The guests on this episode of On The air are the hosts of the Glass Half Full podcast, occupational therapists Jessica Kersey, MS, OTR, and Natalie Barnes, MS, OTR.
 
Jessica graduated with her masters in occupational therapy from the University of Florida in 2009. She has worked in inpatient rehab in San Diego and Las Vegas and has owned a community-based private practice for individuals with neurological conditions. Jess is now a second year PhD student at the University of Pittsburgh where her work focuses on facilitating community participation for individuals with traumatic brain injury.
 
Natalie has 10 years of experience as an OT in acute care and acute rehab; she currently works as a senior OT in the ICU at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC.

Our conversation in this episode centers around ways that engagement in the occupational therapy community helps to shape one's career through inspiration, education, support, and mentorship.  Jess and Natalie each share their origin stories about how they learned about OT and reflect on their time in OT school.  They talk about how they met and how they started their podcast as well as their passions and how that relates to what each of them is currently doing in the field.

Resources & Recommendations:

• The Edge Effect, an episode of the NPR podcast "Hidden Brain" 
• Glass Half Full podcast, hosted by Jess and Natalie
• The Healthcare Education Transformation podcast: "OT Education and Practice"
• Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make It and Others Don't (Jim Collins, author) - a book about how some businesses have made it into the "extraordinary" category

Occupational therapist Mandy Chamberlain, MOTR/L, graduated with a Master's degree in occupational therapy with an emphasis in community based practice at the University of North Dakota. Her varied clinical background includes working with geriatrics through acute care, long term care, home health services, home modification consultation, assisted living, inpatient critical access and outpatient therapy services. She is also working on the development of OT courses and ebooks as well as contributing to the Occupational Therapy and Community chapter of Occupational Therapy and Geriatric Care international textbook to be published through Springer Publishing.

When Mandy is not busy working as an independent contractor, consulting and running a website, she is enjoying the life in the mountains of Colorado with 3 energetic kids and an inspiring husband, all while sipping coffee and planning their next family travel adventure. 

On this episode of On The air, Mandy shares about her passion for working with the older adult population and her work as the founder of SeniorsFlourish.com,  host of the podcast Seniors Flourish, and as a mentor new grads and OT students through her membership site, The Learning Lab.  She also discusses her dedication to helping other OT practitioners working with older adults be the best they can be through education, resources, tips and videos.

Resources & recommendations from this episode:

• Being Mortal docu-series
• The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gwande
  
• Dustin Jones's Senior Rehab Project 
  
  

Connect with Mandy:

• ​Twitter - @ seniorsflourish
• Facebook page - Seniors Flourish
• Website/blog - seniorsflourish.com

On this episode of On The air, Tara talks about her work in establishing a resource library for allied health professionals and families of children with educational and healthcare needs.  She reveals about how Look Hear Australia was formed, how it got its name, and what the vision and mission of the organization is as well as how others can connect and share resources through the group.

Resources & Recommendations from this Episode:

• Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity (COTAD)
• COTAD Minority Mentoring Program
• AOTA's Multicultural & Cultural Competency Toolkit
• Article in OT Practice co-authored by Tamara: Enriching Kids' Lives - Addressing the Effects of Poverty on Health and Well-Being of School-Aged Children and Their Familieswww.aota.org/Publications-News/otp/Archive/2018/5-21-18-kids.aspx​
• Ear Hustle podcast

Connect with Tamara by email at calhoun_tamara@yahoo.com.

Nerida Hyett is an OT working as a lecturer in the OT program at La Trobe University Bendigo in Victoria, Australia.  Nerida completed a Bachelor's degree in OT in 2006, a Master's in Health Science in 2011, and a PhD in 2016. She has worked in community health, alcohol and drug services, youth mental health, and project management. Nerida's research is in the area of consumer and community participation, and she is developing a model of community-centered practice for use in OT.  On this episode, she discusses her path into the profession of occupational therapy and her work and research in community-based practice.

