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The Queensland Division Magazine
Oct/Nov 2014 Volume 13 Issue 1
CONFERENCE CPD POINTS:
Don’t forget to manually add your
conference CPD points to your
PD Tracker!
IN THIS ISSUE
IT’S A CONFERENCE `RAP’ !
The Queensland Division Magazine
QUEENSLAND DIVISION
238 Old Cleveland Rd (PO Box 591), Coorparoo, Qld 4151
Phone:
07 3397 6744
Fax:
Email:
07 3397 6599
[email protected]
Web:
www.otaus.com.au
Office Hours:
Mon-Thurs: 8.30am - 4.45pm
Friday: 8.30am - 3.30pm
QLD DIVISIONAL COUNCIL 2014
Chairperson
Kieran Broome
Vice Chairperson
Jodie Booth
Treasurer / Secretary
Adam Lo
Fellow Members
Nagadeva Higgins
REGIONAL
GROUPS / CONVENERS
Central Queensland
Jayne Moyle
Darling Downs
Patricia Hughes
Far North Queensland
Delwyn Sheehan
Sunshine Coast
Julie Watson
South Burnett
Emily Fieldler
...*
Casual Student Member
Sue Smith
INTEREST
Brock Cook
Mental Health
Rhiannon Latham
Neurology
VACANCY
(Enquiries to [email protected] or phone 07 3397 6744)
GROUPS / CONVENERS
Occupational Justice
Robbie Ellett
Emma Campbell,
...
OFFICE
TEAM
Anna Tynan
Executive Director
Sonia Herbert
Member Services and
Systems Manager
Julie Caudell
OT Driver Safety
Tim Williams
Working Group
Events and
Lisa Stromborg
Communications Coordinator
OTs Working With
Jacki Liddle,
Older People
Ros Eagles
Paediatric Gold Coast
Fiona Anderson,
Jane Beasley
OT CPD Manager
Kate Horstmann
Office Administrator
Jaide Sara
Administration Officer
Sarah Lawrence
Paediatric Brisbane
Miriam Rodda
Soft Tissue
Hollie Swanton
Work (Committee)
Sue Smith, Clara Chan,
Kerry Adam, Gordon Siebel,
David Norris
...
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The Queensland Division Magazine
From the
Chairperson’s Desk ...
The end of the year is often a time when we do a professional
‘stock take’. Some of you will be pulling together your CPD
records for registration renewal (which shouldn't be too hard
with our conference, interest groups and wonderful journal).
Others will be thinking about what you might embark on next
year; a promotion, job change, balancing career and parenthood, or even further study.
As the Association continues to expand our activity, hopefully you'll find there is something for
everyone. This is all made possible by our members, our staff and the wide network who
contribute to our Association.
There is no better example than our
recent state conference, where diverse
practitioners
showcased
their
work.
Fantastic presentation on topics such as
ergonomic
fashion
and
correlations
between attachment and oral hygiene
broadened my mind and my practice.
Hopefully we'll get to see you and your
amazing
contributions
next
year,
whether at the national conference, a
special interest group or serving on the
Divisional Council.
Wishing
you
all
an
occupationally
balanced end of the year.
Best wishes,
Dr Kieran Broome
Chairperson
OTA Qld Division
ADVERTISEMENTS
If you would like more information on advertising in our
3 publications or on our website (members receive discounts),
please contact us: Call 07 33973 6744 or Email: [email protected]
Visit: www.otaus.com.au/divisions/advertising
The Queensland Division Magazine
Executive Director Update
Dear Valued Members,
Wow … what a State
Conference!
Our largest
ever in Queensland with
260 in attendance. Thank
you to all those who
supported
this
event;
keynotes, invited speakers, paper, workshop
presenters, poster contributors, sponsors,
National Board Members, Divisional Council
Members, delegates and staff! So much to say
about this event, please read pages 12
onwards for the wrap! Now to focusing on our
next big event - The Disability Symposia in
Townsville in May 2015!
