Connect With a Colleague: Dr. Jill Zwicker

 

Dr. Jill Zwicker

Why did you choose occupational therapy as a career?

Although I had dreamed of being a doctor since I was 4 years old, I realized during my first year of university that this career path wasn’t for me. My favourite courses were anatomy and psychology, so I wanted to find a career that integrated these areas of study. I stumbled across occupational therapy, did some volunteer work with some generous OTs who allowed me to shadow and work with them, and was hooked. This was the career for me!

 

What led you to your interest in DCD research?

During my work as a school-based occupational therapist, I saw children on my caseload who struggled with written work or other motor skills, such as P.E. or playing at recess. They seemed to have so much potential but were misunderstood, often being considered “lazy” or “noncompliant” because they refused to complete written work, withdrew from physical activity, or experienced immense frustration at school. My heart went out to them because their self-esteem seemed to be adversely affected. I wanted to learn more about why these kids struggled to learn motor skills and how I could better help them. They received very little OT service or support at school, but I felt that a little bit of intervention would go a long way. It was my clinical interest that sparked my journey into graduate studies, and my ultimate research career.

 

What is your favourite thing about CAOT-BC? 

I am especially grateful for CAOT-BC and their lobbying efforts to improve access to OT for residents of British Columbia. I also appreciate the special interest groups that bring together therapists in different areas of practice to learn with and from each other.

 

Where have you worked over your career? Where do you work now? 

I worked for 6 weeks as a casual occupational therapist at Victoria General Hospital before I landed my first permanent position in acute rehab at the Royal Jubilee Hospital. This experience helped me to secure my dream job at Gorge Road Hospital for the next 10 years, working first on an in-patient stroke unit and then in out-patient brain injury rehab. In 2002, I transitioned to pediatric practice and worked in the School-Age Program at Queen Alexandra Centre for Children’s Health. After my graduate studies and postdoctoral fellowship, I became a Clinician Scientist at Sunny Hill Health Centre, an Investigator at BC Children’s Hospital, and a faculty member in the Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy at the University of British Columbia. While I have loved all of my jobs as an occupational therapist, I now have the perfect job that combines clinical practice, teaching, and research.

 

What do you like about occupational therapy? 

Occupational Therapy is a wonderful profession for so many reasons. I especially appreciate the opportunity to establish relationships with clients, to understand what is important to them, and to play a small part in making a positive difference in their lives.

 

What do you find most challenging about working as an OT? 

I think the most challenging thing about working as an OT are the systemic barriers that prevent us from doing the job we want to do and that our clients deserve. I have decided that the status quo is not sufficient and I have targeted my research program to build the evidence base to advocate for better support and services for children with DCD and their families. It is a slow process, but definitely worth the effort. With patience and persistence, we can – and will – make a difference!

 

What is your personal philosophy about giving back to the profession? 

The profession has had such a positive influence in my life that it seems natural to give back to the profession. I think we all have a responsibility to contribute to the profession, but this can take many forms – from spending time with a prospective OT student to learn more about the profession, being a preceptor for a Master of Occupational Therapy student, teaching the next generation of occupational therapists, inspiring therapists to pursue further post-graduate study, developing and disseminating evidence for best-practice, submitting and/or reviewing abstracts for the CAOT conference, or promoting the profession.

 

What do you do when you aren't working? 

When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with family, socializing with friends, snuggling with my dogs, challenging myself at the gym, playing board games, and doing puzzles (jigsaws, Wordle, Suduko, etc.). My favourite vacation is soaking up the sun at poolside in Maui J

Your MOnTh at a Glance: May

 

Your Month at a Glance: May

 

 

EVENTS

May 4 - 7, 2022 – CAOT Conference Hybrid – Whistler, BC – There are over 150 sessions to choose from with diverse topics including the impact of COVID-19, social justice, mental health, assistive technology, autism, and acquired brain injury. On-site registration still available!

UPCOMING CAOT-BC MEETINGS

Mental Health & Substance Use Practice Network

When: May 11^th, 4:30-5:30pm PT 

Where: MS Teams

 

Sensory Processing Practice Network

When: May 12^th, 5pm PT

Where: MS Teams

 Visit the webpage to view the BC communities of practice and practice networks open to members. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see them listed. If there is a practice network or community of practice you would like to join, please email emontour@caot.ca

#OT365

Connect with a Colleague: Jody Edamura

Jody Edamura 

Why did you choose occupational therapy as a career?

I wanted a career with various job options and areas of interest that would keep me motivated and inspired. Occupational therapy had those opportunities. Over the years, I have connected with a diverse spectrum of people and shared their stories of innovation with colleagues, students and clients throughout my professional career.

What is your favourite thing about CAOT-BC?

I appreciate my Northern Community of Practice network that CAOT-BC has provided. The telehealth space opened up our network and united us in the northern and rural regions. It enabled us to exchange information about our current health, clinical, and educational updates relevant to our regions.