Amy Mooney, MS, OTR/L, our guest for Episode 22, is back to continue the discussion about Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, or "ME," through the lens of an OT practitioner and as a mother of a child with this condition.  On this episode, Amy talks about the distinct role of occupational therapy in working with individuals with ME, and she calls for a shift in thinking that is sure to resonate with OT practitioners and others interested in and involved with ME.

Recommendations & Resources from this episode:

• My Daughter's ME Story by Amy Mooney,  MS, OTR/L
• Myalgic Encephalomyelitis: International Consensus Primer
• ME: Unknown Cause, No Cure, New Hope by Lily Williams
• Millions Missing Campaign

Connect with Amy:
Email - amymooney145@gmail.com

On this episode of On The air, Amy talks about her path into the profession of OT and shares about her family's journey with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.  We discuss gaps in care and support sometimes experienced by individuals and families with chronic conditions and how a background and training in occupational therapy enters into the equation in assuming the role of caregiver for a loved one with a chronic illness.

David S. McGuire, OTR/L, is serving his second term as President of the 
Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association (TNOTA). He is employed as an occupational therapist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. David continues to promote the field of occupational therapy by guest lecturing at OT schools around the state of Tennessee.  He speaks on leadership and the value of being an active member in TNOTA. He is responsible for creating the OT2 Scholarship which provides a financial award for an OT or OTA student pursuing occupational therapy as a second career. 

On  this episode, David talks about his path into the field of occupational therapy as a second career.  He shares about how he first found out of OT, why he decided to take on a leadership role in OT in the state of Tennessee, and what he sees as his leadership style.

Debbie Amini, EdD, OTR/L, CHT, FAOTA, is an occupational therapist who received her BS in occupational therapy from Quinnipiac University, her MEd in curriculum instruction/supervision from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and her EdD in adult and community college education from North Carolina State University. She joined AOTA as Director of Professional Development in 2014; her previous employment experience includes clinical hand therapy practice, directing an occupational therapy assistant program and working as an assistant professor of OT in an MOT program. Dr. Amini has served in multiple volunteer leadership positions with AOTA, including hand rehabilitation subsection coordinator from 2002 to 2005, physical disabilities special interest section chairperson from 2005 to 2008, and a member of AOTA’s Commission on Practice from 2008 to 2011, and chair of AOTA Commission on Practice from 2011-2014 where she oversaw the development of the third edition of the occupational therapy practice framework: domain and process. Dr. Amini was the “Hands On” department columnist for ADVANCE for Occupational Therapy Practitioners from 1999 to 2011 and “Inside Occupation” From 2011-2014. She has authored several articles that have appeared in ADVANCE for Directors in Rehabilitation, AOTA’s Physical Diabetes Quarterly newsletter, OT Practice magazine, and the American Journal of Occupational Therapy. She has also written several online courses, several textbook chapters, and a CE course titled Hand Rehabilitation: A Client-Centered and Occupation-Based Approach. She contributed information on the hand, wrist, and forearm to Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Individuals With Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses published by AOTA Press and more recently co-authored the Occupational Therapy Practice Guideline for Adults with Musculoskeletal Conditions. She currently serves on the editorial board for the Open Journal of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Therapy in Health Care. Dr. Amini has worked for three orthopedic hand surgery practices in Connecticut and North Carolina; she established hand rehabilitation departments in two of these offices. She was also instrumental in the development of the hand rehabilitation program at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, a large regional medical center in Southeastern North Carolina. She has worked with all types of UE trauma including amputations, re-plantations, tendon repair and transfer, fractures, nerve compression and repairs, cumulative trauma disorders, osteo and rheumatoid arthritis, joint reconstruction, Dupuytren's disease and traumatic injury. She has clinical expertise in splinting, wound care, and physical agent modalities. Her research interests include the transition of OT practice from a reductionist to holistic perspective, positive psychology, critical self-reflection, the role of self-efficacy and communities of practice in habilitation/rehabilitation and OT education.

Recommendations and resources from this episode:

• Resources available through AOTA such as those on the topic of documentation and CPT evaluation codes
• Artlcile written by Debbie Amini in OT Practice, Defining the Term Occupation

Connect with Debbie: 
Email - ​damini@aota.org