The latest CPD Calendar is out now - it is full
of a diverse range of exiting educational events
both face-to-face and webinars. It’s our fullest
calendar yet - and I am sure there is something
there that will appeal to everyone.
I would like to take this opportunity to
congratulate two super OTs for their recent
recognition during OT Week.
Dr Tammy
Hoffman - receiving the prestigious Mary
Rankine Wilson Award and Professor Sylvia
Rodger for the National Freda Jacob Award congratulations to you both for these most
deserving accolades.
As the year draws to a close—I would like to
thank our wonderful operations team who work
tirelessly to achieve the outcomes that we do in
Queensland— to Julie C, Julie N, Kate, Lisa,
Sarah and Jaide—thanks for a fantastic 2014.
To all our members—I wish you all a very
Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New
Year.
Sonia Herbert
Executive Director—Queensland Division
National Manager: Membership Services
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The Queensland Division Magazine
OTA Membership - Join or Renew now at:
www.otaus.com.au/membership
Join now to
access a
wealth of
member
benefits until
30 June 2015
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The Queensland Division Magazine
Health Promotion Survey
Hello! We would greatly appreciate your help. With the recent changes in the
Queensland workforce and the effect on designated health promotion positions,
we are interested in the overlapping features of occupational therapy practice with
health promotion activity. To do this we are exploring the ways occupational therapists
understand and use health promotion activities in their practice.
We would like to invite you to assist us in piloting this survey. After feedback from the
pilot and appropriate refinement, this survey will be sent to all occupational therapists
registered with Occupational Therapy Australia in Queensland as we aim to get a
picture of OTs and health promotion across the breadth of locations, practice settings,
training backgrounds and current practice types.
Your participation in the pilot would be greatly appreciated to assist us in ensuring the
questions allow us to gather the information that we are looking for. All data collected
will remain anonymous, be treated as confidential, and stored securely at the
university.
We anticipate the survey will take approximately 15 - 20 minutes of your time but
would appreciate it if you could time it and let us know on the very last page how long
it did take to complete.
Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/B9BT5K2
If you have any questions, please contact us using the details provided below.
Thank you in advance for your participation and I look forward to receiving your
responses.
Dr Sue Devine
Senior Lecturer
Public Health and Tropical Medicine
James Cook University
Phone: 07 4781 6110
Email: [email protected]
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The Queensland Division Magazine
The Queensland Division Magazine
Invitation to participate in research:
working with traumatised clients and
the organisational environment
University of Queensland PhD candidate Kylie Hickey is looking for Occupational
Therapists currently working with traumatised clients in an organisational setting to
complete a 20 minute online questionnaire.
It is hoped that this study will inform the development of an instrument that
measures traumatised client and organisational related outcomes, help shape
research and workplace policy and inform the distribution of resources to helping
professionals on the front-line in the future.
All participation is voluntary and the research has received ethical approval through
the University of Queensland (approval #2014000976). The questionnaire will be
open for the months of November and December. Please follow the link below to
complete the questionnaire and you are most welcome to forward in on to others
who might be interested.
Survey
Link:
https://uqnm.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_eEcT2wXBd2LGkMR
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Kylie Hickey at email:
[email protected]
Kylie Hickey
Social Worker
PhD Candidate
The University of Queensland
Ph: 0427 204 488
Email: [email protected]
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The
Queensland
Division
Magazine
The
Queensland
Division
Magazine
UQ Update
The Jacaranda trees are blooming and the pace is frenetic for all on the UQ campus as we head towards the end of the
year. We have many dates we are looking forward to including the Graduating Student Conference Day on 20 November
and the Student Graduation on 16 December.
Graduating Student Conference Day
A capstone event for our students is always the conference day at which they present the action learning projects they
have completed with the support of many of our valued clinicians. This day has traditionally involved the presentation of
the QOTFC Clinical Educator Awards and this year we are incorporating the Sadie Philcox Memorial Lecture, and the
Clinical Educator Forum, all within the latter half of the day. We hope this will support many of our great alumni and clinical
educators to attend these events.
