I am a proud occupational therapist working in a clinic with four physical therapists. I spend a lot of my day answering the question, “My doctor recommended hand physical therapy — why does your name badge say occupational therapy?” I also hear, “I don’t work anymore — why do I need ‘occupational’ therapy?'” I am ashamed to say I have not always corrected a patient when they call me a physical therapist to avoid the “what is occupational therapy?” elevator speech. I am using Occupational Therapy Month to celebrate my profession and re-energize my passion for advocating for occupational therapy!
Occupational therapy is the only profession that helps people across the lifespan to do the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of daily activities. All of these daily activities require the use of both hands. Our patients may have diverse upper extremity injuries and our treatments may look different than other areas of OT, but we get the same level of joy when our patient eats with both hands independently or is able to grip an object to prepare food for their family. It is so exciting when a patient says, “I had no idea OT or hand therapy existed, but I wouldn’t be here without you.”
OTs, I encourage you to proudly and excitedly tell your patients about occupational therapy and explain to them how you are promoting their daily occupations. Let’s support AOTA and OT month to show our value in the community! Use #OTMonth on social media to describe how OT helps your patients live life to its fullest. Look for opportunities to educate the community about OT (maybe a talk about joint protection for people with arthritis!). Throw an OT Month party. And most importantly, when a patient or referral source asks you to define OT, proudly answer their question about what we bring to the rehab table.
Happy #OTMonth to our OTs! (And PTs, we appreciate you and will honor you in October!)