalilah all about her research on the education of Black children, claiming an axiom of brilliance, and changing up the game w...
Apr 07, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Drs. Khalilah Johnson and Ryan Lavalley are starting up a new season of Dr. thOTs! Here comes season 3! Bringing you all the thoughts and thots they can fit into 14 episodes! In this first brief episode, the hosts give some updates on their own lives, work and personal. Let's just say they've got grants, babies, classes, and plants galore. Ryan got a new D.R. in front of his name and Khalilah is rolling in those grant applications. The doctors share their hopes for the season and discuss some of...
Mar 23, 2023•38 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Khalilah and Ryan put each of their 4/10 energies together to make a 10/10 finale episode of Season 2 of the Dr. thOTs podcast. Weaving and rolling through connections to past guests and the ideas they discussed throughout the season, the Drs. discuss their growing edges and what they learned from this season. Ryan throws out a sassy sponsorship suggestion - Khalilah makes the invitation. They talk juggling projects, leading teams, and providing honest feedback all while giving shoutouts to gues...
Oct 21, 2022•48 min•Season 2Ep. 14
This episode is one for the record books. The first 6 minutes alone will give you chills - in the best way possible. Khalilah and Ryan welcome the revolutionary occupational therapy educator, Dr. Jian Jones to the podcast. A newly minted PhD, Dr. Jones is bringing effective education through hip hop culture to the OT classroom. Diving deep into pedagogy and classroom professionalism, the three doctors explore the doors they've stepped through to show up authentically in the classroom and the str...
Sep 09, 2022•47 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Ryan and Khalilah plunge into the world of social media, respectability, and the tension in public scholaring. They kiki about some of the challenges of having such an amazing network of people to connect with while also trying to manage professional obligations and work. Ryan can't decide if he's an OT influencer or not. They unpack the tension in compartmentalizing their sassier sides and their professorial sides, in general and particularly at a public university. Khalilah calls out Instagram...
Aug 26, 2022•52 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Ryan and Khalilah welcome Dr. Alaa Abou-Arab from @knowbias on the podcast this week and dive into the difficult work of speaking truth into the occupational therapy profession and beyond. Alaa shares a bit about his journey to occupational therapy and the experiences that sparked his interest in antiracism and activism in OT. He shares the discomfort he feels with how much silence persists and the need for more professionals to speak out against injustice. The three talk about the fires that pu...
Aug 12, 2022•43 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Ryan and Khalilah welcome Dr. Anne Kirby onto the podcast to discuss her research with the autistic and trans communities regarding suicidality and mental health. Before jumping into the topics, Ryan and Khalilah reminisce about old times with Anne from graduate school and discuss the differences between identity-first and people-first language. Dr. Kirby shares how she got into OT, what brought her to her work with the autistic community and how she has walked with that community as she's built...
Jul 29, 2022•59 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Khalilah and Ryan jump knees first into the topic of aging, including all the aches, pains, joys, and opportunities that come with more years. They talk about their personal experiences of getting a little older and what being "old" means to them. They unpack ageism and the ways our society can perpetuate it, breaking down some myths about aging and older adults. They talk the infantilization of older people, sex in elderhood, and the right for older adults to take risk. Let's just say the meani...
Jul 15, 2022•42 min•Season 2Ep. 9
The twists and turns Ryan and Khalilah take you on in this episode will rock your kool-aid cups. The thOTs cover everything from problematic slide shows to spilling tea about the Well Elderly study - also Ryan has a stache! They dive into the politics of representation in the profession and the idolization of our founders and the biomedical model. They challenge practitioners to lean into our identities as embodied advocates, take on some risk, put our eggs in more than the biomedical basket, an...
Jun 25, 2022•47 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Ryan and Khalilah welcome Dr. Nancy Bagatell, everyone’s favorite boss… and also their actual amazing boss. Dr. Bagatell is the Director of the UNC-Chapel Hill Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy as well as many other things! The Drs. discuss giving and receiving feedback in academia and the ways we can keep our wits about us in the wild west of evaluations, manuscripts, and mentorship. We hear stories of rough feedback, prejudiced feedback as well as true and needed feedba...