Teaching Staff
In the middle of the year we welcomed Tim Barlott to the academic staff. Tim joined us from the University of Alberta in
Canada and brings a great perspective to the teaching within the programs and discussions amongst the staff. Tim has a
strong interest in community participatory research and the use of low cost technology to support communities – some of
you will have heard his presentation and workshop at the recent State Conference.
There are many of you who contribute to the programs at UQ on a casual basis either by teaching into the curriculum or
being involved in discussions about the curriculum. It is difficult to acknowledge you all individually, but on behalf of the
staff and the students, I would like to acknowledge the richness and depth you provide – you are all such an
important component of the programs at UQ.
OT@UQ in 2015
You may have heard that from 2015 and onwards, Occupational Therapy at UQ will be offered as the following two
programs: Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) and Masters of Occupational Therapy Studies. The major change
is that we will no longer offer a Bachelor program. All students entering in 2015 will be enrolled in the Honours program
and all existing students will be able to change across to the Honours program.
This change has occurred in response to a mapping exercise that was conducted across all of the University. The
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) is a framework that outlines the requirements for all levels of study within
Australia. An AQF level 7 denotes a Bachelor level of studies and AQF level 8 is a Bachelor (Honours) degree. During the
mapping exercise it became clear that the existing undergraduate program at UQ met the requirements of the AQF level 8,
as did Physiotherapy and Speech Pathology. Therefore, from 2015 and onwards, all undergraduate students from UQ will
graduate with a Bachelor (Honours) degree and a class of honours. All students will continue to conduct a significant
research component (and project) within their degree and we will retain the stream of students who are invited to complete
a research thesis within the final year of the program. For all intents, the program at UQ has not changed but the
nomenclature has been changed to recognise the high level of education received by the students.
Sadie Philcox Memorial Lecture
The 2014 Sadie Philcox Memorial Lecture is to be presented by Emma Gee and the topic is “Empower Me OT. Bouncing
Higher in Client Centredness: A Patient Perspective.” This lecture will be held at 3:40pm - 4:30pm Thursday 20
November 2014, in the Boardroom, St Leo’s College, College Rd, The University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus.
Visit: http://www.otaus.com.au/sitebuilder/divisions/knowledge/asset/files/27/sadiephilcoxflyer2014draft(2).pdf
Dr Louise Gustafsson
Head of Occupational Therapy
The University of Queensland
[email protected]
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The
Queensland
Division
Magazine
The
Queensland
Division
Magazine
Child and Youth Clinical
Placement Trainer
The
University
of
the
Sunshine Coast (USC) would like
to introduce the new Child and
Youth Clinical Placement Trainer,
Cate Hilly. Cate comes to the
USC from Canberra where she
has mostly worked in paediatrics in Canberra and the
surrounding NSW region. She has gained experience
in community, government, non-government, acute
health and academic settings working with ACT
community services, ACT health, Cerebral Palsy
Alliance
and
the
University
of
Canberra. In 2008 she completed a Masters by
Research in Applied Science (occupational therapy)
through the University of Sydney that investigated the
collaborative goal setting experiences of parents of
children with disabilities and occupational therapists.
This research enabled her to stop and listen to
parents, as service users, and occupational therapists,
as service providers in the everyday practice of goal
setting. This research developed her clinical practice
and research skills and was used to inform significant
changes to multidisciplinary goal setting practice and
policy at Therapy ACT, an ACT government
community service provider to children and adults with
developmental disabilities and delays.
Cate is currently a member of the Occupational
Therapy Australia National Paediatric Reference
Group. She is keen to coordinate and re-establish a
Paediatric Special Interest Group on the Sunshine
Coast, if there is sufficient interest from the
Sunshine Coast OT community. If members would like
to be involved, they are asked to express their interest
by contacting Cate on [email protected] or phone
5456 5781.
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The Queensland Division Magazine
frocktober 2014
Frocktober raises funds and awareness for ovarian cancer research, through
dress-related fun in the month of October, and encourages people all over Australia to
wear frocks, make frocks, draw frocks, remember frocks and hold frock-related events
in the name of this important cause.
