The number of OT entry-level doctoral (OTD) programs has been expanding rapidly. In 2017 there were 7 programs. As of 2023, there are 95, with an additional 76 in development. The article we'll cover in this course presents early stage research on the doctoral capstone experience and employment opportunities . It backs up what I have now personally observed through mentoring a student: that doctoral students are uniquely prepared for more diverse job opportunities, and sometimes jobs are even cr...
Apr 04, 2024•1 hr 4 min
I’ve been surprised as my own kids enter elementary school to anecdotally find that constipation is a common reason to miss activities. But, this aligns perfectly with the research we look at today, and the growing concern that constipation has become a public health concern. As many as 32% of kids (0-18) experience constipation. And, a growing number of occupational therapy professionals are seeing these kids on their caseload. Today we’ll look at an article that examines what an interdisciplin...
Mar 21, 2024•1 hr 5 min
It takes an average of 17 years for evidence to make its way into practice. The fields of knowledge translation and implementation science are seeking to change this. And, today we are looking at a scoping review of knowledge translation research in rehab. To be frank, I think the article is pretty convoluted. (Which is funny since it comes from researchers interested in knowledge translation.🤔) But, it certainly gives us a good jumping off point to talk about the challenges around knowledge tr...
Mar 07, 2024•1 hr 5 min
The art and science of digital prosthetics is rapidly advancing. Yet, many people with amputated fingers do not wear a prosthetic. Part of the problem may be our own fault as health providers. We may be stuck in old stereotypes of poor outcomes and limited options related to digital prosthetics. In this one-hour podcast-base course, we’ll look at a research article that explores the experiences of people who wear digital prosthetics. Our goal is to develop your skills in listening closely to you...
Feb 22, 2024•1 hr 11 min
In previous courses, we’ve discussed that one of the primary ways we can improve our care, as OT professionals, is to increase the diversity of our workforce—with the ultimate goal of having our workforce’s diversity mirror the diversity of the populations we are seeing. This goal will ensure we have the multiple perspectives needed to respond to the needs of our clients. But, until now, we’ve mostly talked about this theoretically. So, what do the actual numbers have to say about the current di...
Feb 08, 2024•57 min
Through OT Potential, we’ve released over 70 episodes all exploring new influential OT research. As we enter 2024, it’s time to reflect on the research and ask: What trends are we seeing in OT? How is new research enriching how we think about our practice? In this 1 hour-episode, we’ll talk about new trends, with a particular focus on what commonalities we see leaders in our field doing in their occupational therapy process. We’ll culminate our discussion by exploring how people describe OT. Thi...
Jan 25, 2024•1 hr 10 min
Since this keynote address from the World Federation of Occupational Therapy Congress was published in 2019, it has been cited so many times that it made our list of the 100 most-cited OT journal articles . It’s easy to see why this has become such a popular read. The article stitches occupational therapy together with global trends, in particular growing inequality. The author challenges us to see this problem clearly. And, calls us upon us to build globally relevant occupational therapy from t...
Jan 11, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Dyslexia is the most common form of neurodivergence. It affects around 20% of the population , meaning that people with dyslexia are on almost every occupational therapy professional’s caseload. And yet, not enough OT-specific research and resources have been devoted to how we can help this population. Today, we look at a leading theory of dyslexia that basically reads like a call to action for OT’s to re-examine how needed our skills are. As you’ll see it pushes us to take a strengths-based app...
Dec 15, 2023•1 hr 2 min
For OT professionals working with adults with intellectual disabilities it can feel like there is a lack of resources around best practices for working with this population. Today’s article flips that long-held narrative on its head. The authors set out to find evidence to inform OT for adults with intellectual disability—and to their own surprise they found so much it has become 3 papers. We’ll review the evidence they found to support intervention. Then we’ll welcome to the podcast two of the ...
Nov 30, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Maternal deaths are on the rise, here in the United States. And, we have a postpartum mental health crisis . In OT 90% of us are women, and many of us have personally experienced the inadequate support given to birthing individuals. But, not enough of us have stepped back to ask: why aren’t we (with our training in mental health & daily participation) helping women in the hospital after birth? Luckily, there is a growing number of OTs asking this question and doing something about it. And, m...
