Advocating for Occupational Therapy

So many of us OT practitioners have been called a nurse or a physical therapist at some point in our career. Some choose to say something to correct the client and clarify our profession and some just shrug it off. We have been working with clients since our founding in 1917, which means we have existed as a profession for over a century.

Why are we still being mistaken for other professions despite our existence for such a long time? I feel that we as professional have to continually educate our clients on what our unique service and skills can provide in every interaction that we encounter.

Yes, this indeed will take more effort on our part. It means our clients and referring sources can recognize our skill set and help match needs to what we offer.

One excellent way to educated consumers on what OTs can do is by volunteering and really interfacing with the public. Maybe you’re an expert in hands, DME, elder care, dementia, whatever you are well versed in. You have a unique skill that can improve lives of those in our community.

If you are interested in volunteering, OTAH is looking for people like you who could help with our mission to support OT practice in Hawaii. Please reach out and send a resume and what you may be interested in sharing with the community as a speaker or within our profession. Let’s connect and grow out networks and profession.

My hope is to have a resource bank of skilled professions to help others in practice and grow the knowledge of our consumers.

Please consider sharing your expertise with us here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GuU_f_zEttHQ-WSWT5NaEJHFxPFIOiiByjVIioJEi_g/edit?usp=drivesdk

Email me at jonikamiya@gmail.com