OT Potential Podcast | Occupational Therapy CEUs

The research we are reviewing in this course showcases how far we’ve come in the prevention, early detection, and treatment of cerebral palsy (CP) in children. The authors also explore the strength of the evidence behind 182 interventions for CP, organizing them into an “evidence traffic light.”

This is an important paper for all OTs to read—not just because CP is one of the most common physical disabilities we see on our caseloads, but because the paper is so well written. The authors do a fantastic job of highlighting the general trends behind what works, what doesn’t work, and the progress that still needs to be made.

After reviewing the articleI am thrilled to welcome Dr. Iona Novak, OT, PhD., one of the article’s authors. Her and I will discuss the implications for your occupational therapy practice.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/cerebral-palsy-and-ot

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Novak, I., Morgan, C., Fahey, M., Finch-Edmondson, M., Galea, C., Hines, A., Langdon, K., Namara, M. M., Paton, M. C., Popat, H., Shore, B., Khamis, A., Stanton, E., Finemore, O. P., Tricks, A., Te Velde, A., Dark, L., Morton, N., & Badawi, N. (2020). State of the Evidence Traffic Lights 2019: Systematic Review of Interventions for Preventing and Treating Children with Cerebral Palsy. Current neurology and neuroscience reports, 20(2), 3.

The term cultural competence can feel too soft and narrow to really push our profession towards equity and justice. 

But, the article we are reviewing today from the top 100 OT-related articles, brings up several essential points for discussion. 

The mention of OT in the article is grim. The article highlights “culturally blind” attitudes of OTs that failed to change after cultural competence training. 

This is a stark reminder of the need for change—and the multi-layered work needed to make change happen. Ultimately, the article attempts to put forth an understanding of cultural competence that is both expansive and dynamic, but also able to be operationalized into practice. 

After we review the article, we are honored to welcome Khalilah R. Johnson, PHD, MS, OTR/L to discuss what this research means for your OT practice and for our profession.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/cultural-competence-ot

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Henderson, S., Horne, M., Hills, R., & Kendall, E. (2018). Cultural competence in healthcare in the community: A concept analysis. Health & social care in the community, 26(4), 590–603.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) weaves together multiple concepts that OTs are already familiar with and often use in practice. On a personal level, it provides helpful tools we can utilize as we navigate complex situations in our work. 

But, not only is it personally helpful, the research we’re looking at today shows us why we need to be aware of it as a therapy professional: 

Research supports the use of ACT in addressing chronic pain. 

In the research study we’ll explore in this podcast episode, you’ll find that OTs were part of an interdisciplinary team that provided intensive pain management treatment built around ACT. (And, that the program led to positive functional outcomes.)

To help us unpack how this information can be integrated into your practice, it is our honor to bring on Linda Crawford, OTR/L, CDWF. Linda has been an occupational therapist for over 30 years and has specialized in working with people with complex pain conditions for the last eight years. She is a contributing author to the newly updated AOTA position paper on the role of occupational therapy in pain management.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/acceptance-commitment-therapy-ot

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Yu, L., Norton, S., & McCracken, L. M. (2017). Change in “Self-as-Context” (“Perspective-Taking”) Occurs in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for People With Chronic Pain and Is Associated With Improved Functioning. The journal of pain, 18(6), 664–672.

This prestigious guideline on Parkinson’s Disease (PD) treatment, that we’ll be covering in this podcast episode, recommends that rehab therapies are started at the time of diagnosis and continued throughout the disease course. 

This article will update you on key information about the PD disease process, the pervasiveness of non-motor symptoms, and the effectiveness of different treatments. 

The knowledge we are gaining about PD should definitely be impacting your sessions. (Hint: please be talking about exercise!) It should also be pushing us to consider new care models for our patients with chronic conditions. To discuss what this looks like in practice, it’s our honor to welcome back to the podcast Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP, CLVT. Brandy is an OT entrepreneur who serves older adults including PD clients.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/parkinsons-ot-evidence-review

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Armstrong, M. J., &; Okun, M. S. (2020). Diagnosis and treatment of parkinson disease. JAMA, 323(6), 548.

How we understand our role as occupational therapy practitioners makes a huge difference in how we show up for our clients. 

