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Salary, Hourly, and Contract- understanding different types of employment
Occupational therapy is a great field with so many opportunities to work with different populations and in different settings. I always tell students that you have such flexibility that you can literally work as much (or as little) as you want. If I could have cloned myself a couple of months ago, I would have been able to work 80 hours a week. The other side of the coin is that I also now work only 2 days a week and still have financial security. To navigate this world, it is helpful to know the different types of employment that are available. Here are some descriptions and pros/cons to different types of employment.Sala...
Source: Occupational Therapy Notes - May 14, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: students practice issues Source Type: blogs

Occupational hazard - links between professions and suicide risk have changed over time
Suicide rates have fallen among farmers Among the various risk factors for suicide, psychologists have recognised for some time that a person's occupation plays an important part. Suicide rates have tended to be unusually high in professions that provide ready access to guns, drugs, or open water, such as in farming, medicine, dentistry and maritime careers. A new analysis has examined whether this still holds true. Stephen Roberts and his colleagues accessed the UK suicide rates for dozens of occupations in 1979 to 1983 and compared these with similar data recorded between 2001 and 2005. Consistent with the ready acces...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - May 13, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Christian Jarrett Source Type: blogs

Bureau of Justice Statistics Reports Firearm Homicides are Down 39% Since 1993; Continues to Severely Under-report Defensive Gun Use
Trevor Burrus Yesterday, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) released a special report, Firearm Violence, 1993-2011. Not surprisingly, at least for those who follow crime statistics, the report shows that firearm homicides went down 39% between 1993 and 2011. The report also reconfirms many things that gun-rights supporters have been saying for decades: that less than 2% of prison inmates in 2004 bought their firearm from a “flea market or gun show,” and that “2% of state inmates and 3% of federal inmates were armed with a military-style semiautomatic or fully automatic firearm.” Also not surprising is that ver...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - May 8, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Trevor Burrus Source Type: blogs

Keeping Organized
I was lucky enough to be invited to contribute to a couple of OT Month pieces. One was on Abby's awesome pediatric OT blog and the other was for AOTA. In these, I shared some of the organizational tips that I use to try to keep life together. Here is a more elaborate and visual demonstration of some of the best.My dad teaches high school seniors and as part of his unit on college prep always advises that the kids keep 2 calendars- one for the whole semester and another for the coming 4 weeks. I found this magnetic dry erase calendar at Sam's Club back in 2003 (?) for about $8 and have been using it religiously ever since. ...
Source: Occupational Therapy Notes - May 7, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: students balancing cognition products handy Source Type: blogs

Role Checklist
Cheryl's Role Checklist: Daughter 198XFriend 1986Neighbor 1986Sister 198XStudent 1989Teammate 1993Volunteer 1996Employee 1999Roommate 2002Fiancee 2004Wife 200XProfessional 2007Mom 2013Baby boy and mom are doing well after a mostly uneventful delivery in the middle of a fine April night. We are all adjusting to one another and trying to find our balance. I appreciate all the thoughtfulness from my OT tweeps and real-life friends as well. Class of 2025? (Source: Occupational Therapy Notes)
Source: Occupational Therapy Notes - May 6, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: personal pregnancy updates Source Type: blogs

Tinfoil hat analysis: Crypto-eugenics and the autism community
I believe in science and I also believe in scientific advancement. I have stated before that I am not a Luddite even though I sometimes take positions that might cause people to question.I am having another Luddite moment though.About a year ago I wrote a cautionary post to the autism community, advising them to embrace the DSM-V changes that would make diagnosis more difficult. In summary the post was a tinfoil hat analysis of eugenics and disabilities and reflected on what we have seen happen in the T21 community. Today I am thinking that embracing DSM-V changes is not enough to provide appropriat...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - May 1, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: Disability rights OT practice Source Type: blogs

You Are My Buddy…You Are My Friend
By Monica Heltemes Alzheimer's Reading Room Last week, I was at a care facility working as an occupational therapist. As I left the clinic to head upstairs, I passed through part of the dementia care wing. When passing this area, I generally say hello to any residents that I pass by. Today was no exception. As I headed to the stairwell, I made eye contact with a woman seated in her wheelchair. Once our eyes met, she outstretched her arms to me. I followed suit and stretched my arms out to her. As I walked forward, our hands met, grasping each other as though we were long lost friends. Subscribe to...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - May 1, 2013 Category: Dementia Authors: Bob DeMarco Source Type: blogs

