OTAC Conference Around the Corner

October 17, 2018
by Evan

Getting Involved

Every year, the Occupational Therapy Association of California holds a state-wide conference.  This year the conference will be held Oct 25-28 just down the street from us in Pasadena, CA.  OTAC Conference is one of the highlights of my year, not just because I’m the OTAC liaison for my 2019 graduating class, but because I truly believe in the mission of OTAC and am proud of how the organization serves our profession.

OTAC is a membership organization, meaning that the bulk of the operating budget is directly gathered from current professional and student memberships.  Here at USC, the student body elected to require all currently registered students maintain active memberships, and I am so proud that we do so.  The money raised across the state fosters a wide variety of leadership and professional development initiatives, but most importantly it is utilized for legislative advocacy efforts. AB221 (Update of the Occupational Therapy Practice Act), which was signed into law by Governor Brown several weeks ago, is a recent success story of these dollars at work.  I encourage you to learn more about the OT Practice Act and how it has been amended to reflect the modern-day needs of patients and the current services offered by occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants.  These are the important issues of our day. 

So, for those of you considering a career in Occupational Therapy, I cordially invite you to conference to learn more about our profession.  For those of you who are currently students, I invite you to conference to learn about ways in which to become a more competent practitioner, advocate, and future leader in the field.  And for those of you who are already licensed professionals, I encourage you to come to conference with an open mind (there’s always something new to learn), pass on your considerable knowledge to future practitioners, and keep your OTAC membership current! 

The stakes are high.  I don’t believe it’s an overstatement to suggest that the future of our profession will be shaped by how directly students and professionals continue to engage with our state and national professional organizations.

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