But, unfortunately, some theories of OT practice fail to aid us in practical clinical reasoning that focuses on occupation. 

Luckily, the theories of OT practice that are emerging are getting closer to capturing the care we aspire to deliver—and provide more useful frameworks to guide our clinical reasoning. 

Today we will dive into the CORE Approach. The approach is a mechanism for OTs to understand their practice from an inclusive, occupation-centric lens. It encourages OTs to ask reflexive questions related to the “core” areas of OT: capabilities, opportunities, resources and environments After reviewing an article on the CORE Approach, I am excited to explore this approach more fully, with Brock Cook—an OT from Australia, where this approach was born! Brock is a lecturer at James Cook University will help us understand how the approach can make a tangible difference in your OT practice.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/core-approach-inclusive-ot

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Pereira, R. B., Whiteford, G., Hyett, N., Weekes, G., Di Tommaso, A., &; Naismith, J. (2020). Capabilities, opportunities, resources and environments (CORE): Using the core approach for inclusive, occupation‐centered practice. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 67(2), 162–171. 

Our spinal cord injury clients stay in our hearts and minds. After all, we help them and their families navigate tremendous life changes.

This week’s article gives us a solid big-picture review of what we know (and don’t  know) about spinal cord injury rehab. You’ll learn about commonly used assessments, as well as which treatments are gaining traction (and which ones aren’t.)

And, most importantly, this article serves as a good reminder that there are simply no magical, straightforward answers in this area of rehab. Instead, these patients benefit most from your occupational therapy lens and your commitment to staying on top of evidence-based care. 

To help guide us through this article, and pull out actionable takeaways for your practice, we are excited to welcome Simon Carson, OT/L, MBA. Simon serves as the chief of occupational therapy at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/ot-spinal-cord-injury

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Burns, A. S., Marino, R. J., Kalsi-Ryan, S., Middleton, J. W., Tetreault, L. A., Dettori, J. R., Mihalovich, K. E., &; Fehlings, M. G. (2017). Type and timing of rehabilitation following acute and Subacute Spinal Cord Injury: A systematic review. Global Spine Journal, 7(3_suppl). 

In this 1 hour course, we will be diving into an incredibly helpful journal article that summarizes the evidence behind pediatric OT interventions. 

The authors take 52 pediatric OT interventions for children with disabilities and rate the evidence behind them. 

They organize the evidence into a traffic light infographic—where green means “the evidence supports this intervention.” 

This alone makes the evidence ratings super easy to scan and more accessible for therapists  (and families and policy makers)! Then, they even go so far as to draw out common principles between green light interventions. 

To discuss how this research applies to your occupational therapy practice, we are excited to welcome to the podcast, Michelle DeJesus, MS OTR/L. Michelle is a pediatric occupational therapist working specifically in pediatric outpatient rehabilitation and early intervention. Her and I will talk through what it looks like for busy therapists on the ground to leverage this evidence to improve their care.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/pediatric-ot-evidence-review

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Novak, I., &; Honan, I. (2019). Effectiveness of paediatric occupational therapy for children with disabilities: A systematic review. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 66(3), 258–273. 

Spending time in research can deliver the humbling, but needed, reminder that not all therapy leads to clear value for our clients. 

For example, in the United States, we can now see that in the 2010s therapy was being delivered in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs)—beyond what was helpful for clients. 

Part of the problem was the fee-for-service payment model that incentivized skilled nursing facilities to deliver high quantities of therapy minutes to as many patients as possible. (More therapy equaled more money.) 

The research article that we will explore in this one hour course, shows us the humbling data behind this problem. And, it reminds us of why the transition to value-based care continues to happen. The authors specifically look at data around post-acute hip fracture rehab, and compare fee-for-service Medicare versus Medicare Advantage (which is a value-based care program.)

To help us make sense of the changing therapy landscape, we are thrilled to welcome Clarice Grote, MS, OTR/L, is an innovative advocate for occupational therapy and an expert on Medicare post-acute care policy. Clarice will help us understand how this research applies to your individual practice.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/payment-models-in-post-acute-ot

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Kumar, A., Rahman, M., Trivedi, A. N., Resnik, L., Gozalo, P., &; Mor, V. (2018). Comparing post-acute rehabilitation use, length of stay, and outcomes experienced by Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare advantage beneficiaries with hip fracture in the United States: A secondary analysis of administrative data. PLOS Medicine, 15(6).