Also, I appreciate the online CAOT webinars. The OT speakers were accessible and aided us in professional development, especially during this pandemic.

Where have you worked over your career? Where do you work now?

I started my career in Toronto working at the Orthopaedic and Arthritic hospital in a program that focused on disability assessments, return to work plans and functional capacity evaluations. In addition to this, I also assisted clients in post-op recovery from total and partial hip replacements.

My initial goal was to work in Vancouver; however, life had other plans and I landed a job in Prince George (PG) where I have spent the last 23 years growing my career.

I began work in the acute and community mental health sectors and then I made a career change to work in paediatrics at the Prince George Child Development Centre (CDC). Currently, I work in early intervention and school age therapies in PG, McBride and Valemount with a fantastic team of paediatric professionals. Then, I had a brief hiatus from Canada and spent time in sunny California gaining experience working in the school districts and understanding their health care system; however, life events led me back to PG, where I continue to appreciate working at the CDC and helping the UBC OSOT department develop the Northern Rural program.

What do you like about occupational therapy?

I am thankful that it’s a profession that is willing to pivot and evolve with the growing needs of health care. I am excited to see occupational therapists expand their expertise in new leadership roles and emerge in non-traditional areas. Our abilities to listen, reflect and exchange our viewpoints makes occupational therapists such excellent problem-solvers.

What is your personal philosophy about volunteering and giving back to the profession?

I received such memorable mentorships from other OTs and health care professions. Their personal and clinical contributions have led me to where I am today and assisted me in becoming who I am. I am happy to pay it forward and give back to our OT community.

What do you do when you aren't working?

I am eating…I am a huge foodie fan and enjoy spending time with my family and friends eating meals that we have built together. Food is such a social connector and I am always on the hunt for the ultimate “umami” blast. Yum :) 

 

Connect with a Colleague: Savannah Frederick

 

Savannah Frederick 

Why did you choose occupational therapy as a career?

I’ve always wanted to help people ever since I can remember. I stumbled across occupational therapy in my 3^rd year of my undergrad at UBCO and it was as if a lightbulb went off, this is what I want to do. I was fascinated by the variety of work OTs can do and how this rehabilitative profession takes a holistic approach to care. One area of OT that hit home for me was hand therapy. When I was young, I seriously injured my dominant hand leaving me with some impaired function but also a determination that I wasn’t going to let this stop me. Unfortunately, I was not offered the services of an OT and had to struggle to modify activities on my own. However, through trial and error I built a repertoire of strategies to modify for limited wrist extension and was able to share my knowledge while working with an older adult population as a personal trainer.  

What is your favourite thing about CAOT-BC?

CAOT-BC has a community feeling about it. BC is unique in that we have multiple health regions and through the ability of this organization this community can stay connected. CAOT-BC is also constantly look for ways to engage with members and grow this profession through educational opportunities for its members and advocacy to the public about this profession.  

What has the journey to being an OT student like for you? 

To be honest, it has been a real rollercoaster of a journey thus far. Covid-19 has had a major impact from a student’s perspective. Starting a new program in a different province for me was a new challenge, not knowing my classmates and being isolated in an apartment was not how I envisioned my first year of OT school going. However, my cohort at the U of A is made up of very strong individuals that came up with creative ways to get to know one another from having virtual game nights, connecting through social media, and making the most out of the in-person camp weeks to make friends. In some ways, I would say my connection with my friends in the program were made stronger by the joint struggle of online learning.   

What do you like about occupational therapy?

What I like most about occupational therapy is at the fundamental core of this profession it recognizes that everyone is an individual. Occupational therapy strives to meet people where they are at and makes sure as a patient, they have a seat at the table for their recovery.  

Tell me about someone who has influenced your occupational therapy journey?

I think the biggest influence on my occupational journey are all the ladies at Spectrum Rehabilitation Services Inc. in Kelowna. Through all the amazing OTs and OTA, I was allowed to explore a portion of what OTs do in the area of post-concussion and brain injury. One individual in particular who really took me under their wing, and I will be forever grateful for is Taryn Hughson who was the OTA for Spectrum. She showed me the power of active listening and how vital it is to connect with the client in order to aid in their recovery. My experience with Spectrum really solidified my choice in signing up to do my masters.

What might someone be surprised to know about you?

I tend to find ways that extend my student career without truly planning to. In high school I decided to take a gap year in between grade 11 and 12 to do a Rotary Youth Exchange to Austria and in my undergrad, I signed up to be the first Human Kinetics student to participate in the Co-op program. Apparently, I like extending everything by a year so who knows how long my masters will take me.

What would you tell someone who is thinking about becoming an OT?

Get ready to think outside the box! There is no such thing as a one size fits all and everyone is different.

