On the front lines
I stepped away from blogging for a while. With the chaos of the past three months, I wasn’t sure what to say—about occupational therapy or about the state of the country. For now, I’ve determined that resisting and persisting are more important than anything I have to say about what’s happening in the United States. But I have a lot (more) to say about occupational therapy.
At the AOTA Inspire conference in early April, I had a conversation with a longtime friend about the “R” word: retirement. I acknowledged that I don’t work as much as I once did, and that I’m more selective about where I invest my time. But mainly, I said I wasn’t done yet.
I returned from Inspire with all kinds of ideas swirling through my imagination. Also a long ago statement from Florence Clark which has never seemed more relevant:
We must move away from thinking solely about occupation and isolating ourselves. Societal needs are often successfully addressed through interdisciplinary perspectives. I urge [you] to think about the public health concerns of the 21st century and how occupational therapy and occupational science can make contributions to those national priorities.
Admittedly, it can be limiting to take that approach, because you make one choice at the expense of another and may then not have the time to [address] something else about which you feel passionately. But in my case, I refrain from investing my energy in topics that only I or a parochial community care about. I believe we all need to be strategic and spend our time where it will have the largest payoff . . .
Florence Clark, 2006 (at the time, AOTA president)
I’ve been on the front lines of occupational therapy for over three decades: delivering services exclusively in client’s homes, collaborating with designers, contractors and engineers on home modifications, designing and then providing OT as part of home-based primary care, developing a role for OT in chronic condition management, engaging with policy makers, payers, regulators, and other healthcare professions and administrators on quality improvement and system-wide quality monitoring. My practice and my advocacy has evolved as needs, opportunities, and challenges have evolved from the late 1980s until now. I’m not sure I’ve always been strategic, but I’ve tried to invest my time and effort where it will have the greatest payoff.
I still have much to do. I am also still having far too much fun to retire. OT Month 2025 has supercharged my batteries to continue to address the public health concerns of the 21st century. There’s a lot to reflect on and explore on the front lines. So I guess I’m back to blogging.
What’s your reaction to Clark’s statement? Where can OT make contributions to the public health concerns of the 21st century? Share your thoughts in the comments.