Dribbling Drills
I sometimes use dribbling drills from my basketball days as novel praxis tasks for my kiddos. Here are some examples. These can improve hand skills, ball manipulation skills, coordination, and ability to adapt to a new task. Using an actual basketball can be too large and difficult for the kids, so a kickball (which also has more bounce) can be beneficial. A tennis ball can be used for some of the initial drills but it is very difficult.I've tried to list these in a rough order of difficulty, but that's based on my opinion. circles- Not actually dribbling, but rotating the ball around your waist and switching hands as you ...
Source: Occupational Therapy Notes - April 30, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: peds treatments Source Type: blogs

"Wish you were here!" - how a postcard can help attract the best talent
In 2004, in Silicon Valley, Google posted a huge billboard ad featuring a mathematical problem. The answer led to a web address with yet another puzzle to crack. People who successfully followed this intellectual treasure hunt ended up being invited in for a job interview. This is an extreme example of a recruitment principle spelled out in a new article by psychologists in Belgium. They say that distinctive recruitment procedures are the secret to attracting more and better job applicants, especially in fields like engineering where competition for the best talent is intense. Working with a Belgian technology comp...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - April 29, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Christian Jarrett Source Type: blogs

Mixing up chickens and eggs: A response to Fleming-Castaldy and Gillen
In the recent AJOT Fleming-Castaldy and Gillen wrote an interesting article entitled "The issue is: Ensuring that education, certification, and practice are evidence based." In the article, they examine why outdated neurophysiologic techniques are promoted in the profession of occupational therapy as opposed to more current and evidence based motor learning and motor control theories. They argue that outdated models based on Bobath and Brunnstrom have no place in contemporary practice.In spirit I agree wholeheartedly. There are many techniques that are still present in contemporary practice and we hang on...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - April 28, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: OT Education evidence-based practice OT practice Source Type: blogs

Human infections with avian influenza H7N9 virus from wet market poultry
Results of a study of four patients in Zhejiang, China, who developed influenza H7N9 virus infection suggests sporadic poultry-to-human transmission: We diagnosed avian influenza A H7N9 in all four patients (who were epidemiologically unlinked), two of whom died and two of whom were recovering at the time of writing. All patients had histories of occupational or wet market exposure to poultry. The genes of the H7N9 virus in patient 3′s isolate were phylogenetically clustered with those of the epidemiologically linked wet market chicken H7N9 isolate. These findings suggest sporadic poultry-to-person transmission. The...
Source: virology blog - April 26, 2013 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information avian influenza H7N9 China pandemic poultry transmission viral virus Zhejiang Source Type: blogs

Link Feast
In case you missed them - 10 of the best psychology links from the past week: 1. "Research suggests that mental illnesses lie along a spectrum — but the field's latest diagnostic manual still splits them apart" - ace feature by David Adam for Nature News. 2. "Can you catch depression?" asked the Daily Mail on the back of a new study published in the new journal Clinical Psychological Science. NHS Choices takes a calm, objective look at the evidence. 3. Why is it so hard to quit smoking? Open-access article by Lynne Dawkins in the newly published May issue of The Psychologist magazine. 4. Last Friday's episo...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - April 26, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Christian Jarrett Source Type: blogs

AOTA conference this weekend + presenting on Saturday
(To the sound of Music)THE FEEEEEDSSS ARREEE ALLIVEEEEEE ....wittth the sounddd of........CONFERRRENNNNCEEEEEE......Yep. Every other Facebook and Twitter feed is about getting to San Diego for our 2013 AOTA conference. That either means I am exaggerating, or I have a lot of OT friends. Or more likely, a mixture of both.I'm going to be going Friday, Saturday, and possibly Sunday morning....but after running around at work all week I think I may be pretty tired. I've decided all treatments on Wednesday and Thursday will consist of supine extension with vision occluded.....aka nap position. hahahaha just kidding. Ca...
Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) - April 24, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Source Type: blogs

