Occupational Therapy Month: Let’s Get Equipped!
If you’re reading this, then you likely read that I’m hosting an amazing giveaway with the owners of Artery Ink! To recap: two (very lucky!) winners will each receive an Artery Ink t-shirt, featuring their brand new Occupational Therapy design! Woo-hoo!
This shirt has long been in the making, and I’m so proud to have been a part of its creation. I’m certainly no artist—I leave that to the phenomenally talented Mara and Gloria, the owners and artists behind Artery Ink—but as a practicing occupational therapist, I was able to contribute design ideas, specifically the OT tools featured on this shirt. I was aided by the students in my Acute Care class, along with several of my friends who are also OTs, as we tried to incorporate OT tools from all areas of clinical practice. Trust me when I say this was no easy feat, considering how many areas in which OTs practice! I do feel that this design features some of our most well-known tools, and it really does paint a good picture of all our scopes of practice. You may be asking: what is featured in the design, and why is this equipment so integral to our work as occupational therapists? Let’s take a closer look!
Walker. Functional transfers, mobility, and ambulation are all key components of occupational therapy. How do you get out of bed? How do you get to the doctor? OT will work on that!
Gait belt. Speaking of mobility! While some may say the jury is out on how much these actually work to prevent falls, they are still being used at the moment, and they are still a key piece of equipment we use!
Tricycle. Even though I’m not a peds therapist, I wanted to include this area of practice because it’s an important one! I had written down school-based interventions as well as sensory ones, but when it got down to it, I saw the tricycle as encompassing so many areas of pediatrics. The push/pull, the sensorimotor, the balance… tricycles encompass so much.
Toilet with raised seat and grab bars. ADLs, baby! But not just toileting—even though that is obviously something we work on in OT. The raised seat and the bars represent transfers as well as the selection and implementation of adaptive equipment.
Button-down shirt. Again, with the ADLs. I felt strongly that the inclusion of a button-down shirt was important because it represents fine motor coordination as well as bilateral integration.
Sock aide. How I love these! Yes, they take a minute to learn, but once you have it down, you’ll never forget it. Adaptive equipment, you’re the best.
Reacher. Right up there with the sock aide! I know in some circles they’re falling out of favor, but I personally feel like every home should have one because they are just so darn practical. Again, AE for the win!
Hand weights. Therapeutic exercise is so important to a well-rounded recovery. Exercise comes in many forms, but I like free weights because they encourage functional strength for all occupations.
Exercise band. How many pieces of this do you think I cut and distribute on any given day? Here’s a hint: a lot! There’s something so nice about being able to leave these bands in patient rooms. If nothing else, this way the patient doesn’t have an excuse as to why they didn’t complete their home exercise program!
Balance ball. I used these all the time when I worked with older adults. The patient would sit on the ball and maintain their balance while doing an array of functional activities. It encourages core alignment and strength, and who among us couldn’t stand to work on that?!
Hand and wrist skeleton. This one is for all my hand OTs! I cannot stress enough how much I admire the extra education and training y’all take on. You are appreciated!
Elbow joint. Did I ever tell you guys about the patient I treated who had no elbow joint? Long story short, they had a joint replacement that got infected. It was such an interesting plan of care to work on. Don’t underestimate the elbow—it’s key to our function!
Shoulder joint. Quick, name the four muscles comprising the rotator cuff! The shoulder is, again, extremely important when it comes to our functional performance. As OTs, we see shoulder sprains, frozen shoulder, muscle and ligament tears, joint replacements… and we observe precautions and create and teach compensatory strategies. We are clever, and we are wise. We are occupational therapists. PS—the answer is supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor. and subscapularis.
Clip board. Last, but certainly not least! Sure, we all use computers, but I would be lost without my clipboard (shout out to White Coat clipboards for keeping my schedule and my notes organized!). No matter what area of practice you’re in, documentation is a substantial portion of how we spend our day, and that is what the clipboard symbolizes.
Check back at my Instagram post for rules on how to win one of these educational and exceptional tees!