Nov 16, 2023•1 hr 19 min
I once heard a neuroscientist say: Many of our frameworks end up being wrong—because the body is more complicated than we ever imagined. Pain science perfectly illustrates this. We are living in an era where new frameworks are being written—because classical understandings of pain have not only been inadequate, they have led to ineffective and even harmful treatment. Today, we look at a new framework for understanding pain. And, there’s good news for OT in it. The authors argue that such a compl...
Nov 02, 2023•1 hr 3 min
The main finding of this important research from JAMA is extremely promising for early intervention OT professionals. In the study, greater early intervention service intensity was associated with better functional gains. But, there’s a problem. Federal spending per child on early intervention services has declined over the past decade. And, in this climate of tightening budgets: Most children in the study had delayed care. And, low service intensity. After we review this article, we are so than...
Oct 19, 2023•1 hr 3 min
The number of OT’s providing perinatal care is on the rise. Which is exciting…and necessary. There remain so many gaps in the care of new and expecting moms, among which is treating incontinence. As we’ll see in our featured journal article, a staggering percentage of women experience incontinence postnatally, despite the known effectiveness of pelvic floor muscle training as a treatment. The article specifically explores the cost effectiveness of different models of pelvic floor therapy. The ma...
Oct 05, 2023•1 hr
The OT treatment approaches that are gaining support from evidence, seem to have one common thread between them: The clients set their own goals. Today, we look at a pioneer of this client-centered process, The CO-OP Approach™. We’ll dive into a new research article where, yet again, we see CO-OP outperforming conventional therapy—this time for children with cerebral palsy and spina bifida. After we review the article, we’re honored to welcome to the podcast the founder of this approach, Helene ...
Sep 20, 2023•59 min
The number of children diagnosed with ADHD has been steadily increasing . Now it is estimated that 1/10 children will be diagnosed with ADHD at some point. Even though about half of these children receive some type of behavioral treatment, there has been a lack of studies around OT-specific support for ADHDer children. In this one hour OT CEU course, we will look at a study of an OT program for ADHD that features: Children setting their own goals A focus on daily time management Time-assisted de...
Sep 05, 2023•59 min
Self-determination interventions are linked to positive academic and functional attainment results—and, most compellingly, can improve post-secondary outcomes. But what does it look like for OT professionals to foster self-determination in the school setting? In this one hour course, we’ll breakdown a scoping review that examines the Independence Curriculum, which is designed to enhance middle-school-aged autistic students’ self-determination. The results are improvement in: Self-determination G...
Aug 21, 2023•1 hr
If you are an occupational therapy professional working with autistic people, you’ve likely heard of strengths-based practice (SBP). But, does this approach work? And, what are the benefits of it? In this one hour OT CEU course we will discuss a scoping review that explores these questions. As we’ll see, strengths-based interventions were related to: Positive social engagement Learning Self-advocacy Anxiety reduction After reviewing the article, we’re delighted to welcome to the podcast the arti...
Aug 07, 2023•1 hr 6 min
Where does OT fit in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) care? In this one hour course we’ll dive into a comprehensive guideline for psoriatic arthritis treatment, which recommends patients utilize a mix of non-pharmacological tools, like occupational therapy. This article will help you brush up on psoriatic arthritis, see OT within a holistic approach to care, and appreciate the importance of individualized care (which we are so skilled in providing). After we review the article, we’ll be joined by Duana...
Jul 24, 2023•1 hr 4 min
What does planetary health have to do with occupational therapy? The author’s of this week’s article argue that engagement with environmental sustainability is foundational for our profession. The authors aim to help OT students and professionals translate environmental awareness to practical action. They theorize 3 skills to do so: Clinical reasoning Bi-directional questioning Interprofessional education. To help us unpack this, we are excited to welcome to the podcast Moses Ikiugu, PhD, OTR/L,...
Jul 10, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Is AI going to replace occupational therapy? There’s no doubt that this technology will transform healthcare. It will surely accelerate the existing move toward healthcare taking place at home. To help us wrap our minds around this transformation, we review an article that explores three technologies: Artificial intelligence Blockchain Wearables The article explores how the above technologies are being used in chronic disease management. The authors also introduce a patient-centered management f...