Jun 10, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 7
This episode is a tad longer than the usual duo episode, but that's because it's packed full of Ryan and Khalilah answering YOUR questions about them, their work, and their thOTs. They discuss everything from inspirational moments and people to what they got wrong about academia and what their hopes are for the OTPs who come after them. They talk about centering joy and showing up authentically and the nuances that come with that work. Ryan explores how to get into #VintageOT and Khalilah discus...
May 11, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Khalilah and Ryan welcome Dr. Jaclyn Schwartz to the podcast this week to talk about medication management and occupational therapy practice. Dr. Schwartz is an assistant professor of occupational therapy and neurology at Washington University in St. Louis and also a new chicken farmer. While they start off the episode with a little tangent about chickens and antibiotics, the hosts dive right into the reasons why occupational therapy practitioners should be considering medication management in t...
Apr 15, 2022•45 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Khalilah and Ryan welcome Mecca Williams (@meccapresents) back to the podcast for another lively, gem-filled, hilarious, and insightful conversations about relationships, both personal and professional. Relationshipping is the occupation of the hour, with Mecca dropping her wisdom, naming realities, and calling us into authentic relationships. They discuss the work of self to be able to be in relationship with our clients, partners, parents, and more, showing and receiving love. They talk family...
Apr 03, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Have you ever wanted to jump from the clinic to the classroom? From practice to pedagogy? From grading activities to grading papers? - well maybe not that last one. Either way, this episode is for you! The Drs. discuss the various journeys and pathways to becoming a professor or faculty at a university for practitioners. They touch on everything from which degrees you might have or want to pursue to the story you tell on your 1-2 page (please!) resume. They discuss myths about landing the job an...
Mar 18, 2022•56 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Khalilah and Ryan welcome Dr. Douglene Jackson, FAOTA to the podcast to talk about all things imposter syndrome and the future of OT practice. They explore the places and spaces occupational practitioners are showing up and some of the challenges they face in believing they can translate their skills. Dr. Douglene reveals her tips and tricks for shifting your narrative around imposter syndrome and framing the work you do. Khalilah names and frames how that can show up in academia and the profess...
Mar 04, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Welcome back to Dr. thOTs! Drs. Ryan Lavalley and Khalilah Johnson are excited for the next sassy installment of the podcast. Khalilah and Ryan jump straight into updating listeners on the last few months - mostly incubating babies, grants, and labs - as academics do! They discuss the transitions of motherhood and going from post-doc to full faculty member, and all the joys and challenges that accompany. Shout outs rain down for all the amazing OTPs out there doing the werk and mobilizing to mak...
Feb 18, 2022•41 min
Ryan and Khalilah jump into reminiscing about the past season and the lessons and takeaways they'll carry with them from it. We discuss the new ways science communication is evolving, the importance of how we learn from each and support each other in our professional spaces, and the hopes we have had for this podcast. We remember transformational moments from our guests and talk discussions we hope to have in Season 2. Have ideas for us? Connect with us via email drthotspodcast@gmail.com or on i...
Sep 24, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Khalilah and Ryan have the privilege and honor to sit with Dr. Elelwani Ramugondo and Dr. Frank Kronenberg to, oh you know, just casually discuss theorizing and disrupting for occupational therapy's future. This pair of professors seamlessly connect the story of their couple power to their immense individual contributions in the occupational therapy and occupational science realm, while being hilarious and as salt of the Earth as you can be. We laugh, we shake shit up, we are inspired and energi...
Sep 02, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 13
In this episode three queens kiki the house down with all the tea and shade we can muster, yaaasss gawd. Khalilah and Ryan invite Mr. George Barrett, executive direction of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center and concept queen extraordinaire, back to the podcast to talk queer culture in professional spaces, appropriation, and celebrating intersectional queerness. You betta believe these regular degular queers and favorite auntie spill the tea on Rupaul, Pink-washing, and Derek the drunk straight Whi...
Aug 20, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 12
