SPOT On Chicago

Why You Should be an Occupational Therapist

Why should you be an Occupational Therapist? I just ran across a great snapshot video that covers some basic points and should convince the naysayers. The video is part of a series by the US News and World Report detailing their picks for best careers.

Check out the source video on YouTube, as always some of the best info is in reading the comments. 

Video SPOTlight: StrongArm, Chicago's Own Crutch

 
The StrongArm Mobility crutch is a new rehabilitation therapy product that deserves attention, especially from physical therapists and others in the field. When is the last time you saw innovation in a crutch anyway? We noticed it last year and got the opportunity recently to interview Andrey Kharlamov, the VP of the company. Please note we are not in any way sponsored by or affiliated with StrongArm crutches, we just love the crazy things.

A few things you should know about StrongArm:

• Patients in a recent Mayo Clinic study ranked the StrongArm substantially higher than other canes/crutches (4.2 out of a possible 5)
• Medicare covers the StrongArm as a crutch under codes HCPCS codes E0110 (pair), or E0111 (each) and often times will pick up the cost for patients
• The ergonomics were originally thought of as a fishing rod attachment before a crutch
• Both founders went to school in Chicago, incorporated the company in Chicago, financed the company in Chicago and still run it from there. How's that for homegrown?

Be sure to support your local Chicago rehabilitation products and try out the StrongArm. Check out their website and let them know we said hello!

  

SmartMobile at RehabCare

If you're not familiar with the Smart Mobile initiative at RehabCare, it's time to change that. Check out the video below for a preview of their new initiative to move their tracking, monitoring and paperwork tasks to a slick new iPhone/iPod interface and device.

Imagine working in an environment where you don't have to use the paper charts, 15 year old software or ancient computers as part of your daily work. Imagine a place you can grab one handheld device like an iPhone or an iPod Touch and run your entire day from it. How much time does that free up? How much more effective and connected does that allow you to be? This is the future folks. Talk about a nice working environment... holy cow. 

Full disclosure: This blog is sponsored by RehabCare. That being said I'm posting this video because of how impressive this technical initiative is. Frankly, we're proud to be part of an organization that "gets it" this much. If you've seen this technology up close and personal let us know... we'd love to hear about your experiences. Is it as ridiculously spiffy as it looks like?

80 Online Resources for Rehab Therapists

Rather than highlighting just one of these we're bringing you more blog for your dollar today with three lists every rehabilitation therapist should look at. No matter if you are a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a speech therapist or an assistant there are some nuggets of gold here you should take a look at. Within these three resources reside 80 different ways you can use the internet as a healthcare worker, so without further ado here are the sites:

• 5 Ways Social Media Helps Promote Good Health: This list from notable social media blog Mashable highlights ways patients are connecting with each other as well as healthcare professionals online. It covers some collaborative and educational resources as well serving as a great primer on how others are using the internet in the healthcare field.
• 25 Excellent Social Media Sites for Your Health: While this list is from 2009 it has some gems that I've never heard of that made the list. The sites listed are separated into news, fitness tools and patient activism sections.
• Top 50 Occupational Therapy Blogs: Think of this more as the top 50 rehabilitation therapy blogs. It separates blogs into categories of physical, mental, news, professional and first hand account sections. The RehabCare Campus blog, one of our sister blogs, is even featured on the list. Tons of great resources on this list including blogs from Meta-OT and Anita Hamilton over at @VirtualOT. Be sure to check it out.

New Rehab Therapist Student Site

Happy Friday folks, here's a new site to wet your whistle on. It's called RehabStudents. 

It's a brand new site with more than a few resources students might find useful. With areas on the site such as "In the News", "Professor Says", and "Tips and Advice" it looks like it may become an exhaustive resource containing everything rehab and best of all...IT'S FREE! We like free. We like it better than chocolate (sorry chocolate, we still love you). Free is the new black.

So right after you read three more articles on SPOTonChicago.com *ahem*, go check out rehabstudents.com. From what we dug up it's all independent and run by students so who knows what kind of wacky therapy news they'll have there in the future. They'll even peer pressure you into joining their Facebook page.

