OT Conversations that Matter: The Podcast / Conversations qui comptent en ergo : Le balado

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.

Joy-Ann Perry and Amie Tsang join us to talk about socially accountable mentorship and their work with Occupational Therapists for Equity Advancement (OTEA). OTEA is an independent network of Occupational Therapists from historically marginalized groups, founded by Black, Indigenous and 2SLGBTQ+ occupational therapists that collectively support the enhancement of inclusion, diversity, equity and access within occupational therapy in the Greater Toronto Area. This is a group that grew out of the University of Toronto, but we are not formally tied to university. Today’s episode will focus on discussing OTEA's creation, experiences, and programs that are being recognized by OT programs across Canada.

Today we are joined by Anna Braunizer and Tanelle Bolt. We will be talking about branching away from the medical model and toward thinking about occupations beyond basic self-care. As the pandemic continues to disrupt our way of life, we can reflect on how COVID has changed individual and societal level awareness of how spaces are designed and used. 

This episode features occupational therapists Jennifer Bertoni and Justine Jecker. To close the 2021 year, we will be talking about culturally appropriate interprofessional health care services for First Nations and Indigenous populations. Both of our speakers today have worked with First Nations populations in northwestern Ontario with communities identifying as Anishinabek peoples. They both have a focus on culturally safe health care practices and how interprofessional teams appropriately service the needs of those in First Nation communities. If you'd like to connect with Jen, she can be reached at [email protected]

In this episode we return to the discussion surrounding social accountability to explore common downfalls and the ever-growing opportunities for change. This is the first episode with a guest who isn’t an occupational therapist but who has been strongly tied to the world of occupational therapy over the past few years. Thank you to Samira Omar for joining us! 

This episode focuses on social accountability with considerations of how this contrasts social activism. Holly and Justine engage in a conversation about what it means to be accountable and who we are accountable to, what constitutes activism, and how disrupting and professionalism can co-exist. 

This episode we were joined by Justine Jecker and Melissa Croskery to discuss occupational therapists as change agents. This was examined in the context of where our profession came from over time, and where we can hope to be going over the next 100 years. We consider change agency in a generalist context and from the perspective of leadership, and discuss whether OT can exist without change agency. 

Welcome to Episode 4 of Conversations that Matter: the podcast. Today’s discussion will center on intersecting identities and compounding forms of discrimination. Justin Turner and Holly Reid, two occupational therapists, will engage in a conversation on double-discrimination related to queerness and race, as well as discuss how the historical context of occupational therapy has been either a support or barrier to accessing healthcare services.

Episode 3 is focused on how and why OTs can be involved in research. With us today we have Kathryn Lambert and Justine Jecker, who engage in a conversation about what OTs bring to the table when doing research, involving patients and clients as partners, and what message they have for OTs who want to engage in research but do not have the time or resources to enroll in in a 4-year PhD or longer.