It can feel like everyone is discussing the benefits of mindfulness.

Yet, with all this fanfare, we must ask: does the evidence justify incorporating mindfulness into occupational therapy? 

The systematic review we will look at in this one hour course says, “YES!” (At least for specific chronic pain conditions.)

The authors provide a great overview of the problem of pain—and they also discuss various mindfulness-based interventions for chronic pain, including the research behind them.

After we review the article, it is our pleasure to welcome Patricia Motus, OTR/L, RYT-200 to join us on the OT Potential Podcast. Patricia uses yoga, meditation, grounding, and life & health coaching to help clients navigate life transitions. She and I will discuss this article, including some ways you can incorporate mindfulness into your traditional OT practice.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/mindfulness-chronic-pain-ot

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Majeed, M. H., Ali, A. A., & Sudak, D. M. (2018). Mindfulness-based interventions for chronic pain: Evidence and applications. Asian journal of psychiatry, 32, 79–83.

Research is backing up what many of us are experiencing in our communities: the pandemic is exacerbating mental health issues. 

And, one can imagine how this would be true for new mothers—so many families’ birth experiences have been drastically impacted by COVID protocols, followed by increased isolation once the family arrives home.

The article we will be discussing in this one-hour podcast course is a call to action to support the positive mental health of new mothers, particularly during this pandemic. 

Whether you approach this topic as a pediatric OT, an OT who specializes in maternal mental health, a parent yourself, or simply an involved community member, I think there are important takeaways for all of us.

After reviewing the article, we will welcome Dr. Carlin Reaume, OTD, OTR/L, PMH-C, PCES. Carlin is an occupational therapist, maternal wellness specialist, and owner of Supported Mama. Her and I will discuss ways you can support maternal wellness in your traditional OT practice, and ways for you to become even more deeply involved in this practice area.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/maternal-mental-health-ot

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Barlow, K., &; Sepulveda, A. (A. (2020). The promotion of Positive Mental Health for new mothers during covid-19. World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin, 76(2), 86–89.

In this one hour episode of the OT Potential podcast, you will be introduced to the Kawa model and how it can be used to foster collaboration for a rehab team.  

The Kawa Model uses the metaphor of a river to depict one’s life journey. In this mental model, occupational therapists enable, restore, and/or maximize their client’s life flow. 

The model can be used with individual clients and groups. And, we’ll begin our episode by looking at research that explores how an acute care therapy team used the model to openly discuss and problem solve their team flow. 

We are incredibly honored to welcome on Dr. Michael Iwama, PhD, MSc, BScOT, a co-creator of the Kawa Model. Dr. Iwama will deepen our understanding of the Kawa Model, and we’ll discuss how the model and the specific research we are looking at can inspire your OT practice.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/kawa-ot

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Ober, J., &; Lape, J. (2019). Cultivating Acute Care Rehabilitation Team Collaboration using the kawa model. Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice.

What is the future of OT? How will your own OT career look over the next decade? How will our profession change and evolve?

The journal article we explore in this podcast is very concise, but it certainly packs a punch. It lays out a vision set by the American Occupational Therapy Association for where they would like to see the occupational therapy profession by 2025. 

We’ll kick off the podcast by reviewing the article. Then, we’re thrilled to have Arameh Anvarizadeh, Vice President of the AOTA Board of Directors, join us for a discussion. She will share how the Vision has changed since its original publication. And, most importantly, we’ll discuss what this Vision means for practicing OTs—and how we can build our future with intention in this rapidly evolving world.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/future-of-occupational-therapy

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2017). Vision 2025. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71, 7103420010.

Finally, see our blog post Hot Topics in OT to accompany this episode. 

If you haven’t been following the exciting research behind the CO-OP Approach™, this episode is for you. 

CO-OP stands for Cognitive Orientation to (Daily) Occupational Performance. This is a trademarked approach with a formal certification program, so we won’t be teaching the actual method. However, we’ll be discussing the research behind the CO-OP Approach™, as well as some ways it can impact your practice. 

