Janice Rocker OTD, OTR/L, CHT, CEAS

Throughout the past 3 decades, treatment of injured musicians in a health care setting has been reported; however, the quality of care from a musician’s standpoint is poor. As musicians are speaking up more about their pain, the profession of occupational therapy has the capacity to make an impact on the way musicians are treated from a rehabilitative perspective. Musicians often do not trust medical practitioners who follow the traditional medical model because their symptoms and concerns are not addressed. Occupational therapists, especially those working in the realm of hand rehabilitation, are well equipped to treat injured musicians using our unique activity analysis skills and holistic frame of reference; the goal is to return them back to their prior levels of playing. To support the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process’s vision, this article discusses evaluation and treatment of the unique musician emphasizing the musician’s point of view through an occupation-based, client-centered, and evidence-based practice.

When creating a promotional booth to increase awareness about occupational therapy remember that (a) people learn by participating and (b) positive reinforcement encourages a greater sense of learning. In addition, follow these rules: (a) keep the task simple, (b) eliminate jargon and use nonmedical terms, (c) encourage interaction and reward thoughtful reflections, and (d) make sure that participants leave with some promotional materials in hand. As described here participants acquired a hemiplegic arm and tried to dress. They were immediately rewarded with an occupational therapy sticker. Acting as patients, they experienced visual deficits with a special pair of glasses. The occupational therapist encouraged people to ask questions about dressing and visual deficits and about the display of splints and adaptive equipment. People helped themselves to occupational therapy promotional buttons and literature. They left with a basic understanding of hemiplegia. They also understood how an occupational therapist works with a patient to help the patient regain functional independence.

This study examined whether keeping or not keeping the products of a craft activity influences affective meaning and mood. Four groups of undergraduate (n = 23) and graduate (n = 20) students created block-printed stationery. Two groups were allowed to keep their stationery, and two groups were not. The measure of mood changes was the Bipolar Profile of Mood States, which subjects completed before and after the activity. After the activity, subjects also completed the Osgood 12-scale short-form semantic differential, which measured the affective meanings of the activity. Data analysis revealed significant differences between conditions on two out of nine variables. The subjects who could not keep their products became significantly more hostile and significantly more energetic than the subjects who kept their stationery. Implications for occupational therapy theory and further research possibilities are discussed.