Occupational Therapy Australia Queensland division decided to raise awareness and
get behind this important cause this year, and on every Tuesday in October the office
staff donned their frocks and all made a weekly donation.
We took a snapshot each week to diarise our progress (see images below). If you would
like to donate to this worthy cause, please visit the link at the bottom of this page.
Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF)
Ovarian cancer is an insidious disease, often known as a `silent killer’ as symptoms are vague and
often strike without warning. Unlike many other cancers, there is no early detection test.
Consequently, ovarian cancer is often diagnosed in its late stages and only 20-30% of women will
survive beyond five years of diagnosis. In comparison, survival rates increase to 80-100% when
ovarian cancer is detected and treated early.
The Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation is Australia’s pre-eminent ovarian cancer research body.
Their goal is to raise ovarian cancer awareness and vital funds for the development of an early
detection test that will save women’s lives.
OCRF receives no government funding and relies on the support of the community and business
supporters to assist in driving research forward.
Donations: https://secure4.everydayhero.com.au/event/frocktober/donate
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The Queensland Division Magazine
Occupational Therapy Australia
26th National Conference and Exhibition
Occupational Therapy Australia's 26th National Conference and Exhibition will be held on
1-3 July 2015, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The conference theme is Changes, Challenges, Choices.
This theme emphasises the changing landscape in which the profession is operating in Australia,
together with the challenges, and the choices we need to make both individually and as a
profession in order to navigate these changing times. In this way, we will address how the unique
and diverse attributes of our profession are valued and continue to develop.
For further Conference details please visit:
www.ota2015.com.au
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State
Conference News
The Queensland Division Magazine
THANK YOU TO OUR
PROUD SPONSORS
PLATINUM SPONSOR
OTA would like to acknowledge and thank all
sponsors of the Queensland 2014 State Conference
for their continued support.
GOLD SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS
BRONZE SPONSORS
OT WEEK SOIREE SPONSOR
SPONSORS
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State
Conference Wrap
The Queensland Division Magazine
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State
Conference News
The Queensland Division Magazine
The Queensland 2014 State Conference, Engage, Inspire,
Advance was staged during OT Week, 23-25 October, at the
Sheraton Resort & Spa, Noosa Heads, Queensland.
This major event on the Queensland CPD Calendar 2014
attracted in excess of 216 delegates, plus trade exhibitors,
meaning this year Queensland division recorded its largest
number of delegates at an event of this kind to date.
Day 1
The program commenced on Thursday 23 October with pre-conference workshops presented by
international presenters Jonathan (Jon Jon) and Paula Rivero (Canada) - My Name is Trauma:
Creating Occupational Resilience Through Play, and Introduction to the Medico-legal Field of
Practice presented by Angela McNamee and Kathryn Frame (for more information, and to read the
workshop reviews, please visit page 19).
Day 2
Conference day two was opened on
Friday 24 October by Qld Divisional
Chairperson
Dr
Kieran
Broome,
followed by international keynote
speaker Jon Jon Rivero (pictured front
cover and right), who presented a lively
keynote address entitled Create youR
Awesome!
Following morning tea, 35 papers were presented across nine streams; offering delegates plenty of
variety, as well as poster displays viewable in the foyer.
The afternoon sessions on day two offered three invited speaker sessions: National Health Reform
Agenda presented by Julie Connell, Aged Care Reform: How OTs are involved in Planning the
Future Needs of Older People presented by Jan Erven, and Taking Your Team from A to B: It’s
Easy for an OT presented by Jason Diederich.
In addition, the following two workshops were offered: Engaging Remote Communities Using Text
Messaging presented by Tim Barlott, and When More is Less Using Peer Learning to Minimise
Clinician Workload and Maximise Student Outcomes During Student Practice Placements,
presented by Anne-Maree Caine and Wendy Davila.
