Exhibit emerging teaching and leadership skills by disseminating knowledge of client centered practice and safety to future clinicians. 

Academic Guest Presentations

When I was considering how to promote client safety among future OTs, I decided to go right to the source: the classroom! I had the honor of being a guest speaker at two academic presentations. During my first academic presentation, I was a guest presenter in Dr. Anita Perr's Rehab Evaluation and Intervention class, discussing the modification of client environments. Through a PowerPoint presentation titled "Adaptability of Different Environments," I shared my experiences from the nonprofit construction field, reflecting on how my personal disaster relief experiences influenced my life trajectory and prepared me to apply technical, leadership, organizational, and interpersonal skills through an OT lens. For my second academic presentation in Dr. Pamela Lawton's Introduction to Guidelines class on the Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance model (PEOP) Model, I highlighted the model's significance in OT evaluation, focusing on history, concepts, and the model's relevance to quality OT work.

During both presentations, I integrated real-life examples and emphasized the application of theory to OT practices. Both presentations highlighted patient safety in the subject matter. Real case studies from my current practice highlighted the practical application of these concepts. During the PEOP activity, I discussed how this theory could help organize one's thoughts about patient safety. For example, OTs need to consider the physical environment (such as the steps needed to navigate a home) as well as the social environment (such as the family support a patient has after discharge). Additionally, OTs may need to consider one's ability to follow neurosurgical precautions following a craniotomy for their medical safety. 

I shared community examples from the non-profit sector, illustrating the importance of a client-centered perspective and possible environmental modifications to feature patient safety, including custom building and prefabricated DME. One of the case studies in the adapting environments lecture, for example, featured the installation of custom versus prefabricated ramps and doorway thresholds for a wheelchair user. Additionally, another case study considered patient balance along with their bathroom setup (tub shower versus walk in shower, the indications for a shower stool/ chair/ bench, etc.). After the presentations, I collected feedback from the professors and reflected on the experience.