Big thanks to the campus team at RehabCare, who we stole this article directly from. We came in like ninjas and stole it from right under them... because that's what ninjas do. We're not giving it back either so there. :P (That's right, we just posted an emoticon.)

Occupational Therapy Songs

I don't know what the OT curriculum looks like in South Florida these days but apparently it's pretty musical. You'll agree after watching this music video created and recorded by OT grad student Adam Abraham. He created a full on rap music video to help highlight the OT field and have some fun. Here's his explanation in his own words.

I wrote this song for occupational therapists around the world! I sincerely love OT and I hope that nobody is offended by any of my words or actions. The purpose of this song is to raise awareness of our field in a kind hearted way. If you find it hard to understand the words then please listen to the acapella version which is also posted on this account! I do not feel that any childhood or geriatric disorders are funny in any way.

You may remember but this isn't the first time occupational therapists have broken into song. What I want to know if when does this hit iTunes? What about a tour? 

Click through for the full video and if you know Adam... tell him I know a good agent.

Online Technology 4 Occupational Therapy

I just found a fascinating group online called Online Technology for Occupational Therapy. If you're an Occupational Therapist and you're reading this post, chances are you'd be interested in this group.

They seem to exist just to evangelize the use of new media tools and communication platforms in the Occupational Therapy field. They even going so far as to quote Tim O'Reilly, making a compelling argument for the use of emerging technology:

...the success of Web 2.0 lies in the fact that it has provided tools that have embraced the power of the Internet to harness collective intelligence (O'Reilly, 2005).

...61 percent of Americans go online for health information, which tells us that many consumers want and, more importantly, are willing to use online health resources (Hardy, 2010). Interactive online technologies enable us to connect students, practitioners, researchers and the public in shared topics of interest. It is carving a niche between workplace-based questions and research and developing knowledge from multiple perspectives (Gwozdek, Klausner & Kerschbaum, 2008; Lowry, Curtis & Lowry, 2004).

People working in health care have not adopted interactive online tools the way that people in sectors such as business, education and politics have. Hamilton and Penman (2010) suggest potential reasons behind the slow uptake of online "social software" tools by healthcare practitioners, including: 

• The healthcare workplace culture values "clinical contact and occasions of service" (McCluskey & Cusick, 2002, p.66) in preference to time spent on professional development. 
• Health care practitioners have limited access to the Internet at work (McCluskey, 2003; Schaper & Pervan, 2007). 
• Ongoing professional development is seen as a personal responsibility (Jantzen, 2008). 
• Confidentiality, professionalism and self-protectionism concern healthcare practitioners, which may prevent them from utilising Web 2.0 tools in practice (Baerlocher & Detsky, 2008).

...early adopters of online technology across all healthcare professions are identifying the importance of online technology in the future of healthcare education and practice. Practitioners are advocating for the utilisation of interactive online tools such as wikis, blogs and podcasts created for and by healthcare practitioners (Barsky & Giustini, 2008; Kamel Boulos & Wheeler, 2007; McClean et al, Wardman, 2007; Potts, 2006; Schembri, 2008; Bodell, Penman, Hook, Wade & Berry, 2008).

I for one am thrilled to find a group advocating this kind of usage. It's where we're going as an industry in the future, like it or not.

Imagine a future where healthcare providers have a closed online network with their patients and can answer care-related questions on the fly rather than forcing patients to drive in and waste what could be health-critical time. This is just one use case but there are many. There are even conversations going on in Social CRM circles with luminaries such as Jeremiah Owyang about these topics.

Keep your eyes peeled for our next site update, where we fold in some of these ideas into a platform you all can use to collaborate and learn about rehab therapy in the Chicagoland area. We're here to make a better community first and foremost, so keep us posted with your ideas how to do that.

This Week in Twitter - 5/14

Every week we try to compile our favorite tweets from the PT/OT/SLP/COTA/PTA space and there were some real gems this week on Twitter. Be sure to follow the folks who wrote these tweets for some great info. More and more we're finding Twitter an invaluable resource for discovering things before anywhere else. 