We’ll explore the primary research article, where the CO-OP Approach™ is performed by OTs in a group setting. You’ll see its impact on “body function, activity, AND participation,” and you’ll be pleased to learn that the researchers determined the approach works 🙂

After spending time in the article, we will be joined by Tee Stock, OTR/L, OTD, MS, MBA. Tee owns her own practice providing pediatric therapy in the home, and she is also certified in the CO-OP Approach™. She and I will discuss the research and practical implications for OTs, so you can gain useful takeaways for your own practice.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/coop-and-occupational-therapy

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Thornton, A., Licari, M., Reid, S., Armstrong, J., Fallows, R., &; Elliott, C. (2016). Cognitive orientation to (daily) occupational performance intervention leads to improvements in impairments, activity and participation in children with developmental coordination disorder. Disability and Rehabilitation, 38(10), 979–986. 

Lastly, another way you can support this podcast during the holidays is by using our MedBridge promo code. We are a MedBridge  Education affiliate. 

The research we explore in this podcast calls pelvic floor dysfunction a significant and neglected public health issue.

The authors share a discouraging statistic: despite pelvic floor dysfunction impacting around 25% of women in the US, there is a profound lack of understanding of the disorder and how to treat it.

The good news is that OTs are perfectly poised to help meet the needs of pelvic health patients! We’ll use our primary research article to jumpstart our understanding of pelvic floor rehab, including how pelvic floor dysfunction impacts occupation.

Then, it is my pleasure to welcome Lindsey Vestal of the Functional Pelvis to join us. Lindsey is truly a pioneer in promoting OT’s role in pelvic health, and she will discuss her own practice providing pelvic floor rehab in people’s homes. At the end, we’ll also talk about the future of OT’s role in pelvic health, including which trends you should be watching.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/pelvic-health-ot

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Burkhart, R., Couchman, K., Crowell, K., Jeffries, S., Monvillers, S., &; Vilensky, J. (2020). Pelvic floor dysfunction after childbirth: Occupational impact and awareness of available treatment. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 41(2), 108–115.

Lastly, another way you can support this podcast during the holidays is by using our MedBridge promo code. We are a MedBridge affiliate. 

The research we discuss on the OT Potential Podcast has a recurring theme: therapy goals should always support what is meaningful to the client.

But, lurking behind this best practice is an important question: what do we do when a patient is not of sound mind?

We’ll explore an article that hits the question head on, looking at client-centered care for patients with psychosis. It’s an especially helpful read for mental health OTs—but we can all learn something from it, since every clinician sees clients whose decision making could be perceived as impaired.

The takeaway from this article is that we can always find ways to be client-centered. And, it’s worth making the effort to do so, since it always seems to improve patient engagement and outcomes.

To help us unpack this article, it is our privilege to welcome Lauren Jones, MS, OTR/L.  Lauren currently works on an interdisciplinary team as a Senior Occupational Therapist, providing services to youth, adults, and older adults in an inpatient psychiatry setting. Together, we will discuss practical strategies for keeping your interventions client-centered, regardless of your treatment setting(s).

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/client-centered-ot

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Moritz, S., Berna, F., Jaeger, S., Westermann, S., &; Nagel, M. (2016). The customer is always right? subjective target symptoms and treatment preferences in patients with psychosis. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 267(4), 335–339.

We’ve had compelling evidence for a while now about the benefits of providing acute care hospital services from the comfort of a patient’s home. (This model is widely known as “hospital in the home.”) 

But, for us in the US, it has been hard to imagine how our complex medical system would ever change to accommodate such a fundamental shift in healthcare delivery. 

Enter: the pandemic. Now, our whole society is looking at the inadequacies of limiting acute care to the number of beds available in a hospital. 

OT is uniquely poised to deliver services in this model—and you’ll see in the research that our care is considered a central component. 

This podcast is intended to be an introduction to the hospital at home model. It’s designed to help you imagine the healthcare models of the future—and OTs place in them. We will anchor our discussion in a Cochrane review of the evidence. Then, we’ll welcome our guest Monika Lukasiewicz, who has made a career of thinking creatively about OT in the home, all while working in traditional OT settings. Whether you deliver OT in the home or the hospital, she’ll help us think through how this trend could impact your practice.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/ot-hospital-at-home

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Gonçalves-Bradley, D. C., Iliffe, S., Doll, H. A., Broad, J., Gladman, J., Langhorne, P., Richards, S. H., & Shepperd, S. (2017). Early discharge hospital at home. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 6(6), CD000356.