#AOTA13 Social Media Presentation
I wish I was preparing to head out to sunny California and join the OT A-Team in the second edition of our social media presentation, but let's be honest: if I haven't had the baby yet, I'm probably taking a nap. Here is some supplementary information to my part of the presentation.Title: What’s New in Digital and Social Media for Occupational Therapy? Short Course 328 Saturday 2-330pmDigital and social media can facilitate interventions with clients and advance occupational therapy practice. In this era of constant change it is difficult to keep up with the latest tools. Presenters will share thei...
Source: Occupational Therapy Notes - April 23, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: students CE AOTA web Source Type: blogs

5 chances to win a cutting edge occupational psychology textbook
We have five copies to give away of Occupational Psychology: An Applied Approach by Gail Steptoe-Warren, kindly donated to us by the publishers Pearson. From the publishers: "Occupational Psychology: An Applied Approach introduces students to the essential theories in this area, from motivation and wellbeing to group roles and individual differences. The book explores the impact of every topic from the perspective of the individual, management, and the organisation as a whole, encouraging the reader to consider the consultancy process at each stage." For your chance to win the book, simply post a brief answer to...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - April 22, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Christian Jarrett Source Type: blogs

Arts & Crafts in Psychiatric Occupational Therapy
The profession of occupational therapy (OT) has many of its roots in the Arts and Crafts Movement, a response to the industrialized production at the end of the nineteenth century which promoted a return to handcrafting (Hussey, Sabonis-Chafee, & O’Brien, 2007). Its origins also were strongly influenced by the earlier Moral Treatment Movement, which sought to improve the treatment of the institutionalized mentally ill population (Hussey et al., 2007). Therefore, the use of art and crafts in psychiatric settings has played a significant role in OT from the beginning. Furthermore, a core idea in the development of OT...
Source: World of Psychology - April 21, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Wanda Song, BFA, OTAS Tags: Creativity Disorders General Mental Health and Wellness Psychology Research Treatment Activity Groups Art And Crafts Art Therapy Arts And Crafts Arts And Crafts Movement Arts Crafts Cognitive Challenges Cognitive Functioning Source Type: blogs

Loved this photo album
http://imgur.com/a/YjHXNhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/17/little-prince-matej-peljhan-photos_n_3102439.html "In a photo series entitled "The Little Prince," Matej Peljhan, a Slovenian photographer, brings Luka's imagination to life by including the 12-year-old in a variety of lifelike scenes." (Luke has muscular dystrophy) (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))
Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) - April 19, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Source Type: blogs

The best cheer me up ever, ahahahaha
A friend sent this to me via e-mail (who knows I have been feeling down). She was trying to cheer me up. It made me smile. Just sending the applicable part. "Still, I feel like you have an inner strength and light that can't be held back or extinguished. I'm serious! Maybe it's your Miss Awesomeness spirit woman. She is really a superhero to the kids she comes across. And when kids see her, they never forget her. Their hearts cry in joy when she passes by their classroom. I can describe her for you:On her head: A crown of 1,000 miniature party balls with multicolored glassAround her neck: A sloth, pr...
Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) - April 18, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Source Type: blogs

Happy OT Month :)
This photo was done by the University of St Augustine, in FL, for OT Month! (Always April). So awesome!Consider uploading your own versions on Facebook, Twitter, blogs...with OT that you wrote in sand, with rocks, with Wikki Stix, Theraputty, bodies, silverware, anything you can think of.... (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))
Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) - April 17, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Source Type: blogs

Product Review & Giveaway: Aimee's Babies DVDs
When I started making out my baby registries, and had one on amazon.com where the options were limitless, I decided to cast a wider net than the "standard" baby gifts. I have been interested in infant massage since my time in the NICU but not able to work out the time or money to go to a certification class. When I saw a massage video from an occupational therapist (one with a newly reactivated blog I had been following even) I decided to add it to my registry and try to learn a little about massage before I had my baby. Unfortunately, no one bought the DVD for me. However, I purchased the massage video for myself at a dis...
Source: Occupational Therapy Notes - April 16, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: peds students for parents Early Intervention products Source Type: blogs

