Building bridges

On February 24th, 2015, more than 150 occupational therapists and occupational therapy support workers from across Vancouver Coastal Health and Providence Health Care joined together to participate in our 18th annual ‘Building Bridges’ education and research day.

The morning focused on the topic of Leadership from Within, with presentations provided by Dr. Catherine Backman, Katie Bunting and Sarah Sinanan . This was followed by updates from the UBC OT and our provincial association and regulatory college. During the morning break, attendees had the opportunity to network with other therapists, meet with medical equipment vendors, and see posters with research completed by fellow VCH and PHC OTs.

The afternoon consisted of educational seminars covering a broad range of clinical areas: Emerging Roles for OT; Cultivating mindfulness and creativity in OT practice; Low vision rehabilitation; Managing professional boundaries; Using emotional intelligence for effective conversation; Innovation in assistive technology; Supporting the challenging behavior and OT research.

OTs networking at the conference.

Achievement awards were presented to well-deserving occupational therapists. The “Ginny Fearing Learning as a Way of Being” award was presented to Sue Barlow from GF Strong. The “mOTivator in practice” awards were presented to Nigel Kam, Stephanie Dietz, Nakanishi Frances,and Chelsea Bennie.

And, as always, ‘Building Bridges’ was an excellent opportunity for occupational therapists to come together to learn from one another, promote evidence-based practice, and improve client care. Thank you to everyone who participated, and we hope to see you all next year!