We became occupational therapy practitioners to deliver transformative care to our clients.

This is a tall order to begin with—and we also hold justice as one of our core values. So, we want to transform lives AND do so in a socially responsible way. 

This is hard and complex work. It requires that we question and move beyond overly simplistic theories of practice. The article we explore in this one-hour podcast pushes us to see beyond the concept of “individualism.” After all, limiting our lens to individuals alone can limit the care we deliver to all of our clients—and it can hinder us from seeing broader issues of injustice.

To discuss what this looks like in both non-traditional and traditional OT settings, it is our honor to welcome Dr. Adam Cisroe Pearson, who has made a career of applying his occupational therapy lens toward broader principles of housing equity and parity.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/beyond-individualism-ot

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Gerlach, A. J., Teachman, G., Laliberte-Rudman, D., Aldrich, R. M., & Huot, S. (2018). Expanding beyond individualism: Engaging critical perspectives on occupation. Scandinavian journal of occupational therapy, 25(1), 35–43.

The research is clear—adults living with cancer have significant unmet therapy needs. But how can we, as occupational therapy professionals, best serve this population? 

It’s a great question, and one we’ll explore in-depth on this one-hour episode of the OT Potential Podcast! First, we’ll dig into the research around disability in activities of daily living among adults with cancer. Next, we’ll be joined by Vanessa Monique Yanez, MSOT, OTR/L. Vanessa will lend her expertise to our discussion of what this information means for your real-world practice. 

Vanessa is a cancer survivor, herself. This personal experience fuels her dedication to improving the quality of life of other survivors. As private practice owner, Vanessa has valuable advice and insights to offer about the referral process, assessment and treatment of patients with cancer. We’re honored to have her with us and excited to hear her thoughts.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/cancer-ot

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Neo, J., Fettes, L., Gao, W., Higginson, I. J., & Maddocks, M. (2017). Disability in activities of daily living among adults with cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Cancer treatment reviews, 61, 94–106.

Many of us feel the benefits of spending time in nature. But, these outdoor experiences often seem pretty far removed from our traditional occupational therapy work. 

There’s a good chance you’ve already heard of nature-based therapy, as it is a hot topic in the OT world. However, you might not be aware of the breadth of research available on this topic—and you might be pleasantly surprised by how well nature-based therapy aligns with your OT practice. 

In this episode, we’ll explore a paper looking at the effects of horticulture group therapy on adults with mental health diagnoses. We’ll use this research to springboard into a broader discussion on the types of nature-based therapy, the research supporting this type of therapy, and the potential impact it might have on your practice. 

To guide us through this topic, we’ll be joined by nature-based occupational therapist, Laura Park Figueroa, whose enthusiasm for the topic will certainly leave you eager to learn more!

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/nature-based-ot

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Vujcic, M., Tomicevic-Dubljevic, J., Grbic, M., Lecic-Tosevski, D., Vukovic, O., &; Toskovic, O. (2017). Nature based solution for improving mental health and well-being in urban areas. Environmental Research, 158, 385–392

Racial and ethnic health disparities have been heavy on our hearts over the past few years—and they should be.

We have much to reckon with, not only in terms of our own personal biases, but also regarding the structural inequities within healthcare.

In this one-hour, podcast-based CE course, we’ll look at how the Latino community is impacted by disparities around the diagnosis and care of autistic children. We’ll start by exploring some of the latest research on the topic with Catherine R. Hoyt, PhD, OTD, OTR/L and Cristina Reyes Smith, OTD, OTR/L. Then, we’ll discuss practical implications for caring for our autistic clients, including how we can work step-by-step to dismantle the disparities in our healthcare systems.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/disparities-autism-supports-ot

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Zuckerman, K. E., Lindly, O. J., Reyes, N. M., Chavez, A. E., Macias, K., Smith, K. N., &; Reynolds, A. (2017). Disparities in diagnosis and treatment of autism in latino and non-latino white families. Pediatrics, 139(5). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-3010