Susan Touchinsky, OTR/L, SCDCM, CDRS, is an occupational therapist specializing in driving rehabilitation. She is a certified driver rehabilitation specialist, and has achieved her Specialty Certification in Driving and Community Mobility (SCDCM) from the American Occupational Therapy Association. She completed her training with Susan Pierce’s Adaptive Mobility Service, Inc. in 2003, worked for the Johns Hopkins Hospital Driving Program, served as director for Driving Rehabilitation at Genesis Rehab Services, & now is excited to own & run Adaptive Mobility Services, LLC. Susie is passionate about being both an occupational therapist and driver rehabilitation specialist. Susie is excited to be expanding into private practice to live her personal mission of providing exceptional care for all drivers and education for occupational therapy practitioners. She is devoted to comprehensive care, working to continually evolve her own practice, advocating for the occupational justice of all patients, and sharing her knowledge with others thru lectures, publications, presentations, volunteering, and educational offerings. 

On this episode, Susie talks about her role as an occupational therapist with a specialty certification in driving rehab. She shares about how she found out about OT (shout out to all the high school guidance counselors out there who know about OT!!) and her passion for providing exceptional care for all drivers through work with clients in her private practice, contributing to the field and the community through her advocacy efforts, and sharing her knowledge with others through lectures, publications, presentations, volunteer work, and educational offerings. 

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.