OCCTH 503 E-portfolio

By He (Heather) Li

Introduction: Welcome to my e-portfolio. My name is He, I also go by Heather. I am often described by my peers as energetic and hardworking. I value freedom and I am a strong believer in equality and occupational justice.

I am currently in my first year occupational therapy program at the University of Alberta. My previous undergraduate degree is in human nutrition, earned at McGill University. Some of my past experiences include working with adults with developmental disabilities as a community rehabilitation worker and as a volunteer with the Linkage program where I visited seniors with dementia. These experiences are valuable to me and led me to the career choice of an occupational therapist. The purpose of this e-portfolio is to illustrate and reflect on my competencies as a future therapist through six roles: professional, scholarly practitioner, practice manager, change agent, communicator and collaborator.

Academic Honors received:

•Bachelor of Science in Nutritional sciences

•Dean’s Honors list (2006-2009)

•The Golden Key Society (2006-2009)

•Food& Nutrition Foundation Scholarship (2008)

•Mei Yu Dju Prizes ( 2008)

•Eliza Jones Scholarship (2006-2007)

•McConnell Award ( 2006-2007)

•Hollis Fiske Scholarship (2006)

Summary of Specially obtained Professional Skills

• Completed a Level one OT placement at a post stroke Neurology unit.

• CPR and first aide training (health care provider level)

• Completed module OCCTH 543 Sexuality in Rehabilitation

• Completed Graduate Ethics Training (online course)

• Received Dale Carnegie Junior leadership training

• Past member of Amnesty International McGill branch.

Professional development

“To Will is to select a goal, determine a course of action that will bring one to that goal, and then hold to that action till the goal is reached.

The key is action.” - Michael

Hanson

A current short term goal : Under the CAOT competency self assessment criteria of ‘ think critically.” My goal is to be able to demonstrate critical thinking in the OCCTH 900 systematic review project next year. I would use the McMaster critical review guidelines to appraise analytical research evidences, receive guidance from project advisor and librarians in completing the systematic review by the end of May 2011. I plan to evaluate my achievement through the final grade received on this project.

ProfessionalBeing a professional means that one adheres to ethical codes, guidelines and protocols

set forth by the health care facilities and the government bodies one practice under, while also staying true to one’s own professional values as an occupational therapist

(CAOT, 2007). Professionals promote appropriate work attitudes in practice settings and are attentive to injustice through continuous monitoring and critical reflection on self and

peer practice. Furthermore, therapists need to develop strategies to maintain their competency to ensure their quality of practice (SAOT, 2008).

• My personal strength towards becoming a professional include being respectful and sensitive towards others. During a conflict, I am able to separate personal feelings from the situation and employ logic and reason as methods of resolution.

• I believe in continuous improvement and on going learning , therefore I am dedicated to continuously set goals to improve myself in different areas of practice to maintain and improve on the quality of my practice in the future.

• In the course OCCTH 510, I received training and practice on professional methods of interviewing clients. We focused on word choice, body language and interviewing procedures that would reflect professionalism and client centeredness.

•At my level one placement on the neurology unit, I was orientated to the practice protocols, code of ethics and values on the unit and observed them in practice.

I am an admitting clerk with the south Calgary health region. I am familiar with the ethical codes and procedures to protect the privacy and confidentiality of patient health information and records.

A reflection assignment on individual competency and areas of improvement in inter-professional settings.

Scholarly practitionerAs a scholarly practitioner, one must be able to demonstrate, maintain and enhance

practice competency by engaging in on going professional development and education. Scholarly practitioner

is dedicated to evidence based practice and needs to be able to critically appraise evidence and

use them effectively to support client, service and practice decisions (CAOT, 2007). •In OCCTH 518, 503 and IntD 410, I’ve conducted several self reflections and assessments on individual performances, weaknesses and strengths. These reflections are important in that they help me set goals for future improvements. Through the OCCTH503 smart goals assignment specifically, I learned the characteristics of professional goals and also practiced setting long term and short goals.

•In courses OCCTH 562, 563 & 565. I gained more insights into an evidence based approach to practice. I learned different methods to critically appraise qualitative and quantitative evidences and practiced using the McMaster critical review guidelines as a tool to evaluate research studies. These skills are important in practice, because critically appraise evidences can be used to support clinical decisions

•During my level one placement, I had the opportunity to practice the use of several occupational assessment tools such as the COPM, MMSE, MOCA, FIM and BBT and received feedbacks on my performance from both clients and preceptors. I also demonstrated safe and appropriate body mechanics during several bed to wheelchair transfers with clients.

On the OCCTH 583 lab exam, I was able to demonstrate competency in assessing the active range of motion and manual muscle strength of another student.

This is the title page of my OCCTH563 research proposal project. Through a background research on current literature, I identified a gap in knowledge in one form of post stroke intervention and proposed a research design to address this gap.

Practice Manger Responsibilities of this role include the

effective management of resources and time. Practice managers need to be able to allocate resources such as staff members, monetary funding, and equipments in a manner that minimizes resource wasting and supports efficient practice. This is important as these decisions on resource allocation directly effects quality of client care. In addition, practice managers organize and prioritize tasks and guide the team in making objectives. At times, they may also take on the responsibilities of coaching staff members. Finally practice managers advocate for the team he/she manages to the healthcare system so the team can function to the maximum of its potential.

A key skill of a practice manager is effective communication. The ability to express ideas in a clear and professional manner is extremely important when giving instructions, feedback, suggestions to staff members and also when coaching staff members.

• In several courses, we’ve practiced giving constructive feedbacks on peer assignments and performances. For example for the OCCTH 503 assignments 2 and 3, we critiqued on five peer members’ reflects on the six competency roles of occupational therapy. It is important for managers to be able to give feedbacks to staff in a professional, straightforward fashion to promote improvement and growth.

