Acknowledging AWESOME ACTS in Occupational Therapy

Every day occupational therapists across Ontario are doing awesome things. They're delivering excellent client-centred care, designing programs that are delivering amazing outcomes, developing cool new promotions or solutions, sharing impressive resources or knowledge, undertaking dynamic entrepreneurial business development and all sorts of other inspiring activities that we think are just awesome! That's worth celebrating and that's why are Acknowledging Awesome Acts in OT. Celebrate the “awesomeness” of our OT community!

 Here are just some of the occupational therapists doing awesome acts.

Veronika Lukacs


  
Veronika is a pretty awesome OT who is taking a strong role in advocating for community accessibility & inclusiveness..infusing the core values & beliefs of OT in her volunteer initiatives! We think what she's doing will inspire you!  Read about Veronika's involvement with the Stop Gap Foundation and the Community Ramp Project.  OTs have so much to offer community development and getting involved at a volunteer level is one awesome way to contribute and further an OT perspective! 

Read Veronika's story here

Dana Corsi


  
Dana is the Regional Project Coordinator for the  Assess and Restore Collaborative (ARC), based out of the North East LHIN. This is a role that allows Dana to influence the care pathway for frail seniors across her LHIN at a system planning level, with a goal of enabling this population to live more meaningful lives! How OT is that?! We're thrilled to hear about OTs taking on leadership roles and infusing the work they do with an OT lens. Dana's role at a LHIN planning and coordination level is a terrific position for someone from our profession. We think that this is an AWESOME role you'll be interested to celebrate but Dana's also an AWESOME example of how our clinical roles and willingness to step up to the plate when opportunity knocks can lead to exciting career options and exposure and influence of OTs.
Read Dana's story here

OSOT's 122 Amazing Volunteers


  Working in practice sector Teams, helping to plan professional development events, developing practice resources to be shared with all OSOT members, hosting OT Month events, meeting with their MPP to promote OT and our policy positions, presenting at career days, hosting a promotional booth, leading the provincial association as a board director...the list goes on...you get the idea!   Volunteers make things happen at OSOT! 

Get to know our volunteers - see our 2015 - 16 roster! 

Dr. Nick Reed


  
Meet Dr. Nick Reed! An inspiring & awesome OT who has always been motivated to combine his passion for sport with his passion for OT... resulting in pioneering success for the profession on many levels! He is well known for being a key advocate for the role of OT in paeidatric concussion care and is an exemplar of giving back... through his research, supervision of students, sharing of knowledge widely across networks and much more.

Read Nick's story here

Debra Stewart


  
OSOT’s Life Membership Award honours a colleague who has rendered distinguished and longstanding service to the profession of occupational therapy or to the Society. It is an award that invites members to recognize those who shine amongst them, those whose professional practice has been more than just exemplary, who’ve made a contribution and a real difference and for whom the profession’s respect and celebration is due. It’s an honour to be an Honourary Life Membership Award recipient! In fact, we think it’s awesome!

Read Deb's story here

Pat McKee


  
Meet Pat McKee! OT, Educator, Researcher, Associate Professor Emeritus, Inventor, Entrepreneur, Songwriter.... we think you'll agree this colleague's done some pretty awesome things!  Read more.

Amongst Pat's many accomplishments is her development of an innovative anatomy teaching resource - The Anatomy Glove Learning System (in collaboration with colleague Anne Agur). Extending her love and commitment for teaching into the development, testing and marketing of The Anatomy Glove, Pat has engaged an entrepreneurial spirit and saavy to be admired. 

The transition to innovative developer and businesswoman may be no surprise to those that know this creative OT who happens to have written and performed Canada's official song for the International Year of Disabled Persons!   
 
Get ready to be inspired!  Pat's advice?  "It's never too late to reinvent yourself and learn new skills".

Read Pat's story here

Saluting Student Achievement and Leadership Excellence!


 Congratulations to 5 Ontario OSOT Student Award recipients who have been recognized as a graduating OT who has demonstrated strong and continued achievement, leadership and interest in the professional affairs of the profession.  The OSOT Student Award recognizes students who are engaged in the profession, are able to see the bigger picture -  the context of the profession beyond an individual's practice, and have identified and exercised initiative and commitment to contribute in a meaningful way.  This award recognizes and values the kinds of skills that lend strength to professional practice and to the ongoing development, visibility & leadership of our profession.  We think these accomplishments are just AWESOME!  Congratulations to: Alex Ball - McMaster University, Evangelia Hirou - Western University, Patricia Knobl - Queen's University, Kayla Smith - University of Ottawa, Karen Yau - University of Toronto.

View larger photo here

Jill Cruikshank


 Each year members are invited to nominate a colleague for the OSOT Honourary Life Membership Award,  the Society's most prestigious award that recognizes distinguished and longstanding service to the Society or profession.  We are proud to introduce this year's recipient - Jill Cruikshank! Jill's nomination reads like the kind of commendation that every one of us would aspire to have written about us.....the quintessential OT, leader, and colleague that we'd all love to be recognized to be.   In short, the words describe an inspiring colleague who has touched so many by way of positive influence, making a meaningful difference for those she works with, those she serves and for the profession at large. Jill, we think you are one AWESOME OT! Read more about Jill's many accomplishments and contributions. 

