The article runs off a litany of reasons why blogging and social networking is bad.  To summarise they are

• breaches of confidentiality
• information leaks
• defamation
• damage to organisational reputation
• information to be used for social engineering and identity theft
• viruses and other malware
• bandwidth consumption resulting in degrading services and wasting time for other users
• intimidation of NHS staff leading to investigations.

The article goes on to state that you can download the full checklist (what, there’s more?!) here.

I am not sure what the motive behind the article was, not least because the College is actually quite active in this field itself.  It just pops up in the news pages, even though the guidelines referred to date back to December 2009.

The disappointment in it is that it reads in the most reactionary terms.  It comes across as being anti-progress by only listing the woebetides and the why nots.

Where is the debate about how we can manage risk and progress?  Where is the discussion on the opportunities that become available?

For all your threats above I give you my own list.

Watch out for social media and blogging.  It can result in:-

• collaboration
• innovation
• education
• integration
• creativity
• community
• encouragement
• support
• development
• efficiencies
• knowledge management
• best practice…

In a recent BBC article, here, Dr James Thompson, a psychology lecturer at University College London made the point that the priority was not to send anti-depressants to manage a situation but rather that;

“What they need is food and supplies and then systems building up and then to be given tasks to keep them busy.

“Maybe send down some equipment to give them something to do and to keep them involved.”

What a succinct and dramatic way of demonstrating the therapeutic role of occupation.

We now invite you to join us for a complimentary CPD training session on Thursday 30th September.  We shall be running the presentation twice, at 1pm and again at the early evening slot of 7pm.

The topic will be a new 1 hour course “Communication in Occupational Therapy” exploring how we communicate with our clients and colleagues and the problems we encounter.

This  presentation is packed with stories and practical advice and will enable you to communicate more effectively to save time and improve relationships in your practice.

Attendees will be sent a 1 hour CPD certificate to confirm their participation and supporting notes.

If you would like to join us, at no cost, then contact us for more details.OK

We look forward to sharing this session with you.

I was reminded of another blog article  had written from outside the OT sphere about a useful test on blogging confidentiality and I share it below.  This blog, as you will see, originated from an indiscreet comment on Twitter, but the test still applies;

“Hey look that’s me!”

I spotted a twitter exchange yesterday that caused me some concern.

A case was being discussed on Twitter that referred to identifying features. No names were mentioned and in that sense, at least, the clients were anonymous.  However, the details being discussed, such as appointments, some figures and issues would have been enough for the clients concerned to identify themselves in a flash.

I cannot recall where I learnt this “Hey look, that’s me!” test for confidentiality.  I do not know if it is enshrined in protocol or case law – perhaps a reader might care to tell us – but it makes perfect sense.

If a client can recognise themselves then that is perhaps the lowest cognitive bar we can set.

That is no reason to disregard that low bar, or dismiss it with an argument that “No-one else would know who it was.”  After all, if the client complains to us or relevant supervising bodies, then that will be more than enough to land us in hot water.

This incident also highlighted another issue.  We need to be diligent ourselves in testing confidentiality, but also in pointing out possible problems to one another.

By doing so we can self police effectively.  The alternative is likely to be a blanket ban or some other hysterical over-reaction.

I hope that if I have such a lapse in future that someone would quickly send me a direct message discretely to point out a possible problem.

I also hope that I would receive it with the same good grace and politeness that my Twitter friend did.

In the words of High School Musical “We’re all in this together…”

Part one is here.

Part two is here.

The story revolves around a conflict arising from a client’s non-compliance with a specified art exercise.  When asked to create a collage, one user, instead, created a 3D model.

This was used by one observer as evidence of that client’s “defiance” – a chilling thought redolent of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.  There was a fascinating reason however for the deviation between the expectation of the observer and the interpretation and actions of the client.

The story reminds us that although we might be absolutely clear about communicating what we are asking clients to do, they, being the recipient of the message, receive the message and interpret it through their own filters.

Those filters are, in turn, shaped and coloured by their life experiences.

Go to Allie Hafez’ A Voice In The OT Wilderness blog now and read the story for yourself.

There are 7 very short multiple choice questions here which will take literally seconds to complete.

Thank you.

Changing What We Think

I thought was going to write about the NHS Confedration’s consultation paper, and looking in particular at the consortia that service purchasers, previously known as GPs, will be obliged to join.  I might get onto that later.

Instead I got distracted by a curious search that has come up on the blog stats.  It read;

“Challenge what I think”

Someone had searched for “Challenge what I think” and Google, in its infinite algorithmic wisdom sent them here.

That set in motion a chain of thought.  How readily do we open ourselves to being challenged in what we think?

The two topics are not entirely disconnected.  The angle I was contemplating on NHS reform was that it is easy to get stuck in resistance, anger and opposition.  We might rail against the system on the basis that it is

• Wasteful
• A broken promise
• Unnecessary
• Politically motivated
• Unworkable
• Meddling
• Unwelcome change

or we can recognise that the march of this reform is inevitable.  Once we do that then the challenge is not to change the system or the political tide, but to look to ourselves and change how we are going to respond to it and engage with that change.