Are you on Twitter? You should be. Let us know in the comments if you are, we'd love to follow you.

If you are make sure you're following us at @SPOTonChicago. There are plenty of links we push out there that don't make the blog. 

Here's the tweets:

RT @drwalker_rph: The stage is being set to enable patient-driven disruptive innovation - http://ht.ly/1J6xm good read via e-patients.netMon May 10 17:41:24 via TweetDeckApril Sciacchitano
aprilcs

KneadALaugh is featured on #SmallBizStories. http://bit.ly/b101qF I am so proud!Wed May 12 20:48:04 via webLeslie Kahn
KneadALaugh

RT @jayparkinson: Doctors in America. - Acute Care = They’re the World’s Best. Chronic Care (like obesity... http://tumblr.com/x7v9t1to7Wed May 12 20:50:14 via TweetDeckTherapyGirl5
SnippetPhysTher

It’s worth noting the brilliant work of physical therapists & the resilience of the patients they serve. Good example http://bit.ly/bR521bWed May 12 22:02:03 via TweetDeckMove Forward
MoveForwardPT

In the News: Teens turn Wii remote into physical therapy and occupational therapy device http://bit.ly/dylPNeThu May 13 13:04:36 via TweetDeckYourTherapySource
YTherapySource

Tiger Woods Needs Physical Therapy for his "inflamed neck" - BusinessWeek http://bit.ly/913Xn7Thu May 13 14:27:19 via bit.lyLarryBenz
PhysicalTherapy

Don't get me wrong. I like physicians & respect their role in health. I don't like aggressive AMA politics that harm consumers. #mdmonopolyFri May 14 17:55:22 via TweetDeckEric Robertson
EricRobertson

In 2001, the AMA even tried to prevent the internet from participating in healthcare: "puts lives at risk" http://bit.ly/dAGl5b #mdmonopolyFri May 14 17:51:54 via TweetDeckEric Robertson
EricRobertson

Remember when AMA called all DO's "quacks" and a "cult" and it was unethical to associate with a DO? #mdmonopoly Good job AMA.Fri May 14 17:46:53 via TweetDeckEric Robertson
EricRobertson

Watched another inspiring TED talk today about learning. If you haven't watched a TED talk, it's worth checking out!Fri May 14 20:39:43 via webChristina French
AttikenPT

Should be a good read – @ebertchicago is working on a memoir, which will probably be more than 140 words http://bit.ly/d8paaZFri May 14 22:40:59 via bit.lySuntimes
Suntimes

RT @EricRobertson Washington State court ruled for referral for profit & against PT as a separate & distinct profession http://bit.ly/dcE8DcFri May 14 22:41:36 via TweetDeckAllan Besselink, PT
abesselink

and we wonder why health care costs so much? Over-utilization of services, self referral for profit, need I say more? Stop the insanity.Fri May 14 22:43:45 via TweetDeckAllan Besselink, PT
abesselink

This Week in Twitter - 5/6

Here's some of the tweets that grabbed my attention this week from Twitter. APTA, AOTA, PTJournal, Eric Robertson and more making an appearance. It's also an excuse to try out this fancy new way to embed tweets in the blog post, let me know what you think.

Click through to enjoy the tweets!

Webinar - Therapy related Medicare Basics

There is a webinar on therapy related medicare this week brought to you by RehabCare. Full disclosure for new readers: RehabCare sponsors this blog and the webinar. I'm very rarely self-promotional here but this sounds pretty interesting so I wanted to share. Plus it's a fitting followup to our post about PT's meeting with congress about direct access under Medicare.

Without further ado, here are the juicy details:

Understanding the ins and outs of Medicare is essential to having a successful career as a therapist.  Join RehabCare for our upcoming Webinar where we will be sharing tips and strategies to ensure proper insurance coverage across settings and documentation to support services provided.  Title:  Therapy Related Medicare Basics Date:  Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 Time:  7:00 PM - 8:00 PM CDT Space is limited. All attendees will be entered into a raffle to win an iPod Nano

For the full details and to register, check out our sister blog: Campus Relations. If you really want the self-promotional stuff, check out the RehabCare Homepage