Read more about Jill's many accomplishments and contributions.

Julie Entwistle

 
 In addition to being an AWESOME OT entrepreneur - Julie is a strong advocate for the profession! Julie has created a blog and uses social media as a channel to educate others about our wonderful profession. With 3000 blog reads a month, and over 7000 views to their OT-V channel (wow!) - Julie is thrilled that her initiative just might create a positive impact for OT's not just in Ontario, but all over the globe!

Read Julie's story here

Isabel Fryszberg

 
 Meet a colleague that has pioneered an amazing community- based arts program that serves inner city Toronto and clients living with severe mental health issues and addictions, and that clearly demonstrates the impact that art in the community can have on people's lives and on overcoming the stigma of mental illness. A tall order...but undertaken with vision, passion, tenacity and the talent of an artist and occupational therapist who has much to share!  We know you'll want to read about and celebrate the many accomplishments of Isabel, her colleagues, clients and the Creative Arts Studio.  Watch the film they've made, listen to the CD of the Studio based group the Social Mystics, learn more about her programs  - it's all AWESOME!

Read Isabel's story here

 Janine Haq, Sharon Ling and Wendy Law

 Meet 3 colleagues bringing diversity and inclusion "top of mind" within our profession & supporting OTs and Student OTs in the LGBTQA community.  Janine Haq, Sharon Ling and Wendy Law are 2nd year Student OTs at the University of Toronto who recognize the lack of resources and supports for OTs in, and working with, the LGBTQA community. To address this they've founded Rainb-OT to: raise awareness of LGBTQA issues in health care and rehab; provide an OT platform to discuss LGBTQA issues; build an OT presence in the LGBTQA community and; advocate for social inclusion of the LGBTQA community.  We think that it's AWESOME when OTs take their values and those of the profession and live them LOUD and PROUD and we salute Janine, Sharon and Wendy for their initiative, their vision and their commitment & action to make a difference - all promoting increased diversity and inclusivity within our profession!  

Read their story here

 Mallory and Jade Ryan

Meet your colleagues -Mallory & Jade Ryan!  Sisters, OTs, dancers - doing something awesome!  This dynamic duo has combined their passion for dance with the enthusiasm they bring to the profession of OT and have created: The Dance Ability Movement - an amazing opportunity for children of all abilities to access community leisure activities.  Jade & Mallory say it best: Each child is unique.  Each child deserves equal opportunities.  All children have the ability to dance!  We are inspired by their story about making dreams come true - their own and the kids they work with!

Read Mallory and Jade's story here

 OSOT Volunteers

What could be more awesome than sharing of one's precious time and expertise for the purpose of the greater good of many?  That's what 134 OSOT colleagues are doing - serving the greater good of the profession of occupational therapy in Ontario.  They're OSOT Volunteers!  Volunteers make things happen at OSOT!!  We think that's JUST AWESOME!

Read more about awesome volunteers

Anne Fourt

Meet Anne Fourt, OT.  She's one of us and we think she's doing something awesome!  23 years ago Anne came to the profession of OT as a second career having worked in health care in another capacity.  These days Anne is sharing her knowledge and expertise as a clinician, an Assistant Professor and most recently as a co-author of a new book - Treating the Truama Survivor: An Essential Guide to Trauma-Informed Care.  Awesome right?!  Hats off to Anne...your skills and commitment is AWESOME and we'll all learn from you!

Read Anne's story here

Carol MacDonald

Meet Carol MacDonald, OT.  She's one of us and we think she's doing something awesome! Carol's been practicing OT for 21 years. Having developed strong clinical and business skills in both the public and private sectors, Carol is now applying her OT skills and perspectives, her entrepreneurial nature and her passion for senior care to a new venture - a new home care service, myPSW.ca. Sound intriguing?  It is (!) and potentially even a game changer in the home care sector. We think you'll agree it is a terrific venture for an occupational therapist & we think it's awesome that it's an OT inspired idea!

Read Carol's story here
Perhaps you know of an occupational therapist that is doing something awesome. Why not use our Submission Template to send us a few quick lines and we'll be in touch to take it from there!

OT Innovator Group



  Meet a group of OT colleagues who are doing a lot of innovative and dynamic things in their practice as individuals AND who, as a group, have collaborated to share, celebrate and promote a new, innovative, often entrepreneurial vision of OT with occupational therapists and the public at large. Perhaps you saw #ThisOTCan on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter this past month...one of the best OT Month celebrations we've seen - truly AWESOME!

We want to introduce you to  Lydia Beck, Mira Etlin-Stein, Ellen Flanagan, Jennifer Hardy, Laura Kalef, Amanda Landry, Mallory Ryan & Jade Ryan.  T hey are the OT Innovator Group and we think they're doing something AWESOME!

Read more about these dynamic OTs and how they're shaping an awareness and celebration of innovative OT practice and its impact.