Jun 19, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Spasticity can be present in many of the conditions we treat as occupational therapy professionals. And, it can add significant cost and burden for our patients. The article we are discussing in this 1-hour course gives you a big picture overview of the science behind what we know (and don’t know!) about spasticity. You’ll find certain approaches (that I’ve personally used!) that have NOT been supported by the research—but also which modalities have a growing body of evidence behind them. After ...
Jun 05, 2023•1 hr 5 min
The research we are discussing on this 1-hour episode really drives home the complex connection between depression and 3 neurodegenerative diseases: Alzehimer’s Disease Parkinson’s Disease Huntington Disease Even though depression has a high comorbidity with all of these diseases, you’ll learn why it should not be an assumed part of the disease process. Instead, depression should be recognized as distinct and treated. But, here’ where it gets super complex: In some cases the medications traditio...
May 12, 2023•1 hr 6 min
Plagiocephaly has historically been thought of as a benign, cosmetic issue. But, the seminal study we are looking at during this 1-hour course indicates that severe to moderate skull deformity may be best understood as a biomarker for developmental vulnerability. As we’ll see, moderate to severe skull deformity was linked with lower cognitive and academic outcomes, when the children reached school age. It is critical to understand that this does not mean that plagiocephaly causes developmental d...
May 01, 2023•1 hr 1 min
About half of cancer survivors report difficulty with ADLs and a third difficulty with iADLs. But, unfortunately, only around 1 in 10 older adults with cancer who have a known functional limitation receive a referral to OT or PT. Even less make it to an eval. And, even less than that, complete their full course of rehab. Why are we failing to support such a large percentage of this population? And, what is the best way to support them when they do make it to us for occupational therapy? Honestly...
Apr 10, 2023•1 hr 5 min
The research we’ve explored on the podcast, seems to be pointing to a new reality: The future of healthcare will be in the home. But, how will we get there? How will our homes ever be ready to age in place? The transition is going to be a complex story of the right technologies, the right funding, and the right narratives. All of which will ultimately lead to the end goal of tech adoption. The article we will explore in this 1-hour course focuses on smart home technology adoption. It showcases j...
Mar 26, 2023•1 hr 3 min
As occupational therapy providers, we have a duty to truly understand the word “occupation.” This means acknowledging the role occupation has played in shaping societal policies and norms, many of which are fundamentally unjust. We also need to admit that our professional knowledge base, itself, is skewed. The foundations of OT have evolved from an exclusionary context that privileged White skin, as well as other false social hierarchies. So much of what we learn, teach, and practice as OTs come...
Mar 13, 2023•1 hr 13 min
The article we are looking at today challenges us to look critically at occupation—and how it can be used as a tool for justice or injustice. The reality is that many of us have narrowed our view of occupation into the medicalized and individualized categories of ADLs. But, we know from research (and lived experience!) that occupation is much more complex, interconnected, and powerful. The authors outline for us how occupation has played a role in systemic racism in the US. This history and pres...
Feb 27, 2023•1 hr 3 min
It’s no secret that our healthcare systems are built to react to sickness and health events—not to keep people healthy in the first place. If we want to get serious about producing health for our patients, we have to start shifting our healthcare system to address social determinants of health . But, how is such a seismic shift even possible—and what’s your role as an occupational therapy practitioner in this new era? In this one hour course, we will look at a journal article with a proposal for...
Feb 12, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Both participation-focused OT and knowledge translation are hot topics in OT right now. And, in this one-hour course we will explore a research article that puts forth a knowledge translation roadmap to accelerate the uptake of participation-focused OT assessments and intervention. These are both big topics in their own right, and when you mesh them together it feels like more than one therapist can handle. Honestly, that’s the point: Both knowledge translation and participation-focused OT are a...
Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Children are not little adults. Their brains are actively developing. Because of this neuroplasticity, one might assume they would more quickly and fully recover from a traumatic brain injury (TBI). This is not the case. A brain injury can have a more devastating impact on a child than a similar injury in a mature adult. ( Brain Injury Association of America ) This is what makes comprehensive, ongoing rehab for pediatric TBI so important. But, unfortunately, as we will see in our primary researc...
Jan 16, 2023•1 hr
