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Tag Archives: aged care

Occupational Therapy – Providing You With Empowerment For Choice and Person-Centric Care

Blog post Amanda Chan

During Occupational Therapy (OT) Week, Empower is celebrating its amazing occupational therapists and  Amanda Chan reflects on why she joined the profession and the importance of collaborative work and person-centric care.

What is Occupational Therapy?

Working as an Occupational Therapist, I often get this question, “What is occupational therapy?”.  The World Federation of Occupational Therapy defines Occupational Therapy as below.

“Occupational Therapy is a client-centered health profession concerned with promoting health and wellbeing through occupation… to enable people to participate in activities of daily life… by working with people and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to, or are expected to do, or by modifying the occupation or the environment to better support their occupational engagement.” WFOT, 2012.

While many other people in the health industry are involved in the diagnosis of diseases, the occupational therapist’s role is about collaboratively setting and achieving meaningful goals.

Amanda explains, “Whether it be helping a person with selecting a chair that can help them stand because they have difficulty standing from their couch or introducing a person to a bath lifter to help them enjoy a bath again, I always feel a sense of satisfaction when seeing the joy on people’s faces as they successfully engage in these simple yet meaningful activities again.

Throughout my training as an Occupational Therapist, we are taught that engaging and participating in meaningful activities provide positive benefits to a person’s feeling of wellbeing.”

Many occupational therapists work with people who have an illness, have a disability or recovering from an injury, and there is a high degree of sensitivity and respect for humanity that is required for this profession.

“Being able to support people of all abilities to engage and participate in what is important to them is my motivation to be the best that I can be. I enjoy working together with the client to create a treatment plan that is meaningful and reflective of their functional and independence goals, be it a leisure activity like knitting, self-care activity such as having a shower safely or a productive activity like preparing their own meals.”

Meaningful Goals and Working Together

“The person who seeks her services is the expert in their lives. They know what is important for them and what is meaningful to them, and from there, they can work together to form goals and work towards those goals together.

At Empower, we recognise the importance of collaborative work. Cooperating and working together with other professionals, families, caregivers and consumers are important with helping consumers achieve their meaningful goals with a holistic approach.”

Therapy activities provided by Occupational Therapists can include;

  • teaching new techniques to complete the activity
  • relearning tasks included in completing activities
  • providing equipment to assist with completing activities or
  • modifying an environment to enable a person to engage in the activity.

All these can facilitate independence, reduce environmental barriers and provide resources to facilitate a sense of well-being.

Promoting Choice

Health care is becoming more person-centered where consumers are encouraged to make informed choices to better support their needs and well-being.

“With the rollout of the NDIS and the new aged care standards, I can see more relevance in the new health care focus in relation to occupational therapy. There is a shift in health care to promote choice, dignity and respect for consumers.

For example, consumers using NDIS funding have access to services based on goals set by consumers together with the support workers. Looking at the new aged care standards, the new standard of care to be provided to older adult consumers in community and in aged care residential facilities is centralised around maintaining a consumer’s choice, dignity and respect.

This resonates with occupational therapist’s core values where the consumer is the expert of their lives and services provided to them should include their choice in all matters to enable consumers to live life to the best of their abilities. This shift empowers consumers to take charge of their own lives and to be able to make more choices to support their health and well-being.”

Author – Amanda Chan, Occupational Therapist at Empower.

 

About Empower

We Change Lives

At Empower Healthcare, we deliver life changing allied health services. Our whole team is dedicated to building and delivering exceptional services for clients, loved ones, referrers and partner organisations.

Our therapists genuinely care about the people we work with and take the time to build strong relationships that holistically improve social, physical and mental well-being.

We are a successful privately owned and operated organisation that continues to experience significant growth, driven by our fantastic services and family of professionals.

 

How can I find an Occupational Therapist?