Note the word “Respond” as opposed to “React”

For those who are employed within the NHS, then we need to consider our roles within our teams.  How can we bring greater value, not just in pounds and pence, but in contribution?  What skills can we tap into to make our contributions more meaningful?

This has motivated the previous posts about self-effectiveness, or self leadership.  How can we position ourselves as being central to a team’s effectiveness, but not in a destructive way that undermines others, but constructively, helping to support and improve the whole.

For independent practitioners, how are you going to position yourselves in order to market your services to a larger number of smaller purchasers?  What do you need to do to demonstrate utility, effectiveness and ensure (to use the current buzzword) improved outcomes.

The current uncertainty needs us to remain adaptable.  It might mean getting to grips with social media – and the momentum that is now seen within social media and occupational therapy is very exciting.

It might mean, depending on how the consultation goes, that we need to be much more commercial in selling ourselves.

For some, let’s be realistic, it might mean looking for new roles altogether.

All of this needs us to be open to be challenged about the way we think.

We need to break the well worn patterns of X leads to Y and therefore Z applies. Experience shapes our responses so that if we find ourselves facing a situation we anticipate the outcome will the same as last time.  That can often drive how we respond.

And yet the outcome, to some extent, is shaped by our intervening response.  What if we choose, therefore, a different response?

What options have we got to select from?

What responses have we not tried previously and how might they serve us, and our service users and clients, better?

What new responses can we create for ourselves?

For more on this consider the issue of heuristics – there is a good summary on Wikipedia, right here.

The Meaning of Occupation? Just Doing.

The “What is Occupational Therapy To You?” post last week attracted quite a bit of attention both within the occupational therapy sector, but also from non-OTs.

You can follow the discussion there and see that the conversation in the comments.

I thought, when I wrote the article, that I was talking about that old chestnut of an argument, “What is OT?”  Readers however were more interested in the question “What do you DO?”

Jouyin Teoh, a blogger at OT on OT challenged us to drill down further and focus on the “occupation” within occupational therapy. 

When we talk about occupation within OT we use it in a sense that has no sense outside of our spheres.  To the rest of the world your occupation is “Yer job” and nothing more.  The common misconception that occupational therapists are people who only help you get back to work makes perfect sense accordingly.

When we consider “What do we do to give our lives meaning ?” then we are far more aligned to the client and their world view. 

So how can we open up this idea of occupation as just doing or being?

Quite by accident I followed up last week’s “What is…” post with an article looking at occupational therapy issues on Flickr . The thought occurs to me that we could share and celebrate what it is that we do by way of photography.

To that end, I have set up a Flickr Group page called “Occupation… just doing“.  I have seeded it with some photos of varing quality from my own collection.  These are photos of doing, or being, even the mundane things, which give meaning to our lives.

Why not share some of yours?  Take photos, whether on your mobile phone or dedicated camera, of you, or people you know, just doing things.  Let’s celebrate these things we do and get a broader understanding of what it is that we do, when we do what do.

This is not a competition, and there is no need for excellence.  This is simply about sharing and celebrating the joy of occupation.

At the time the pictures led me to think about this thing that we call occupation.

I subsequently went to www.flickr.com and posted the photos on there.

Flickr is a lesser known fringe of social media.  It is specifically designed to enable people to share photos.

While I was there I went to see what communities had gathered around occupational therapy.  There are a few galleries from AOTA and others, and a few stand out photographs.

Try these two for starters;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/b17flygirl/444094561/in/pool-occupationaltherapy

and this one;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leaaaaah/458597582/in/pool-enabledbydesign

Feel free yourself to use the search bar on the  www.flickr.com website and see if there are pictures that inspire or move you.

Opening an account is straightforward if you are inclined to pitch in and get involved.

Different social media platforms present very different uses and opportunities.  Enabling clients to share their photography and visions could well have therapeutic intervention aspects.  Over to you to think that through.

View From The Bridge

I love coming to work at Harrison Training’s offices here in Bradford on Avon.

The walk from the station takes you across the river, filled with waterlillies and cool promises.

From there you go through the old part of town with its stunning Georgian properties and then walk past the church and up some steps, worn through centuries of use.

It is hard not to imagine the lives that have been lived here over the years.

And then my thoughts shift.

How fortunate we are, those of us able to take these walks and enjoy our surroundings because, let there be no doubt, for all of the beauty in this town, accessibility must be a nightmare.

Inevitably, perhaps, I am drawn once again by this consideration of accessibility, to that old chestnut of a question – What is occupational therapy?

Take me as an example.  I am able to draw meaning, pleasure and fulfilment from being in, walking through and interacting with these surroundings.  And I wonder, is that the point?  Is that what occupational therapy is?

When we enable, reable, rehabilitate, when occupation is not career or work, but being meaningfully occupied, or stimulated, is this what we do?

Forgive me my more metaphysical ramblings this morning, but please share your thoughts.

What is it that you do when you do what you do?  What is occupational therapy to you?