BAOT Northern & Yorkshire Student Conference at York St John University - Projecting the future of Occupational Therapy.

As I sit in my sunny garden and reflect on this fantastic day I find I have quite a poignant image in my head of a stick of Blackpool Rock...

Image available at: http://www.theguardian.com/social-enterprise-network/2013/sep/12/social-incubator-schemes-pros-cons

There is a good reason why I went away feeling inspired and thinking of this... Throughout  the day I attended a variety of different presentations and in each of them I was reminded of why I chose to study to become an Occupational Therapist. I was reminded of the amazing and unique core skills of the OT and the huge scope of the profession in past present and future practice and how OT can adapt to the ever changing lifestyles of humanity, varying cultures and even in times of natural disaster. 

The conference began with a hugely inspiring talk covering these topics from non other than Jennifer Creek. It was amazing to see, hear and talk to the lady behind the OT theory that I have been learning over the past 10 months!

Twenty First Century Occupational Therapy By: Jennifer Creek.

I have recently opened a Twitter account and I am finding this a really useful resource to network and develop knowledge as an OT student. During the day I utilised Twitter (although still being quite new to the concept) and I was able to Tweet and share my thoughts and experiences of the day with others. In this post I will share some of my tweets which express some of my thoughts and reflections during the day.

Here Jennifer Creek discusses and summarises the role and purpose of the OT. She also discusses an OT project in the Philippines after being struck by natural disaster. Jennifer discussed the project and the importance of communicating with local people to create purposeful activities that held meaning and enjoyment for those affected. Activities shared with the group included crafts made from recycled materials to make bags which will then go on to be sold. This was of great interest to me - You can't get any more perfectly OT than that! It reflects the research I have been reading in conjunction with my research proposal and my previous work experiences that arts & crafts can create meaning, purpose and productivity in the lives of those affected by illness, disability or even those affected by extreme conditions such as; natural disasters. 

On that subject, I can't help but think back to the traditional use of arts & crafts firmly rooted within our core values and our history and one of the reasons I was attracted to study this profession.

As discussed by Creek, current OT practice has seen a shift from the use of crafts and with a more medical model focus OT can be narrowly focused on time constraints and funding to get people fit for discharge as quickly as possible. As I have discussed in some of my previous blog posts, this is an area of huge interest for me and as an OT in the future I would like to promote this core value and skill - and use crafts and vocational activities within my practice where possible. Jennifer Creek's opening plenary gave me the confidence that this is not all lost within the ticking clocks and pound signs of the NHS. We are OT's, we are experts in problem solving and adapting. We can think outside the box to consider new solutions, we expertly view a person holistically with their values and beliefs in our hearts. We are the future of the profession and we can make it awesome.

What an influence and an inspiration this lady is on the future of our profession!

I keep mentioning the core of our values and the core of our skills. This brings me back to that stick of Blackpool rock and the inspiration for this thought came from Rob Berry's presentation on engaging with dark occupations. Within the presentation we were enabled to actively think about the core skills of an OT - the most fun part was being split into groups to create an OT superhero. We were to think of the unique skills of the OT as if they we're superpowers (Of course on announcing to the group who we're uneasy about drawing this creation that I have a degree in Fine Art - I was immediately promoted to the 'drawer' of our superhero. Much to their ease... this actually made me feel quite uneasy - Oh the pressure to draw something good!

Admittedly - Not the best drawing i've ever done! But not the worst either! Our superhero focused on the unique skills of an OT including their ability to problem solve and adapt the environment, we emphasised the use of excellent communication skills and each OT with person centred practice in our hearts. We displayed an OT tool kit which represented transferable skills and activities each OT can bring to their practice. With such a wide variety of people in our profession with unique background skills - I feel this makes us unique, adaptable and diverse.

Within the presentation we had a unique view on taking our super powers and considering dark occupations. How can we as OT's support an individual engaging in a dark occupation which brings such meaning and purpose to their lives? We cannot encourage it. But we can put strategies in to support this. Our group discussed self harming and cutting. A solution used in practice to gain the sensory input people experience from performing this occupation is the use of elastic bands around people's wrists. This group experience highlighted the importance for me in meeting new people and sharing experiences/ideas. I have not had experience of mental health practice so this was a really good insight for me to learn.

It was Rob Berry that introduced the analogy of a stick of rock to us. My understanding of it is this: Each OT is different on the outside, each with our own unique experience and interests which we bring to our practice and hugely varied practice environments. However - the whole way through us is our core - and running within this is our core values and what makes us united as OT's. I'll never forget this.

I also attended a talk on OT within learning disability practice with specialism in Autism. This is the talk that I was most looking forward to as my past skills lie in this area and hope for future practice also lies within this area.

The talk emphasised the use of therapeutic techniques and communication skills required to work with individuals with learning disabilities. This reflected a lot of what I already know, and it was so positive to see this being used in current OT practice. It was inspiring to hear about utilising the skills of the wider MDT to create more purposeful activities aimed at individuals specific needs. The role of the OT and our activity analysis skills are crucial in the development of these activities and services and it is good to know that there is plenty of scope in this area in future practice.

One of the main purposes of this talk was the importance of effective communication skills. In groups we engaged in Lego therapy and each took a role as builder, engineer & supplier. Without looking at the instructions the supplier had to listen carefully to the engineer as they described the different pieces. The builder listened carefully to instructions from the engineer (who had a copy of the visual instructions) and placed the Lego pieces where they understood. Of course, our group picked the hardest model... but we did get there in the end!! It made me really step back and think again about my communication skills - something I do every time I work. It was good to take a step back and revisit this once more. It was also good to gain an idea of using Lego therapy for interventions in my future practice - One for my OT tool kit! This talk by Karen Brown was greatly inspiring to me.

And finally I attended a talk with Alison Laver-Fawcett regarding working within an ageing population. I attended this talk for further information and awareness on this subject as I do not have much experience working in this area. I had seen a lot of older people on my recent practice placement - some individuals with dementia, and I felt I wanted to learn more as in OT future practice we will be dealing with a lot of older people. 

This was one of the thoughts I went away from this workshop thinking about... as a group we thought successful ageing included; independence, choices, dignity, respect and a good support network.

This brought us again to consider if we have time or the resources to focus more on leisure and social activities in an inevitable world of an ageing population. The majority of students within the room agreed that in practice experience, the OT focus has been on completing personal and domestic ADL's and I did find this also on my recent practice placement. 

Over-all, my day spent at the student conference was a huge inspiration to me. It made me feel proud and passionate to be a part of it and a part of such a diverse profession. It made me feel positive that I have good transferable skills to utilise in my future practice as an OT and it made me realise the current practice and changes needed in OT and how the future really is in our hands! I now feel refreshed and ready to start my last term of my first year at university. I am looking forward to developing further into the unique, superhero stick of rock that I am going to become. 

References:

Berry R. (2015) I am an OT and I work generically with clients engaged in dark occupations  (Workshop at BAOT N&Y Student Conference), at York St Johns University, 5th June.

Brown K. (2015) I am an OT and I work in Learning Disabilities Services (Workshop at 6th Annual BAOT N&Y Student Conference), York St Johns University, 5th June. 

Creek J. (2015) Twenty First Century Occupational Therapy (Workshop at 6th Annual BAOT N&Y Student Conference). York St Johns University. 5th June.

Laver-Fawcett A. I am an OT and I promote health and wellbeing in an ageing population. (Workshop at 6th Annual BAOT N&Y Student Conference). York St Johns University, 5th June.