World Occupational Therapy Day Impresses Impact

World Occupational Therapy Day was launched on October 27th, 2010, by The World Federation of Occupational Therapists, to acknowledge the contributions these practitioners make to improve their clients’ daily lives. It’s been revered every October 27th since. 

Occupational Therapists Impact  

The World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) sponsors Occupational Therapy Day as a global day of service to promote and celebrate these impactful professionals, increasing awareness among client referral partners of this specialty’s abilities. Its reach is so pronounced that many countries hold an occupational therapy week or month during October.  

This event is also used to share with those considering a career in this field, providing an inside look at educational preparation and the profession’s expectations. See the scene: #WorldOccupationalTherapyDay  

In this context, occupations are the activities people need and want to do in their daily lives. They include anything that matters to them, like going to school or work, managing personal hygiene or a home, enjoying recreational activities… Pretty much anything that makes up a day. Living life is a job itself; occupational therapists (OTs) help anyone from children to seniors achieve and maintain functionality for their foundational tasks. 

An OT's roles in improving lives consist of helping their clients to bolster their fine motor skills and attain or regain the movement abilities they need for their activities. They also help people with self-regulation; enabling them to react appropriately to sensory input.  

Improving the safety of a client and their family’s residence is probably the most encompassing element of care. With much of their days spent there, adapting the space to suit the needs and abilities of everyone in the dwelling improves the lifestyle for all. 

Additional OT assistance provided to clients encompasses: 

• Helping them to overcome struggles of daily life, as they arise 
• Improving memory abilities 
• Forming coping strategies and tools to overcome losses of sight or hearing  
• And the vitally important service of preparing the client’s caregivers to provide continuous assistance 

5 Ways to Celebrate World Occupational Therapy Day 

Opportunities to enrich this annual event include: 

1. Take care of the practice’s staff. Cater breakfast or lunch items from a favorite local eatery. Use gift cards instead of on-premises consumption if it’s more convenient and encompassing. 
2. Host an open house for prospective client referral partners in the area. Educate them about available services and the advantages of being an OT specialist of choice that they’ll utilize with confidence. 
3. Use the practice’s website and social media properties to promote the day and available services. Ready-made tools for this are available here. #WorldOccupationalTherapyDay 
4. Contact the Features Editor of the local newspaper and offer them a client success story to promote the day around.  
5. Provide a local college with an OT presentation for interested students, educating them about the realities of the profession – the joys and pains. This could be a recruiting trip, too… 

Mobile EHR for Therapist Video

Demand-Driven Occupational Therapy Practice Growth  

The occupational therapy field is growing rapidly, reflecting the demand for OTs expected to increase 17% from 2020 through 2030, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. While at first blush this seems daunting from the staffing perspective, it also relays the opportunity for growth. 

What’s needed is a way for OTs on staff to treat more clients while avoiding burnout from working excessive hours.  

As a practice grows, client workflow automation gives time back to your therapists and their billable treatment. Much of the redundant paperwork and other administrative manual steps can be alleviated with an OT-configured Electronic Health Records platform (ERP). The ERP’s client portal also provides chronicled communications between the practice and those involved in a person’s care. It creates user satisfaction and goodwill, increases record workflow accuracy, and reduces practice operations costs. See how here. 

Promote and celebrate Occupational Therapy Day and prepare for your practice to grow.