Subtle Signs of Mother’s Dementia
We all need to be circumspect of subtle changes in personality, balance, judgment, memory and anything else uncharacteristic in our friends and family. Be Proactive and we can be less Reactive. By Elaine C. Pereira Alzheimer's Reading Room Falling The recent article on the Alzheimer’s Reading Room, Problems with Balance, Walking, Falling Can Be an Early Sign of Dementia, started me reflecting on a series of falls my mother experienced as well as other soft signs of her decline, or not so soft when she fell to the floor. At four feet, eleven inches, my mom was definitely petite and slender. She maintained ...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - April 16, 2013 Category: Dementia Authors: Bob DeMarco Source Type: blogs

Beauty Can Be Taxing
It’s time again for our annual “Tax Day” post that lists tax related beauty items that sort of, kind of have to do with science. A little bit. 1. Modeling + makeup = money! If you’re a model you can deduct certain makeup and some clothing items. Project Runway, here I come! 2. Surgery for sale Cosmetic surgery is not tax deductible if its sole purpose is to make you more attractive. Ironic, huh? And speaking of surgery… 3. Trans-taxable In 2005, the IRS eliminated the deduction for having transgender surgery. I guess they figured losing your penis was enough of a deduction! (We’ve been informed that thi...
Source: thebeautybrains.com - April 15, 2013 Category: Physicians With Health Advice Authors: Mid Brain Tags: Questions Source Type: blogs

Believe in Heroes
<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wrzs_SGH_a0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Erik (OT Army Guy) made this. Amazing :) In case it doesn't work as embedded:https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wrzs_SGH_a0 (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))
Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) - April 14, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Source Type: blogs

This Group of Revolutionary Mothers Is Helping Save Children from Dangerous Vaccines
If you haven’t read the new book by the Thinking Moms’ Revolution (TMR), buy it now. As in today. I got my long-awaited copy last week. I couldn’t put it down. I cried as I relived so many memories of my grandson Jake’s regression into autism after the rabies vaccine almost seven years ago. Wow. Seven years. I can’t believe it’s been that long. It felt like it was happening all over again while I was reading the stories of other families who went through the same pain. The same heartache. The same panic. The same sense of hopelessness. The same … everything. Like thousands of other stories about vaccine-injur...
Source: vactruth.com - April 13, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Jennifer Hutchinson Tags: Jennifer Hutchinson Top Stories Adverse Reaction autism Thinking Moms' Revolution vaccine ingredients vaccine injury Source Type: blogs

Ethics: Not Hiring/Firing Those Who Smoke
Discussion Blog)
Source: Bioethics Discussion Blog - April 12, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

Deep Capture Conference! – Tomorrow (Saturday)
On April 13, 2013 the Project on Law and Mind Sciences and the National Lawyers Guild are co-hosting a conference titled “Deep Capture: Psychology, Public Relations, Democracy, and Law” at Harvard Law School. Details here. Here is the information about our speakers: Noam Chomsky is the Institute Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT. He has not only made groundbreaking discoveries and insights in the field of linguistics, but has also become one of the most articulate and passionate critics of American foreign policy in the 20th and 21st centuries. He has written and lectured widel...
Source: The Situationist - April 12, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Situationist Staff Tags: Deep Capture Events Source Type: blogs

What a great week!
I'm going to break my Tuesdays-only rule for a Friday post because this has been an awesome week! First, I was the featured interview this week for Abby's blog (Notes from a Pediatric OT) in her OT's Perspective series. Be sure to check that out, but be prepared, I'm my usual wordy self. There are also some pictures that you may not have seen before, including one that features my swan neck deformity, lol. Be sure to add Abby's blog to your list of good reading to follow!Then, before I even got to return to my normalcy, I also got to pop up on the AOTA Checking the Pulse blog! Stephanie Y is doing an 'Appy April fea...
Source: Occupational Therapy Notes - April 12, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: peds AOTA web handy Source Type: blogs

A reminder about human agency and self reliance
There has been some noise and distress in social media circles with the recent advertisement run by MSNBC regarding 'who should be responsible for raising children.' Here is the video:This academic/pundit has since walked back some of her comments, stating that people just didn't understand the nuanced nature of what she was saying about 'collective' efforts in raising children.I suppose that if she wanted her message to be that we need to 'build a world together' that she should have said that in the original message instead of a bizarre statement that we need to 'break through our kind of private idea that kids bel...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - April 11, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: Disability rights philosophy OT practice Source Type: blogs