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State
Conference News
The Queensland Division Magazine
Day 2
To round up day two, a light-hearted and entertaining session followed afternoon tea break The Great Debate, OTs are Political Animals - debated how occupational therapists need to be
political to survive in light of the changing face of occupational therapy. This session was
presided over by OTA CEO, Rachel Norris, with other team members (affirmative): Jodie Booth,
Melissa Barrett, Peter Bothams and Carmen Mitchell, and (negative): Dr Kieran Broome, Nagadeva
Higgins and Adam Lo.
Pictured (L-R): OTA President Peter Bothams, Jodie Booth, Melissa Barrett, Dr Kieran Broome, OTA CEO Rachel Norris, Adam Lo.
OT Week Soiree & Awards Presentation
Sponsored by:
The Reach your pOTential OT Week Soiree immediately followed the final session on day two and
was an opportunity for delegates, trade, friends and family to celebrate OT Week, the opening of the
conference, as well as the presentation of the Association Awards. Aidacare sponsored the event.
The first award to be presented was the National Freda Jacob
Award, which acknowledges occupational therapists who
contribute significantly to the profession nationally and
internationally with their vision, advocacy and innovation. This
year the award was presented to the extremely deserving
Professor Sylvia Rodger.
(L-R) Dr Tammy Hoffmann & Professor Sylvia Rodger.
The second award of the evening was for the foremost award of
Occupational Therapy Australia - Qld Division. The Mary Rankine
Wilson Memorial Award for Professional Excellence is an annual
award established in 1994 to honour the memory of Mary
Rankine Wilson AM. The successful nominee made a
significant contribution to the profession of occupational
therapy in Queensland, and this year the award was
presented to Dr Tammy Hoffmann. Congratulations to both
Tammy and Sylvia on their awards.
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State
Conference News
The Queensland Division Magazine
OT Week Soiree & Awards Presentation - Photo Gallery
(L-R): Julie Connell, Peter Bothams, Kerry Adam
Rachel Norris, Professor Sylvia Rodger
Peter Bothams, Professor Sylvia Rodger
Dr Keiran Broome, Dr Tammy Hoffmann
(L-R): Samantha Strong, Hayley Kermond
(L-R): Melanie Hoyle, Chrisdell McClaren, Anne Maree Caine, Tim Barlott, Frances Worster, Alison Nelson
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State
Conference News
The Queensland Division Magazine
(L-R): Alison Sallera, Jeanette Isaacs-Young, Judith Trevan-Hawke
(L-R): Jennie Money, Anita Hamilton, Amelia Di Tommaso
(L-R): Jenny Franze, Joe Franze, Adam Lo
(L-R): Melissa Barrett, Joanne Flood, Carmen Mitchell, Sue Smith
(L-R): Leo Ross, Annie McCluskey, Julie Newton
(L-R): Kerry Adam, Natasha Lannin
(L-R): Rhiannon Latham, Kate Horstmann
(L-R): Genna Amos, Scott Latter, Caroline Baker, Anna Gordon, Tara Thomas, Leah Watts
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State
Conference News
The Queensland Division Magazine
Day 3
The final day keynote address was presented by Professor Lynne Adamson entitled `Engaging the
future: Change inspired by the NDIS’, followed by 30 abstract presentations before lunch.
Afternoon workshops included: `How To’ Implement a 2-Week Constraint-Induced Movement
Therapy Group Program to Improve Upper Limb Function by Louise Massie and Dr Annie
McCluskey, and Reclaiming Occupation as Means (ROAM) - Creating Communities of
Occupation-Centred Occupational Therapists presented by Brock Cooke and James Naismith.
The final sessions of the conference were the Future Directions Panel, presented by the OTA
Executive Committee and then Angela Lockwood with ‘Decide. How making better choices will keep
you moving forward in work and life’, followed by the conference awards and prize draws.
TESTIMONIALS FROM THE 2014 QLD STATE CONFERENCE:
“The variety of presentations and workshops in the program kept me energised across the entire
conference! The team at OTA-Qld strike a great balance across networking opportunities and a diverse and
fantastic program. Well done OTA-Qld!!”