  • We have an amazing team of therapists
  • Comprehensive coverage across Metropolitan Melbourne, Mornington and Geelong
  • Responsiveness is our allied health home care service guarantee
  • Services available to residential aged care organisations
  • Friendly and professional staff

 

Call our friendly team on PH: 9583 1364.

 

Learn more on how our Occupational Therapists can help you

In Profile – Emily McLeod, Occupational Therapist

Emily image website4

In recognition of OT Week, Empower is celebrating its amazing occupational therapists and as part of our Staff Profile series, spoke to Emily McLeod about her role as occupational therapist in our Community Services – Home Care division and her passion for helping clients regain independence.

Why did you choose Empower?

Following working in residential aged care and inpatient rehabilitation in my first year out of uni, I developed a passion for the concept of helping people remain living in their home for as long as possible.

I was working with a lot of patients and residents who may have stayed safe and independent in their homes for longer than what they were experiencing, if they had the right supports around them. I wanted to be one of those supports!

In my early conversations with the team at Empower, they said that they agree with this, and that they are passionate about supporting their clients in the community and expanding their occupational therapy services in this area. Empower works with a range of home care providers, from those who are well cared for, to those who are the most vulnerable in our community. I was instantly attracted to the variety of the work that was coming in, and I could feel the amazing team atmosphere even over Skype interview!

What do you love most about your job?

Easy – the smiles on my clients faces when they receive new equipment or learn new ways to participate in activities that they thought were long behind them. Independence is everything. I love giving that to people.

What has been your most memorable moment?

Leaving university, I had no desire to work with children. I felt it was too difficult and that I didn’t have the knowledge or skills to work with young people with different disabilities. Through our growth into working with the NDIS, I have worked with a number of clients aged between 10-18 years, which I now love.

My most memorable moment was only recently – I visited the home of one of my 14-year-old clients who when I first met him; was glued to his Ipad, reliant on his mum for everything, and had a temper that would spark at the drop of a hat.

I was blown away to see him drop his Ipad when I walked in, show me a new book, tell me of a new club he has joined, get his lunch (that he made by himself) out of the fridge and pack a lunchbox for school, and then watch him help his younger brother get breakfast!

Seeing someone shift in their attitude and personal beliefs of their own abilities is amazing – I thought I was just helping him learn basic cooking and creating generic checklists for a morning routine. As it turned out, I had shifted his engagement with all aspects of his life!

In what ways has Empower supported your growth personally & professionally?

The team at Empower have provided me with many opportunities to attend professional development sessions, and always listen when I have suggestions for growth or change. I am constantly presented with new challenges, and always supported while working my way through these.

What piece of advice would you give your new graduate self?

Nobody knows all the answers every time. We are all learning every single day – it’s okay to make mistakes and it’s okay to ask for help. You’ll be surprised how often you ask someone a question to be answered with ‘I don’t know either, let’s find out together’.

Tell us a bit about yourself. Out of the workplace, what are your interests and hobbies?

On the weekends I am usually at home with my boyfriend or spending time with my sister. We love cafes, sunshine, and the occasional afternoon at a bar. I’m not very exciting out of work – I occasionally go on a little adventure into the bush or down to the beach, but most of the time I’m switching off and enjoying some R&R.

About Empower

We Change Lives

At Empower Healthcare, we deliver life changing allied health services. Our whole team is dedicated to building and delivering exceptional services for clients, loved ones, referrers and partner organisations.

Our therapists genuinely care about the people we work with and take the time to build strong relationships that holistically improve social, physical and mental wellbeing.

We are a successful privately owned and operated organisation that continues to experience significant growth, driven by our fantastic services and family of professionals.

 

How can I find an Occupational Therapist?
  • We have an amazing team of occupational therapists
  • Comprehensive coverage across Metropolitan Melbourne, Mornington and Geelong
  • Responsiveness is our allied health home care service guarantee
  • Services available to residential aged care organisations
  •  Friendly and professional staff
Call our friendly team on PH: 9583 1364.

 

Learn more on how our OTs can help you