NFL Physician Says Diagnosis of "Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy" Lacks Validity
I have been closely following the topic of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) because of the evolving diagnostic aspects of the disease and also because of the large stakes involved with regard to the NFL and college football. I think that I already know how this story is going to turn out. Neurologists, pathologists, and radiologists are going to develop tests and imaging procedures that will provide earlier evidence of concussive injury for both amateur and professional football players. This will result in many players having to sit on the bench for longer periods of time after such injuries. This will cause some fa...
Source: Lab Soft News - April 10, 2013 Category: Pathologists Authors: Bruce Friedman Tags: Clinical Lab Industry News Healthcare Business Healthcare Delivery Imaging Other Than Pathology Medical Ethics Medical Research Source Type: blogs

Don't be like me
I get requests for advice from students or new practitioners every now and then via email. One thing I would like to say is "Don't be like me." Don't take this as self-depreciating, I know I have lots of good qualities. I tried hard in school and am a hard worker, I try to keep learning whenever possible and be creative and respectful with all my clients. But there are a lot of job-related decisions that I've made that I would hope other people could learn from. - Don't think you need tunnel vision focus in school Though I am proud to say that I no longer get confused with a high school student, people are still often sho...
Source: Occupational Therapy Notes - April 9, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: students personal balancing Source Type: blogs

Physician Payment Sunshine: DC Transparency Report, State Transparency Law Updates
ScienceDaily recently reported physician and hospital payments from pharmaceutical companies for the District of Columbia in 2011. The data was reported by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS), which found that pharmaceutical companies spent nearly $84 million marketing pharmaceuticals in the DC, slightly less than 2010. DC publishes their annual reports through a separate webpage hosted through it's Department of Health, dedicated to Prescription Drug Marketing Costs. Here's the 2011 report, which for some reason was not published until early March ...
Source: Policy and Medicine - April 4, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs

Aiding the Doctor Who Feels Cancer's Toll - NYTimes.com
The woman was terminally ill with advanced cancer, and the oncologist who had been treating her for three years thought the next step might be to deliver chemotherapy directly to her brain. It was a risky treatment that he knew would not, could not, help her.When Dr. Diane E. Meier asked what he thought the futile therapy would accomplish, the oncologist replied, "I don't want Judy to think I'm abandoning her."In a recent interview, Dr. Meier said, "Most physicians have no other strategies, no other arrows in their quiver beyond administering tests and treatments.""To avoid feeling that they've abandoned their patients, do...
Source: Psychology of Pain - April 3, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs

#10minTues- Virtual (and free!) Baby Shower
This is a great fun time for me, smack dab between baby showers put on by my family and church family. Things are really coming together to prepare for the baby and it's quite exciting! I love my readers and I'm so often impressed by their own blogs and information that you share. So now I'm asking you to participate in a virtual baby shower for me, in a way that is quick, easy and free!Please use the comments to share your advice related to being a new parent, balancing career and family, or anything baby/therapy related. What do you wish you would have known? Please share below! (Source: Occupational Therapy Notes)
Source: Occupational Therapy Notes - April 2, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: peds personal pregnancy #10minTues Source Type: blogs

NYS and the last second document drop on the early intervention program
If you pay attention to the news you will notice that Governor Cuomo is on a self congratulation tour for an on-time state budget. However, what is not mentioned in his self congratulation is the systematic dismantling that is occurring with the State's Early Intervention program and the devastation to social service programs that is left in the wake of his policies.Families need to be aware because as of April 1 there are many providers around the State who are no longer sanctioned to be early intervention providers. Additionally, for those who have elected to remain in the system, there has been an absolutely...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - March 29, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: health insurance OT practice Source Type: blogs