“As an `older’ OT I felt proud to be at our state conference amongst such clever, compassionate and
inspirational people.”
“I have now attended several QLD OT events and look there first when I am planning my professional
development, and the Noosa OT Conference did not disappoint. Along with the great location there was a
range of topics to meet your specific work area and to generate thought in others.”
“An inspiring, challenging and invigorating state conference which exceeded my expectations. Soap
box/practice note style papers, guest speakers on NDIS and aged care reforms and EBP speakers were
great.”
“It was a very inspiring conference, which gave me more enthusiasm for the profession.”
“I really enjoyed the 2014 OTA Qld state conference. The venue was fantastic as was the location.
Presentations were inspiring and very occupation focussed, which is great for the profession! This year’s
conference definitely met the theme - engage, inspire and advance.”
“This was the first OTA QLD State Conference that I have attended as I am a student. It was an amazing
experience to network and hear about the exciting things happening in OT. I would definitely recommend it
for all OTs including students.”
“This year's State Conference offered a wonderful blend of keynote speakers, workshops and entertainment
in a very desirable location. All presentations were of a high standard, including the student presentations.
This 2014 event was certainly the best state conference I had attended, so well done to all of the
organisers.“
“I like to try to attend one OTA conference each year. This year I attended the interstate conference in
Queensland (I am from NSW). I was very interested to observe the different "flavour" of the profession in
another state. Of particular interest were the number of papers relating to occupational therapy involving
indigenous communities. I was also pleased to be present in one session where there was robust
discussion around the challenges which the profession is facing in regard to other allied health
professionals embracing ‘function’ as a core intervention focus.”
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State
Conference News
The Queensland Division Magazine
Congratulations to the Conference Awards and Prize Winners
Kryss McKenna
State Conference Medal
Awarded to: Jordana Parkes-Moller
Trade Trivia Competition Winners:
The winners of the trade-map trivia competition are listed below:
Social isolation and decreased quality of life in
older adults: Exploring the meaning of pet
ownership.
Winner: Sue Smith
ErgoSelect
Ergonomic Chair
(Read Jordana’s story on page 21)
The Kryss McKenna State Conference
Medal was established in 2009, in memory
of Kryss who passed away in 2009. Kryss’
outstanding achievements and inspirational
style has left a permanent legacy of
passion, learning and growth to OT in
Queensland, Australia and internationally.
One of Kryss’ key strengths was
encouraging her students to pursue
excellence in their field of research and to
share their learning with their cohorts and
the profession at large. It is on this basis
that a medal for the best student presenter
at the state conference was established.
The prize is an engraved medallion.
RRP $500
Donated by:
DAL + Brands
Winner: Jessica Ingersole
RollerMouse Pro2
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RRP $369
Donated by:
Ergonomic Essentials
Ruth Read Conference
Prize for Best Paper
Awarded to: Belinda Bull
Healing the animal within: A therapist and
consumers journey through post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD).
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Winner: Alison Parkinson
VibraLITE 8 Watch
RRP $125
Donated by:
TabTimer
This conference prize is awarded to the
best conference paper by an occupational
therapist. The prize is a certificate and a gift
of $100.
Best Poster Presentation
Prize
Winners:
Awarded to: Dianne Collis
Marie Wycisk & Suzy Smith
Evolution of `Pondering Poo’s’: Group education
for parents of children with chronic constipation,
faecal incontinence & toiler refusal.
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2 AIM BOOK-SETS
Latest Management Thinking
RRP $120
Donated by: AIM
This conference prize is awarded to the
best conference poster by an occupational
therapist or occupational therapy student.
The prize is a certificate and a gift of $100.
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State
Conference News
The Queensland Division Magazine
OTA CPD Events Review
Pre-Conference Workshop - Medico-Legal
Occupational Therapists Angela McNamee and Kathryn Frame were joined by solicitor, Sarah
Atkinson to provide an Introduction to the Medicolegal field of practice workshop to a full house.
