Q & A with two of Osler's Occupational Therapists

For Occupational Therapy Month, we chatted with two of our OTs about their unique roles and the common misconceptions people tend to have around what they do every day.

What is occupational therapy?

Occupational therapy is a very broad field. Our role is to assess an individual’s ability to perform everyday tasks, both cognitively and physically. We develop a plan to help patients improve and regain their skills in a number of different ways after they’ve experienced a medical event. You can find occupational therapists throughout many different parts of the hospital and in the community.

What are your specific roles?

Stacey Zammit: I work in inpatient acute care, specifically in orthopaedics. Many of my patients have suffered a fall or have been involved in a motor vehicle accident resulting in a hip fracture or other orthopedic injuries. We assess and treat our patients and collaborate with team members to facilitate a safe discharge from hospital.

Nancy Pearsoll: I’m an OT in the Community Outreach Stroke Rehab program. It was created to provide timely follow up and rehabilitation services to stroke patients with mild deficits who could manage safely at home. Most of the time these patients are still able to manage their basic needs and don’t necessarily need to be in hospital but would still benefit from rehab to get back to doing what they could before. They often have mild fine motor deficits, they struggle with balance, and/or decreased memory and concentration. We see patients about once a week to assess their progress and provide treatment, recommend specific exercises and determine what assistance they may need at home.

Are there any common misconceptions about Occupation Therapy?

NP: Many people think Occupational Therapy is about getting back to work or an occupation in some way. It’s not just that! Occupation represents anything you need to accomplish within your day, so it’s about getting back to being successful with those things. In our role, we touch on physical and thinking abilities, emotional status and anything that would be a barrier.

SZ: Our professional association’s slogan is Skills for the Job of Living, which really sums it all up!

Speaking of common misconceptions, do people ever mix up Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy?

SZ & NP: All the time!

NP: Sometimes we overlap. If we’re both looking at the physical ability of a patient; the physiotherapist is looking at the range of motion and how to achieve a successful movement, where we are focused on the ability to do a task.

SZ: For example, I can have a patient that may not yet have the ability or endurance to walk to the washroom. As Occupational Therapists, we look at the components of the task and provide recommendations such as using assistive devices, modifying the activity, and/or providing strategies to enable independence.

What is most rewarding about what you do?

NP: Part of what we do is educate patients on how to navigate the system. They see so many doctors, nurses, other care providers, which is great, but there is definitely a need to help determine their next steps. It’s a rewarding experience to help them understand what their diagnosis means, what they need next, and how to advocate for themselves about what is best for them and how they can get there.

SZ: Patients are really appreciative when they regain the skills to do something they couldn't before. We make that happen by introducing a creative change or a new piece of equipment that helps them complete the task in a new way. It’s great to hear and see the difference it makes in maximize our patient’s independence. Those moments really make you feel appreciated.