• Similarly, in intD 410 classes, I practiced giving feedbacks followings the CORBS formula.

I was the leader of a volunteer group during the Beijing summer Olympics 2008. My responsibilities includes training local volunteers in greeting and giving tourist directions in English. Prepare teaching materials, schedule training sessions, manage and book training tools. (verbal consent received for picture use)

Change Agent 

Change agent uses knowledge and creativity to facilitate client engagement and inclusion in meaningful occupations (CAOT, 2007). On an individual basis, OT facilitates change by adapting client’s environment or improve client’s functioning. At a population

level, OT advocates for policies and regulations that will support an occupational just society (Townsend & Polatajko, 2007).

• I believe communication and collaboration roles are linked closely to the role of the change agent. For example, when developing treatment goals with clients while on placement, I always seek client’s collaboration and use communication methods and styles that’s most appropriate for the client. Combing these three roles increases client centeredness of the therapeutic process and ensures that the facilitated changes are meaningful to the client

• I am part of a group currently working on an assistive technology project. We used the Human activity-assistive technology model to design and adapted a game controller for a client with cerebral palsy to enable him to participate in playing video games with his family and friends despite his limited arm strength and range of motion.

• I plan to expand my knowledge in the area of assistive technology by taking the summer module : Assistive technology from an OT perspective.

• I am an active participant in writing campaign with Amnesty international advocating for changes and human rights movements. In the future I plan to continue my involvement with Amnesty and expand my advocacy through supporting policy changes and movements towards an occupational just society.

A splint we made for the Wii controller. The splint blocks all action buttons except for A and B required by most games.Tthis is to help limit distraction of the other buttons during a game. The splint also makes the controller bigger and easier for the client to hold on to.

A letter written for an Amnesty international letter campaign advocating for women rights.

Communicator Occupational therapist communicates with clients and members of the interdisciplinary

team on a daily basis. As a communicator, one should be well versed in the varying forms of communication and be mindful of the different types of individual

communication styles (CAOT, 2007). One should be flexible to accommodate and adapt the preferred communication styles and forms depending on the individual and the

situation.

• I believe that openness, respect and active listening are essential components to communication. Through the course OCCTH 510, I had several opportunities to practice active listening skills during client interviews. For the OSCE, I was able to communicate with client using appropriate terminologies, and demonstrated sensitivity and client centeredness when addressing client’s concerns. The client educator commented on my method of interviewing as effective in establishing rapport with client.

• I Completed the course IntD 410. This course focused on interdisciplinary interaction. I worked with a group of students from different healthcare programs on several case studies and team interviews. During this course, I had the opportunity to practice skills such as developing team norms and conflict resolution methods. I was exposed to several reading on interdisciplinary communication and also written some reflection on ways to enhance the communication process between team members.

•At my level one placement, I encountered a client with post stroke aphasia and experienced difficulty in verbal communication. However I was able maintain communication through the use of a communication boards and body language.

Evaluation of OSCE performance Part of an reflection assignment on Communication strength

Collaborator:

To an occupational therapist, being a collaborator means cooperation with others in planning and carrying out treatment and making decisions. At a client level, this means that the therapist works together with the client, include client’s participation in all processes of

therapy. Furthermore, therapists also need to work effectively in an interdisciplinary setting facing different perspectives, and priorities. Therapist uses skills in communication and a share decision-making approach to promote optimal service( CAOT, 2007)

• Through completing the course of IntD 410, I was able to practice developing and following team norms with students from other health programs and worked effectively as a team on several case studies. I was able to remain open minded and respectful towards different perspectives and opinions. Through reflecting on several course readings, I increased my awareness to barriers and enhancers of inter-disciplinary team functioning.

• I’ve also had several group projects where me and four other students worked closely. The NS-Ratio is an example where I took on the role as a collaborator by seeking member’s opinions and encouraging open discussion of different ideas. We used majority rules and consensus approaches to resolve conflicts. We’ve successfully carried out the NS-Ratio session and received lots of positive feedbacks from the participants.

•During placement, I practiced interviewing clients using the COPM and was able to collaborate with clients in developing treatment goals. Also on placement I was able to increase my knowledge on the professional practice boundaries of several health professionals such as the OT, PT, nurse and doctors on a neurology rehabilitation unit.

Working together with group members on the the assistive technology project.( verbal consent obtained from group members to use this picture.)

Reflection on interdisciplinary Team, process and effective functioning.

Letter of Support

Final thoughts

Through this e-portfolio, I was able to reflect on the six roles of an occupational therapist. Through this process, I’ve identified my strength towards becoming a collaborator and communicator. I’ve also identified several areas of improvement such as in the roles of practice manager and scholarly practitioner. It became apparent to me that for health professionals such as occupational therapists, on going self-reflections and evaluations are essential processes of quality practice. I realize that this portfolio has set the stage for me to start become more mindful and reflective of my competencies as an occupational therapist.

Thanks for reading!Sincerely,He Li

Referencehttp://pic.daqi.com/bbs/30/2828136.html

http://pic.daqi.com/bbs/30/2830095.html

http://pic.daqi.com/bbs/30/2838669.htmlhttp://pic.daqi.com/bbs/30/2849341.html

Townsend, E.A., & Polatajko, H.J.(2007). Enabling occupation II: advancing occupational therapy vision for health, well-being & justice through occupation. Ottawa: Canadian Association of Occupational Therapist.

Profile of occupational therapy practice in Canada(2007),Occupational therapist. Canada Association of Occupational therapists. Retrieved on March 12th 2010 at: http://www.caot.ca/pdfs/otprofile.pdfhttp://www.acot.ca/files/Essential_Competencies_of_Practice.pdf

Photography obtained from the following web address: