Important Emerging Areas of OT

An emerging area is an area of practice created to respond to society's evolving needs and changes. Today I learned about 2 emerging areas for Occupational Therapy: OT in the ICU and OT in the homeless population. It is important for occupational therapists to be involved in these emerging areas because society is constantly changing and we as a profession need to expand to help meet the needs of everyone. As I was reading the list of all the emerging areas we could pick from, I had no idea there is an OT in some of these areas working right now! It is important that we continue to create more emerging areas because of occupational justice, which means everyone has a right to do any occupations they enjoy! 

The first area I learned about was an OT in the ICU. Abby Lefkove is an OT practicioner who specializes in working with clients in the ICU. There is a strong foundation in the medical field that you must know like the back of your hand to work in the ICU. Some things you need to know is vital signs, type of lines a client could have, precautions to certain diagnoses, tests, imaging, and pulmonary statuses. The type of intervention that is performed is dependent on how alert and stable the client is. If a client is stable and alert, an OT would work on increasing ROM, stimulation, strength, and mobility. Some interventions could be walking to the bathroom, sitting up to the edge of the bed, or walking to a chair. If the client is less stable and alert. an OT would work on basic commands and simple theraputic exercises. This can include crossing the midline or working on pushing forwards or backwards to work on strength. It is also just as important to include the family members by having them sit at bedside during a session so they can see the goals we are working on as well as them being aware of the rehab process. When I was reading about working in the ICU it kind of overwhelmed me of being able to know all of these medical tests, signs, and procedures. Of course you get better with it overtime, but when you first start I would feel like a chicken with my head cut off. 

The next emerging area I learned about was being an OT in the homeless population. Quinn Tyminski is an OT practitioner who specializes in working with the homeless population. I was shocked to learn that according to AOTA in 2019 there were less than 10% of OT practitioners working in this field. Some key problems those that are homeless face are poor sleeping habits, head injury, poor dietary options, substance use, and poor to unattainable health care services. Some effects of these issues are poor judgement, delay in the thinking process, poor health management, and poor health. I also learned that the reason there is not a lot of OTs in this area is because the centers who help house the homeless have no idea what an occupational therapist is and what are the benefits of our service. It breaks my heart to know that someone is out there unable to live their lives the way they want to because they just do not know the first step in making their lives a little easier. A lot of homeless individuals are afraid of receiving health services because they think the practitioners will not see them since they wont have a relevant medical history or healthcare to pay for their services. OTs can teach some skills to those who are homeless such as making a checklist, sleep management, health management, communication, and learning how to use technology. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeeSM1zINu8 

https://www.myotspot.com/occupational-therapy-icu/