Evidence for your Practice: Learning from Adversity

Learning from adversity: Occupational therapy staff experiences of coping during Covid-19

Article: Ingham, L., Jackson, E., & Purcell, C. (2022). Learning from adversity: Occupational therapy staff experiences of coping during Covid-19. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 03080226211064490.

Rationale: During the COVID-19 pandemic, health care staff experience increased workload demands, reallocation of duties, adapting to protocols such as use of PPE and concerns about the risk of infecting their family. Health care workers are at a higher risk of burnout in “normal” times and this may be increasingly the case during a crisis situation such as a global pandemic

Occupational therapists have roles including direct client care, educating clients, families and caregivers, in-direct client care through management and leadership positions, academic and research related responsibilities among others. Therefore there is a broad range of ways in which occupational therapists can be and are impacted by the pandemic.

Purpose: To explore how OTs felt and coped during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Methods: A questionnaire was created with open-ended questions asked to 75 participants, 69 of whom were female. The sample included 49 participants who were in a full-time position. Data collection took place during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants answered questions about their coping techniques, what they found most challenging or helpful, and whether anything could have been done differently to enable effective coping.

Findings: 

• Participants reflected on protective factors such as their ability to adapt and remain flexible. With frequently changing processes and protocols, being adaptable eased stressors for some participants. 
• Supportive family members, friends and colleagues were found to be a source of reflection for how well participants felt they were coping. Some participants reported an increased reliance on their social network for emotional support, including talking about their experiences and feelings with others to help process them. 
• Engaging in their own meaningful occupations was an important means of coping with the pandemic, combined with limiting the amount of time they spent reading or watching COVID related news/media.  
• Barriers to coping included organizational, personal and professional challenges. Some occupations that were previously a way to relieve stress such as going to the gym after work were no longer an option during pandemic restrictions. This led to decreased feelings of effective coping and presented challenges for participants who had to find other ways to cope.
• Professional challenges included uncertainty of their role with the rapidly changing processes and procedures at the work place, feeling isolated from the profession, and concern for patients.
• Organizational challenges included mixed messages about work processes and protocols, as well as PPE availability and requirements. 

Conclusion & Implications for OT:

• Consistent and concise communication with clinicians, clients and leadership is important to prevent unnecessary stressors and spread of misinformation.
• Providing channels of communication for clinicians to remain connected to the profession and to their sources of support both within and external to their workplace. 
• Providing and sharing information about effective coping strategies that are realistic and attainable for use at home or in the workplace.
• Seeking opportunities to connect with counseling or other mental health services to assist with emotional and psychological processing of challenging emotions and situations. 

#OT365

Reminder: Pain BC Workshop

The next Chronic Pain Management for Occupational Therapists workshop is coming up in February. Due to COVID-19, this workshop is now offered online via Zoom and is accessible to occupational therapists and OT students from any region of the province.  

The three online workshop sessions (please note: participants must attend all three sessions):

• February 25, 2022 from 9:00AM-2:00PM

• February 26, 2022 from 9:00AM-2:00PM 

• March 28, 2022 from 6:00-8:00PM

There are special rates available for CAOT-BC members when registering for the workshop. For full details and to register, visit: https://www.painbc.ca/health-professionals/education/OT-workshop

Your Month at a Glance: February

 

Upcoming CAOT-BC Meetings

Paediatric Community of Practice

When: February 9th, 6:30-8:00pm PT 

Where: MS Teams

Visit the webpage to view the BC communities of practice open to new members. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see them listed. 

If there is a practice network or community of practice you would like to join, please email hreid@caot.ca

OPPORTUNITIES

Pain BC - OT workshop

The next Chronic Pain Management for Occupational Therapists workshop is coming up in February. Due to COVID-19, this workshop is now offered online via Zoom and is accessible to occupational therapists and OT students from any region of the province.  

The three online workshop sessions (please note: participants must attend all three sessions):

• February 25, 2022 from 9:00AM-2:00PM

• February 26, 2022 from 9:00AM-2:00PM 

• March 28, 2022 from 6:00-8:00PM

There are special rates available for CAOT-BC members when registering for the workshop. For full details and to register, visit: https://www.painbc.ca/health-professionals/education/OT-workshop

  

Call for volunteers: Wellness Show

CAOT-BC will be hosting a booth at the Wellness Show taking place at the Vancouver Convention Centre on March 26 and 27th 2022, and are calling on you to help us make this happen. If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity or would like to volunteer, please email us at caotbc@caot.ca

This event is an opportunity to network with others, engage with the public about all things occupational therapy, and promote the profession. We encourage students, new grads, experienced clinicians and any other stage of OT to consider this volunteer opportunity. Shifts are occur in half-day periods and you will be with at least 1 other volunteer.

#OT365

Connect with a colleague - Bethany McWilliams

Bethany McWilliams 

Why did you choose occupational therapy as a career?

