|
FROM THE EDITOR
INSPIRATION CORNER
HOT TOPICS
STUDENT MEMBERSHIP
STUDENT RESOURCES
TAKE MEMBERSHIP NATIONAL
STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS
MEDIA
ABOUT
CONTACTS
ARCHIVES
2017 August
2016 December
2016 July
2016 February
|
A Note From The Editor
by Sue Ram, OTD/S
As the holiday season approaches, I found it appropriate to give a little thanks to all of those who helped make our annual FOTA conference a huge success. The months leading up to the conference were hectic, yet exciting. The success of our conference couldn't have been occurred without the hard work and effort put forth by all involved. I would like to give some special appreciation to our FOTA leadership and volunteers for ensuring that the conference weekend went smoothly, from registration to coordinating hotel details and fixing technical difficulties at lightning speed. I also want to thank all of the students and professionals who put together phenomenal research poster presentations and educational courses that all uniquely contribute to the advancement of occupational therapy. As we move into the end of the year, take some time to reflect on all of our successes as a state organization and think of ways that we can come back next year even bigger and better. As students, we hold an important role in the success of FOTA and that is to make sure we use our student memberships to its fullest potential by signing up to volunteer throughout the year and encouraging other OT/OTA students to continue to join/renew their FOTA memberships. There are many benefits that come with being a part of a state OT association, and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to experience it over the last few months.
Also, I am proud to announce that I am running for a position on the AOTA Steering Committee (Rep to RA) and I would love the support of my fellow student members. To learn more please click here!
Conference Reflection
By Kelly Daniels, OTD/S
The Florida Occupational Therapy Association holds an annual conference for OT students, COTA’s, and OT’s to attend for continuing education courses, research presentations, and much more. It is a great opportunity to attend to meet current students, network with future employers, and gain the knowledge in your specific interest area. A short course that I attended was titled “Sit-Stand Workstations” that included current research on the evolving sit to stand workstation design while including a discussion of different types of workstations and the potential overall health benefits that have been proved by these workstations. The presenter included videos and handouts which turned out to be great visuals during the discussion. She also brought in different types of seats that are used by both seated and sit to stand workstation designs, allowing the audience to utilize the seats during the presentation to evaluate their own posture while sitting in these various seats.  I chose to attend this presentation because of the research I am currently involved in at Gannon University. The purpose of my study is to compare a seated versus a sit to stand workstation design while using an assessment tool that evaluates the participants’ posture at their workstation. A self-reported pain/discomfort questionnaire is also used as a tool in the study to evaluate the effects these two workstation designs have on an individuals’ experienced pain or discomfort while working at their workstation. The goal of the study is to potentially find a positive correlation with pain/discomfort at a seated workstation and a negative correlation with pain/discomfort at a sit to stand workstation design. This in turn would show the potential benefits that a sit to stand workstation would have on workers. The short course taught me a lot about the sit to stand workstation design while providing the evidence of these evolving sit to stand workstation designs when evaluating an individual’s overall health. The presenter discussed a project called “Take a Stand” by Ergotron that implemented sit to stand workstation designs throughout an office workplace and required users to stand a various times throughout the day: when the phone rang, during meetings, while eating or drinking, and other times as well. Results of the study showed the individuals using the sit to stand workstations had less fatigue, felt more focused and energized, had decreased upper back, neck, and shoulder pain, felt more productive, and overall felt healthier. If you have any questions at all about the FOTA conference of any interest in attending. Please contact Sue Ram or myself for more details.
top
References
Breeden, L., Fultz, R., Gersbacher, C., Murrell, J., Pedersen, K., Thomas, K., & Hanna-Stewart, J. (2000). The relationship among demographic variables, professionalism, and level of involvement in a state occupational therapy association. Occupational Therapy In Health Care, 12(2/3), 53-72.
TAKE MEMBERSHIP NATIONAL
Your FOTA Membership dollars are at work! The FOTA board is pleased to announce a partnership with AOTA to enable your state association to offer a scholarship to an OT student. Monies from a long-held, but small scholarship fund in the name of Myra McDaniels were given to the AOTF to manage. AOTF reported this month that over 1,000 students began the process and over two hundred students submitted their applications. The Scholarship Selection Committee reviews applications on a yearly basis. Your Association Board and future recipients of this scholarship thank you for your membership! For more information visit:
 Sue Ram, OTD/S, Student Resource Editor
My name is Sue Ram and I am a second year OTD student at Gannon University! I am a native of the wonderful Tampa Bay area and I am excited to contribute my writing and editing skills to FOTA as the Student Resource Coordinator. I graduated from the University of South Florida where I received my Bachelor’s degree in Health Communication. I also received a minor in Behavioral Healthcare and another in Criminology.
A hobby for writing and a passion for occupational therapy is what brought me to this point of writing for our state OT association. I believe that writing is a powerful means of advocating for our profession, especially in technologically advanced times. My OT area of interest is in early intervention and mental health, so I will be writing about topics ranging from advocacy and hot topics in those areas. My goal is to encourage higher student membership with FOTA in hopes to motivate students to explore the importance of communication and advocacy in our profession. Feel free to email me if you have any article suggestions or have a cool story to share about your school or SOTA group (I would love to interview you!). I look forward to connecting with all Florida MOT, OTD, and OTA students, so please don’t hesitate to contact me at anytime.
 Kelly Daniels, OTD/S, Student Writer
My name is Kelly Daniels and I am a current OTD student at Gannon University in Ruskin, FL. I traveled to Florida after graduating from The University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to further my career in this growing field. I come from Pittsburgh with a psychology and rehabilitation science background offering many experiences from pediatrics to working in a wheelchair clinic with Veterans to working as a homecare aide. I have a lot of experience with pediatrics from working at The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh previously, assisting occupational, physical, and speech therapists with their clients. I am sports fanatic and a collegiate athlete, always finding time for softball and soccer as they continue to be hobbies of mine.
My goals are to inform the current readers about the field of occupational therapy and how current students can expand their knowledge inside and outside of the classroom. I believe it is important for students to understand the meaning of occupational balance and all of the opportunities that occupational therapy has to offer. As I continue through my career at Gannon, my hope is to continue to network and seek out all of the opportunities that Florida provides for my class, the incoming OT class, and myself. I am open to any ideas and questions any of the current readers might have so feel free to reach out to Sue and myself!
|
