10 Reasons Why OT Practitioners Should Choose Occupational Therapy Specific Courses

As OT practitioners, working to help our clients achieve the best outcomes, manage our time and complete our documentation can take a lot of time and energy.   Unfortunately, we also have to navigate the challenges of explaining what occupational therapy is, avoiding duplication of services, ensuring our services are reimbursed and at times promoting our services so OT is not underutilized.  These additional challenges can lead to burn out, discouragement and feeling undervalued.   

I have experienced and felt all of these things as an OTA and OT.  So what is the solution?  If you have read my previous blogs, you already know that I have a lot of suggestions on how to navigate difficult challenges, fuel your passion for OT and better promote occupational therapy.   Aspire OT was created to provide a way to help other occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants and students to successfully address these very issues.  We understand that there is not just one simple solution that will magically solve all of our OT problems, but there are definitely things we can do to address the many concerns regarding our profession.  

In light of it being summertime, I think it is fitting to discuss simple and easy to achieve options for beginning to address some of the concerns we may have in our practice.  Let's start with continuing education. We have lots of options for obtaining our CEUs and professional development activities.  As one of the founding partners of Aspire OT, it is no suprise that I would recommend taking OT specific courses.  I would like to take this opportunity to briefly explain why I feel it is important that OTs and OTAs take courses created just for OT.  

My top 10 reasons that OT practitioners should choose continuing education courses specific to occupational therapy. 

By taking CEU courses created JUST for OT practitioners, you will: 

1. Be more informed to best practices specific to occupational therapy (not physical therapy, speech therapy, nursing or psychology).

2. Learn information, assessments and interventions specific to your practice that you can use immediately, in contrast to having to figure out how the information can be modified or applied to your occupational therapy practice.

3. Be better equipped to answer questions such as "which discipline should address……"

4. Be better prepared to answer the question "what is occupational therapy?"

5. Always know that you belong and your unique occupational therapy perspective will be valued. (Have you ever been the only OT in a course or felt that you were outnumbered?)

6. Have more fun!  Let's face it, OTs and OTAs are much more engaging and fun instructors. (Because we are awesome!)

7. Build a stronger network of occupational therapy practitioners. ( We really are better together!)

8. Learn the tools you need to distinguish your services from other disciplines and avoid duplication of services.

9. Help you improve documentation and justify reimbursement of occupational therapy services by utilizing evidence, official documents and practice guidelines specific to OT. 

10. Be supporting other occupational therapist, occupational therapy assistant and student instructors.  (We could all use more support!) 

Niccole and I use this same philosophy in our business.  We always look to try to partner with other OT practitioners and OT practitioner owned companies as often as possible.  It is important that we support one another not just in relational ways, but as consumers as well.  

Choosing a company like Aspire OT for your continuing education needs means you are supporting other OT practitioner instructors as well as an OT practitioner owned company.   

I hope I have given you some things to consider.  Enjoy your summer! 

Written by: Kimberly Breeden, MS, OTR, Coach, Instructor and Founding Partner