Link feast
In case you missed them - 10 of the best psych links from the past week: 1. The pleasures and perils of the open-plan office 2. CBBC broadcast a documentary featuring teenagers with Face Blindness It involved researchers from Bournemouth Uni who have launched a Public awareness campaign for Face Blindness (technical name - prosopagnosia). 3. Are left-handers really more creative? Three Myths and Three Facts About Left-Handers. 4. UK health advisory body NICE issued its first ever treatment guidelines for conduct disorder in children. Clinical psychologist Gordon Milson explains w...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - March 29, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Christian Jarrett Source Type: blogs

Graduation presents?
We have OT students graduating right around now...what are good graduation presents for OT students????? I was just asked and I was stumped. For those of you about to graduate, or who have graduated, what are presents you wish you could receive, or have received??? Any suggestions appreciated.I have ONE more day of work to get through - one more meeting, a presentation, and some odds and ends - and then two weeks to get my act together! Phew! I think I can I think I can! (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))
Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) - March 28, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Source Type: blogs

How citizen participation impacts regulation of a profession
I just got back from a meeting where the NYS Office of the Medicaid Inspector General informed a County that there was inadequate documentation of supervision and that a number of claims were therefore ineligible for reimbursement.At this exit interview I made the following speech to the OMIG auditors:Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this exit interview. I have been an occupational therapist for over 25 years and I have experienced many audits from CARF, CORF, JCAHO, NYSDOH, IPRO, and many others. Generally when there is an allegation of violation there is also an accompanying citation of the regu...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - March 26, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: policy health insurance Source Type: blogs

Maternity plan
People have been asking me about what my work plan will be after the baby since before we knew there was be a baby (part of another larger topic destined to be a journal entry, maybe a public entry) but the questions have certainly multiplied as time has gone on. Part of starting a job while 6 months pregnant is that everyone wants to know what you intend to do in the coming months. But I've been blogging much longer than anything else, so I feel like I need to share a maternity plan for the blog so you the reader aren't left in the dark.Ultimately, I have a lot of stuff going on right now. It's very stressful. I had set a...
Source: Occupational Therapy Notes - March 26, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: pregnancy balancing Source Type: blogs

Measuring mercury: common test may overestimate exposure from dental amalgam fillings
ANN ARBOR—A common test used to determine mercury exposure from dental amalgam fillings may significantly overestimate the amount of the toxic metal released from fillings, according to University of Michigan researchers. Scientists agree that dental amalgam fillings slowly release mercury vapor into the mouth. But both the amount of mercury released and the question of whether this exposure presents a significant health risk remain controversial. Public health studies often make the assumption that mercury in urine (which is composed mostly of inorganic mercury) can be used to estimate exposure to mercury vapor from ama...
Source: Dental Technology Blog - March 25, 2013 Category: Dentists Source Type: blogs

Yerkes and Eugenics
"Eugenics, the art of breeding better men, imperatively demands reliable measurement of human traits of body and mind, of their inter-relations, and of their modification by environmental factors."-Yerkes (1923)The previous post on Distrust of Psychology contained several quotes from a 1904 editorial on the dim view of psychology taken by many physiologists of the era. It was written by Robert M. Yerkes, who was the editor of the Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology. Yerkes himself was committed to establishing psychology as a respectable field (Yerkes, 1904):For those of us who have at heart the establishm...
Source: The Neurocritic - March 25, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs

Spring break fever...
Spring break starts next weekend and I'm glad about that, because I desperately need a break. This last month or so has been rough! It's all I can do to go to work each day. I'm so tired. On the weekends I'm doing very little besides sleeping most of the day and then all night too! I just can't seem to get enough rest. Just worn out. I think I'm starting to burn out. I've been warned this would happen. I just hoped it wouldn't happen so soon, seeing as how I'm only in my third year of being an OT, and my second year in the schools. I'm behind on everything - my blog, my e-mails, clea...
Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) - March 24, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Source Type: blogs

Q&A: Anyone know whats happening to me?
I was looking through some old posts and found this question. I thought it was a good one so I wanted to post an answer here. The question comes from ‘Jon’: today will be the 9th day since i quit smoking Marijuana and tobacco. i had a lot of withdrawal symptons such as extreme anxiety, loss of appetite, intense heartburn type sensations etc etc luckily they have for the most part gone. how ever. im still having really bad trouble sleeping for any long periods of time. the act of getting to sleep ISNT the problem, i go to bed around 11ish and read until i can no longer keep my eyes open and conk out very easily....
Source: Addiction Recovery Blog - March 24, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Addiction Recovery Author Tags: Opiate Treatment Source Type: blogs

