For episode 19 of OT Conversations that Matter: the Podcast, host Justine Jecker is joined by special guest Phillip Wendt, OT & President of CAOT. Together they explore the motivators to becoming an occupational therapy practitioner and the links that unify OTs everywhere. Phillip shares with us how his journey to becoming President of CAOT and his experience working with people with varying health conditions has shaped his views of the profession.

For episode 18 of OT Conversations that Matter: the Podcast, host Justine Jecker is joined by guest OT Monique Lizon to discuss reflective and reflexive practice. Monique, is completing a Master of Public Health with a Specialization in Indigenous and Northern Health at Lakehead University and is currently a Policy Analyst at CAOT; she shares with us her reflections and some lessons learned throughout her research journey which focused on the response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada Calls to Action by OT professional associations and regulatory bodies.

For episode 17, host Justine Jecker is joined by guest OTs, Naomi Hazlett and Melissa Croskery. Together they discuss neurodiversity's origin, its evolution since 2020, and the understanding and relationship OTs have with neurodiversity and neurodivergent clients. 

In this episode, host Justine Jecker is joined by occupational therapist Julie Entwistle to discuss leadership. While leadership is not a new topic in health care, or in occupational therapy, its recent prominence in national discourse led us to engage in discussions on specific styles of leadership and how those might be reflected in day-to-day practice. Julie is a fervent leader who has donned many hats throughout her career including that of clinician, business owner, regulator, and Board Director.

For OT Month, OT Conversations That Matter: the Podcast is releasing a special extended episode focusing on the new textbook Promoting Occupational Participation: Collaborative Relationship-Focused Occupational Therapy. For episode 15, our host Justine Jecker is joined by OTs Gayle Restall and Mary Egan, editors of the new textbook representing over three dozen authors.

Through answering questions from our members about the new book, this episode explores the fundamental purpose of occupational participation and the book’s emphasis that occupational therapy is focused on collaborative relationships with individuals, families, communities, and populations. Considered an evolutionary advancement in our thinking, the publication introduces three important developments: how OTs characterize relationships with clients, the primary aim of practice, and how the profession is responding to justice, equity, and rights for individuals and collectives. Justine, Mary and Gayle also explore the new framework, the Canadian Occupational Therapy Inter-Relational Practice Process (COTIPP), and further elaborate on the evolutions towards the CanMOP and COTIPP from the Enabling Occupation II textbook which focuses on the CMOP-E and CPPF.

Pour l'épisode 14 partie 2 de OT Conversations that Matter : Le podcast, Émilie Montour, Responsable de projet à l'ACE, anime notre tout premier épisode en français sur le thème de l'identité professionnelle. Émilie est en compagnie de Yasmine Frikha, une ergothérapeute canadienne d'origine française qui fait actuellement son doctorat sur le thème de l'identité professionnelle à l'Université Laval au Québec. Yasmine a été motivée à approfondir le concept d'identité professionnelle lorsqu'elle a constaté, à travers son expérience clinique au Québec, qu'il s'agissait d'un enjeu courant dans la profession. Au cours de cet épisode, Yasmine et Emilie explorent les nombreuses raisons qui poussent les cliniciens de notre profession à remettre en question leur identité professionnelle et ce qui pourrait aider les ergothérapeutes à surmonter certaines des difficultés qu'ils rencontrent.

For episode 14 of OT Conversations that Matter: The Podcast, our host Justine Jecker is joined by Yasmine Frikha, a Canadian OT originally from France who is currently doing her PhD work on the topic of professional identity at the University of Laval in Québec. Yasmine was motivated to dive deeper into the concept of professional identity when she recognized, through her clinical experience in Quebec, that it was a common practice issue. During this episode, Yasmine and Justine explore the many reasons that lead clinicians within our profession to question their professional identity and what could help day-to-day practicing OTs work through some of the struggles they experience.

In this episode, Emmanuelle Pichard-Jolicoeur, OT & CAOT Global Health Practice Network Co-Chair, and Deb Cameron, OT and founder of the International Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation at the University of Toronto, join us to talk about the Global Health Practice Network, what it means to be a global health OT and how being a Global OT ties into the concepts of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

Dr. Shirley Ha, neuro-rehabilitative optometrist (OD) and Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, and Pamela Chinchilla, vision therapist and former practising optometrist in Colombia, join us to talk about OTs working alongside vision specialists. We explore different ways OTs and ODs could successfully build interprofessional relationships to better support and inform each other's practises and ensure optimal client care.

Emilie Montour, CAOT Policy Analyst, and Holly Reid, OT and UBC PHD student, join us to talk about advocacy within the OT profession. We look at where advocacy is included in the new Competencies for Occupational Therapists in Canada (2021) and what these advocacy competency indicators may look like in practice. We also explore the relationship between advocacy, OTs and their clients, and social, economic, political, legal and institutional barriers to participation and occupation.