Key learning objectives of the workshop included an overview of the legal system, ‘expert witnesses’
and what is required, completing a report for medicolegal purposes and more.
An informative and entertaining end to the workshop was a ‘real life’ enactment using the transcript
from an actual court hearing.
Participants Feedback:
“The medico legal workshop was very well presented.
It was very easy to tell that the presenters knew their
material thoroughly and were very experienced in this
area. I enjoyed and was very much stimulated by this
one day workshop .”
“Informative presentation for therapists wanting to
enter this field of practice .”
“Even if I do not undertake any medico legal work, it
presented me with a new structure to present other
reports that I undertake .”
Pre-Conference Workshop - My Name is Trauma
Jon Jon (OT) and Paula (Social Worker) presented a fun and interactive
workshop that reinforced the power of self-expression and creativity in
recovery from trauma. In addition to considering the impact of trauma on
children, participants engaged in a range of activities that are effective
tools for building resilience. Jon Jon and Paula shared examples from their
work with a children’s charity in Indonesia, and outlined how this changed
and grew in response to the devastating impact of the typhoon last year.
For more information: http://balikbayanproject.com/
Jon Jon and Paula inspired everyone with their passion and commitment
to sharing their work and supporting children internationally. They stayed
for the full 3 days of the conference and were incredibly generous in
sharing their expertise and time with everyone they met.
To view all of the current Association events please visit our PD page at:
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www.otaus.com.au/professionaldevelopment
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The Queensland Division Magazine
USC student wins prize for best student
paper at the OTA Qld State Conference
At the recent Occupational Therapy Australia Qld state conference
held in Noosa, University of the Sunshine Coast student Jordana
Parkes-Moller won the prize for the best student paper.
Jordana is a 4th year occupational therapy student and reported on
the results of her honours research project which investigated the
meaning of pet ownership to older adults and the effects on social
isolation and quality of life. Jordana’s research was with Pets for Life, an organisation which helps
older people in the community who are having difficulty taking care of their pets.
The research findings were that pets have a positive impact on their owners and have health-related
benefits, such as decreasing loneliness. Therefore it is important to support ongoing pet ownership
such as through community projects like Pets for Life.
Member News
Suspension of indexation of all Medicare Benefits Schedule Fees
From 1 July 2014, indexation of all Medicare Benefits Schedule fees will be suspended, excluding
General Practitioner attendance items and associated bulk billing incentives, for a further
24 months. Indexation of the fees in the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) Schedule of
Benefits will also be suspended from 1 July 2014 for 24 months.
This measure will affect specialists, allied health professionals, nurse practitioners, midwives and
dental surgeons who provide Medicare or Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) eligible
consultations and procedures.
Patients that are not bulk billed may also experience higher out-of-pocket costs for these services if
their provider decides to increase their fees.
The Association has written to the department about this as well as raisied our concerns through all
the channels available to us – including the Allied Health Advisory Committee.
We have written to the other Allied Health professions, as well as consumer groups and veteran
representatives on this matter and are hoping to form a larger coalition (than just OTs) to lobby
around this.
We are meeting with DVA in late November to follow up and will continue to lobby for the pause to
be removed.
Nathan Clarke
Lobbying and Advocacy
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The Queensland Division Magazine
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MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON ...
The Queensland Division Magazine
CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CALENDAR
January - June 2015
To view events from June onwards visit: www.otaus.com.au/professionaldevelopment
To register or view details of CPD events visit:
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www.otaus.com.au/professionaldevelopment
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Members of Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA) are entitled to discounted rates at all events on the Association’s calendar. Members are also entitled to Early Bird rates when registering up to
four weeks prior to an event. This calendar is subject to change. OTA reserves the right to cancel or postpone any workshop.
The Queensland Division Magazine
The Queensland staff and Divisional Council
would like to wish you and your family a
Merry Christmas
and a safe and Happy New Year.
We look forward to seeing you in 2015!
Our office will be closed from Monday 22nd December,
through to Friday 2nd January 2015.
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