OT and Leadership

Earn 1 hour of continuing education by joining OT Potential after taking this course.

The world desperately needs OT leaders.

It needs leaders that can think holistically. It needs leaders that understand both individual level change and systems level change. It needs storytellers, collaborators, and compassionate thinkers. 

And, these are the qualities of an occupational therapy professional. 

In this 1 hour OT CEU course, we’ll explore a paper on best practices in OT leadership curriculum development. This will help us understand the practical steps involved in leadership development. Both as an individual, and for preparing our profession to be one of leaders. 

After we review the article, we are thrilled to welcome to the podcast, Victoria Garcia Wilburn, State Representative for Indiana House District 32. Her and I will discuss the hard-won lessons she has learned about leadership. And, the advice she has for OTs to step into leadership, in whatever role they occupy.

Primary Journal Article Explored

When you log in, be sure to check out the OT Potential Club’s written breakdown of the following research article. Then, share your questions and thoughts with fellow practitioners.

• