Pre-Conference Institutes 2023

All pre-conference institutes take place on Friday, October 20th at 1:00 PM.

You may attend an institute, or add it to the full conference (please sign up separately to ensure you get your space!)--sign up for an institute now!

Cardboard Construction: Safe, effective, and sustainable positioning solutions. 

Presenters: Pam Stephenson OTD, OTR/L, BCP, FAOTA; Carolyn MOore, PT,DPT, MHS

Cardboard and APT devices have been shown to be effective in meeting the positioning needs of a range of individuals, including children with cerebral palsy (Barton et al., 2022). Therapy practitioners are well-placed to design and fabricate APT/cardboard devices that meet the individualized needs of their clients. Training in APT/cardboard builds on practitioners’ existing evaluation and intervention skills and allows them to create safe and functional devices at reasonably low-cost. This institute will provide participants with an overview of cardboard construction and will offer them opportunities to develop basic skills in working with this material. By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to produce a simple, functional device from cardboard.

Cost: $50 plus $10 for materials 

Length: 4 hours 

Occupational Therapy’s Role in the Interprofessional Approach to Pain Management for Older Adults 

Presenters: Lynn Chatfield, OTR/L Heather Timothy, PT, MSPT/Resident Assessment Coordinator (RAC-CT) | Certified Exercise Expert for Aging Adults (CEEAA)

The undertreatment of pain in older adults is an especially significant issue for those who have moderate to severe dementia as a result of their inability to effectively communicate. Some of the consequences of ineffective pain management include decreased physical functioning, reduced ADL engagement, an increase in falls, wounds, contractures and premature discharges from therapy. In addition, uncontrolled pain has the potential to impact one’s overall physical and social well-being potentially resulting in depression, sleep deprivation, challenging behaviors and social isolation. Those who are over medicated are equally at risk of a decline in function. Interprofessional pain management approaches that have the potential to reduce pain and minimize the need for medication will be integrated. Non-pharmacologic interventions have the potential to reduce or even eliminate the need for prescribed medications and mitigate potential negative side effects. A collaborative, interprofessional approach allows for patient identification, appropriate referrals, and the subsequent development and implementation of effective pain management strategies based on the best practice evidence. As members of the interprofessional care (IPC) team, Occupational Therapy (OT) practitioners have a place at the table in advocating for pain management through an evidence-based, person-centered approach. OT’s comprehensive scope of practice empowers us, as clinicians, to expand our reach beyond commonly accepted areas of practice related to medication and health management to fully impact this initiative. Specific focus will be placed on exploring Occupational Therapy evidence-based assessments, analysis of occupational performance, treatment strategies, and barriers to unidentified pain in order to reduce the risk of occupational disruption. The value of occupational profiles will be discussed and linked to developing a comprehensive treatment plan revolving around reducing one’s pain. Topics will also include motivational interviewing, health literacy and lifestyle adaptations. Transition and sustainability planning will be considered and discussed to enhance engagement and participation in occupations of choice. Occupational therapy practitioners are essential members of the interprofessional pain management team in reducing pain and improving quality of life for older adults. By the end of this presentation, Occupational Therapy practitioners will understand their role as vital members of the interprofessional pain management team in holistically addressing pain in older adults.

Cost: $50 

Length:  3 hours

Setting Ourselves and Our students Up for Success: Examining the Attributes of a Successful Fieldwork Experience

Presenters: Lauren Carter Smith, OTR/L, CBIS and Patricia Laverdure, OTD, OTR/l, BCP, FAOTA 

During this preconference institute, we will examine effective strategies to move our fieldwork lens beyond student learning objectives, pacing guides, fieldwork instruction, and performance evaluation to creatively leverage, through innovation and relationship, fieldwork experiences that create valuable opportunities to not only launch students on a successful pathway to practice, but also build capacity in fieldwork educators to work as change agents in complex health care, social, and education systems. In this session we will explore strategies for establishing value added fieldwork programs, writing student learning objectives that not only support student advancement but also support the advancement of clinical practice in your setting. We will discuss the development of week by week pacing guides built on adult learning theory that empowers students and reduce the demand on fieldwork educators and sites. We will strategies for graded supervision that shifts the fieldwork paradigm from volume to value and helps guide answers to the question, “What’s in it for me?”

Cost:  $50 plus a workbook 

Length:  4 hours