Meaghan with a happy client in India
Meaghan helping a client with writing skills.
Like mother, like daughter. Two generations of OTs: Robyn
and her mom, Jane.
Occupational therapists are important members of the healthcare team in VCH-Richmond. SInce October is National Occupation Therapy Month, we decided it is a great opportunity to tell you more about what we do, why we chose this field, what we love most about our job, and why one of us chose to do a placement in India . . .
Ever wondered how to shower with your broken leg from skiing? Or how your grandmother with Alzheimer’s disease and depression can continue to cook at home? Or how your father will return to driving or work after his stroke? Or maybe how your little cousin diagnosed with ADHD will cope at school? Well, occupational therapists work with such these and other clients tocome up with creative ideas, based on evidence, professional reasoning and assessments, to enable people to accomplish these necessary tasks and participate in life, fully! We do this through the use of equipment, rehabilitation exercises and coping strategies! We may provide bathroom equipment, wheelchairs, memory exercises or strategies, make a splint and recommend hand exercises, or recommend a ball for kids to sit on in school.
Within the healthcare system, we work as part of interdisciplinary teams and provide recommendations regarding discharge planning to nurses during rounds – is home support needed for bathing or dressing? A physician in the community may ask us for an opinion as he or she wonders whether a client can return to driving – how is the patient’s visuospatial ability or attention…can they handle changing lanes? We also work as part of Allied Health teams – can a client hold a pen and write while participating in a language treatment plan by a speech language pathologist? Or how can a home be set up to accommodate the walker recommended by a physiotherapist? Lastly, we may work in schools and provide recommendations to teachers about how to assist children with handwriting or manage behavior due to sensory regulation or modulation difficulties.
In Richmond, our amazing Occupational Therapist Practice Leaders are Lisa Stewart and Karen Barclay, and they provide guidance tous in the following areas: Continuing Health Services, Acute Care, Mental Health, Arthritis and Hand Clinic, Palliative Care, Residential Care, School Support Team, Falls Prevention, Geriatric Assessment Program, and the Early Supported Discharge team.
Check out the following Q & A with two occupational therapists who work in Richmond to hear what they have to say about their jobs:
Meaghan Proctor, Occupational Therapist in Continuing Health Services
Why did you decide to become an occupational therapist? Who or what inspired you?
Seeing that it was a very creative job – no two solutions are the same – there is never a + b = c. You are always having to find z.
What is your favorite part of your job?
Being able to give clients in the community back a sense of independence.
What practice area do you work in?
Community adults and older adults.
What motto reflects your work or your approach to OT?
Client Centered.
What is the one thing about OT that you would like to share with the rest of the community?
It is a great profession that spans so many areas you wouldn’t think of – acute care to community to business and building with universal design. From feeding with preterm infants to delayed kids fine motor skills to return to work adults to wheelchairs for seniors.
Why did you decide to do an overseas OT placement during your OT program?
I thought it would be an exciting opportunity to travel while completing my education.
Where did you go? Why did you choose this geographical area?
I went to India – and I chose it because I have always been interested in the Indian culture. Also because Canada is so multicultural; I thought it would enable me to better understand different client worldviews in my future career.
What did you learn about OT practice around the world?
I learned that our profession can be very rewarding and fun! I also learned that limited funds or resources should not be a barrier to an individual’s function!
Robyn Emde, Occupational Therapist in the Bariatric Surgery Program
Why did you decide to become an occupational therapist? Who or what inspired you?
I decided to become an occupational therapist because I am fascinated by the human body, mind, and spirit. Who someone is, why they do what they do, their motivations, their hopes, their dreams all play into this wonderful web of life – I am passionate about this. I became on OT to help those who have a snag in any one of these areas – body, mind, and/or spirit. They are so deeply connected – when there is a hitch it effects everything else in their web, I love being able to get to know people and problem solve around any challenges to enable the freedom that comes from optimal function.
My mother, Jane Pratt, inspired me to be an OT. She was an OT in the 70’s and stopped practicing when I was small, at that time I had no idea what she did before I was born and I figured it was normal to have shower chairs and raised toilet seats in the basement, just in case. We would do unofficial home visits to neighbors and to elderly relatives after any hospital stay to make sure their homes were safe for their return home. It was so fun! It made so much sense and everyone was so grateful. I found out years later that that wasn’t the norm…. Mom has since retrained and is an OT in the community for Richmond Health Services – she rocks!
What is your favorite part of your job?
I love that this is not a job; it is a way of life. There are so many different ways to approach this job, so many different populations and applications to be made. You can continually reinvent yourself and your level of job satisfaction by learning something new and applicable.
What practice area do you work in?
Publicly, I helped develop the OT/mental health component of the bariatric surgery program in the Spring of 2011. I have since co-lead the development of our group therapy course for surgery candidates, facilitate group therapy, and conduct mental health screenings, I have also taken on a new role to help streamline patient flow and improve efficiency and patient experience through our program.
I also have a private practice, Yogability Therapy, in which I utilize my expertise in yoga therapy and occupational therapy to help clients to move better, reduce their pain, reduce stress and anxiety, & facilitate comfort in their bodies, and improve their function. I have recently started to specialize in working with children, youth, and adults with special needs as well!
What motto reflects your work or your approach to OT?
I have 2:
All your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them.
Love, Laugh, Live!
What is the one thing about OT that you would like to share with the rest of the community?
There are so many wonderful skills that OT’s can bring to a healthcare team, publicly and privately. We are great collaborators and offer a very holistic point of view, for the benefit of the client. It floors me that OT is rarely a part of coverage for extended health insurance benefits, this needs to change. We have lots to give and offer to help, but often the funding isn’t there.