Q&A – Marijuana withdrawal or depression?
Here’s a good question from Dirty Numb Angel Girl with an even better answer, enjoy: Hey all, I have been feeling upset the whole of this week, confused and lost like I can’t cope with the world outside. I have been bursting into tears for no reason throughout the day and have been losing my temper a lot too. I have began to feel very anxious for example if I see two people laughing in the street I feel like they must be laughing at my expense or at me. I feel like I just want to be alone or sleep for months on end just so I don’t have to think anymore.I’m not sure if this is because I have a histor...
Source: Addiction Recovery Blog - March 22, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Addiction Recovery Author Tags: Opiate Treatment Source Type: blogs

Pain Training Pays Off for Physicians and Patients - National Pain Report - National Pain Report
Chronic pain patients who are treated by primary care providers will experience significant improvement in their symptoms if their physicians are trained in pain management, according to a new study published in the Clinical Journal of Pain.The Primary Practice Physician Program for Chronic Pain (4PCP) helps doctors learn how to treat pain patients through educational classes taught by psychologists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists who specialize in pain management.Even just a few hours of training provide "remarkable" benefits, with patients returning to work faster, and experiencing less pain, fatig...
Source: Psychology of Pain - March 21, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs

#10minTues - Advocacy on the Quick
Often, when I talk with people about OT advocacy, they are interested but not really sure where to start. They also want to avoid a big time commitment. Here's a few super-quick ways for super-busy people to still take action.First of all, are you an AOTA member? Because if you care about OT being represented on a federal level especially, then you need to join. AOTA (just like other professional organizations like the AMA) can only claim to represent the practitioners who are actually members, not all the OTs in the country. Also, the political action committee, AOTPAC, cannot take money from non-members. So if you're an ...
Source: Occupational Therapy Notes - March 19, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: AOTA advocacy #10minTues Source Type: blogs

Women and the Treatment of Pain - NYTimes.com
To the list of differences between men and women, we can add one more: the drug-dose gender gap. Doctors and researchers increasingly understand that there can be striking variations in the way men and women respond to drugs, many of which are tested almost exclusively on males. Early this year, for instance, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it was cutting in half theprescribed dose of Ambien for women, who remained drowsy for longer than men after taking the drug.Women have hormonal cycles, smaller organs, higher body fat composition — all of which are thought to play a role in how drugs affect our b...
Source: Psychology of Pain - March 18, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs

Dried rice: An OT's best friend for weighted items and I Spy...
Making weighted hedgehogs, weighted tube socks, I Spy stuff...all with dried rice. (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))
Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) - March 17, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Source Type: blogs

I think I have too much paperwork
Y'all think I got enough paperwork? :) Organizing... (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))
Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) - March 17, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Source Type: blogs

"We are building the plane while we are flying it."
The New York State Early Intervention Coordinating Council was scheduled to meet a couple days ago but the meeting was cancelled and a subsequent video/teleconference was scheduled for today, 3/15. The original meeting was rescheduled to 4/18, but that may still change based on member availability.It is difficult to not be cynical, but did they cancel the meeting to limit participation and comment prior to their 4/1 switchover when NY State takes responsibility from the Counties for administration of the program? I asked people in the Bureau of Early Intervention in Albany and they told me that they thought tha...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - March 15, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: Disability rights health insurance Source Type: blogs

Energy Conservation for Chores
Spring has sprung, and with it, the return of chores galore. Here are some tips to simplify the chores and save more energy for things that you prefer to do.-Use machines where possible- dishwasher, washer/dryer, automatic shower cleaner, automatic toilet cleaners, Roomba, and the car wash. -Use lightweight objects when possible, such as Swiffer, dusters, or a hand vacuum.-Stay ahead of big cleanings by doing small things as able. This includes using antibacterial wipes in the kitchen daily, pick up 1 item each time you leave a room and replace it where needed, and handle items only once instead of sorting multiple times....
Source: Occupational Therapy Notes - March 15, 2013 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: energy conservation ergonomics Source Type: blogs