The Occupational Therapy Association of California Conference

October 31, 2016
by Raisa

Getting Involved

I had the pleasure of attending my first OT conference, hosted by the Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC). The USC Chan Division was generous enough to sponsor the MA-1 class so we could attend one-day of the three-day conference, yay for professional growth!

If I were to summarize my entire experience with the OTAC conference I would say it was refreshing. Two seminars struck me the most, one focused on patient relations, the other focused on the use of everyday technology with clinical reasoning. Let me summarize my two most important insights from the conference.

First, communication is KEY! Being a knowledgeable therapist is not enough. We must have the compassion and empathy to effectively treat our patients. Being able to effectively communicate with our patients is key to helping them restore function to their lives. You can be the best therapist with the best treatment plans and exciting activities, but if you do not have the heart nor the compassion for therapeutic communication you might not get your patient to that next level. Let’s face it, Therapeutic communication is not easy, I’ve been practicing for almost a year and I still have trouble finding the right things to say. However, this is a skill that can be honed and sharpened. It is up to us to perfect this skill of therapeutic communication to become effective therapists.

Secondly, get your hands on some technology, in recent years we have seen a huge boom in technology. Society has greatly benefited from the internet, computers, smartphones, tablets . . . the list goes on. My point is, technology has great potential not only to help the good population but also help our patients. Technology generally makes things easier and efficient for everyone. Today technology is already gaining popularity in OT practice but I believe that this will soon be a good niche for future practitioners. I predict that this will be a major focus for future research and development in the OT profession.

The OTAC conference was refreshing in a sense that they were able to shed some new light into already existing concepts of practice in OT. As a student, the conference proved to be insightful and led me to think about my future practice. This was my first OT conference and it certainly won’t be my last. I encourage you all, students, practitioners of all levels to join your local OT conferences. Learning is a never-ending process, and this is one process we should all take advantage of.

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