I studied therapeutic recreation in my undergrad studies and spent the past ten years working as a recreational therapist in different capacities and settings.  I have truly loved this work of supporting people with disabilities in kicking down barriers that may prevent them from accessing play and leisure and wanted to build on the foundational knowledge I gained in my undergrad.  I consider myself a lifelong learner, so the opportunity to go back to school has been extremely exciting for me.  Occupational therapy felt like a natural progression, as it would allow me to continue with work I am passionate about, while also expanding my scope and providing me with a new lens to see through.  I am just wrapping up my first term in the MOT program at UBC and so far I am feeling very good about this decision!

What is your favourite thing about CAOT-BC?

I appreciate how CAOT-BC welcomes student representatives from UBC’s MOT program to join for their Advisory Committee meetings as a way to stay informed on how best to support us students during our studies as well as to have a better idea of how to support students through graduation and transitioning into our careers. 

What was the journey to becoming an OT student like for you?

Not easy, but definitely worth it.  I am from the states, so getting into the program was only part of the challenge.  I then navigated the complexities of student visas, uprooted my family and made an international move to lovely British Columbia!  We are still settling in and adjusting to life in the big city, though I am excited for the opportunity to be here, learning at such an excellent university and also getting to travel all over BC for my fieldwork placements these next couple of years.  What a treat!

What has been your most interesting job?

My most interesting job was working as the special needs coordinator for a gymnastics equipment company called Tumbl Trak.  This was one of those positions that I never envisioned myself in, but one I had so much fun with it!  The position allowed me to support children of all abilities in accessing play opportunities, but my approach was very different from the direct care I was used to providing.  I worked very much behind the scenes in helping to develop a therapeutic equipment line that supports sensory motor development and play for children with disabilities.  I collaborated with professionals across the United States in the research and development phase of each product: adapted physical education teachers, occupational therapists, physical therapists, special education teachers, etc.  It was these interactions with occupational therapists that really drew me into the profession.  I was mesmerized when the OTs would take a piece of equipment and immediately recognize how the surface material would encourage arousal, or how the shape could allow for external rotation of the hips, or how the movement might impact the diaphragm, thus improving vocalization.  I learned so much from my OT colleagues in this work and it left me feeling eager to learn more.  I wanted to look at a situation and be able to see what they see!

What do you like about occupational therapy?

I’m going to answer this less about occupational therapy as a whole, and more specifically about my experience in the MOT program thus far at UBC. One of the things I have most appreciated about the program has been the emphasis that the professors have placed on things like…

- Understanding the history of OT and our western healthcare system

- Recognizing who’s voices are centered (and who’s aren’t) when developing things like assessments, policies, etc.

- Being aware of how context and the environment influence and shape occupation

- The urgent need for decolonizing the healthcare system

- Being mindful of our own biases and how these show up in our work

- Recognizing and working toward eliminating some of the power imbalances within our relationships with clients

Our professors have done an excellent job of modeling accountability and fostering critical reflexivity.  I love that as occupational therapists these are all things we are looking at and considering within our work in order to provide collaborative, individualized and equitable services!

What do you do when you aren't working, studying or volunteering?

My most meaningful occupation is mountain biking with my husband.  I also enjoying playing in the forest with my dog (a really sweet and stinky 11-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier), paddle boarding on alpine lakes, car-camping/backpacking, geeking out over wildflowers, attempting to garden, finding a new craft to fall into and then fall out of, and playing with my four nieces and nephews.

Resource for your Practice: Pain BC Toolbox

 

This online toolbox published by Pain BC has comprehensive information on: 

• Coping with pain and getting connected with resources to help
• Self-management programs throughout the province
• Recommended apps related to relaxation, self-care, exercise and medication management
• Support groups (covid permitting) and virtual support networks 
• Pain clinics throughout BC 
• Pain management books with general information, pathophysiology, living with pain, lived experiences
• A list of psychologists and counsellors in BC who specialize in chronic pain 
• Sleep and CBT approaches for insomnia 
• Exercise 
• Eating well 
• For kids and families 

For access to the full resource, click here. 

OT in the news: Transitioning into adulthood

 

Occupational therapist Andrea Morrison and client Victory Anighoro

"Transition planning preps teens with skills they need for adulthood"

Hamilton Health Sciences, January 4th 2022

After experiencing a rare spinal cord stroke, Victory Anighoro started working with occupational therapist Andrea Morrison to regain his mobility and overcome functional limitations. The road was far from easy but he experienced huge improvements over the course of a few months. 

Once Victory turns 18, he will transition from children's services to adult care which means a large transition and a need to focus on future goals and plans. Fortunately occupational therapists are familiar with transitions and can assist with planning future participation in occupations and roles such as education, employment and housing. 

Read the full article here.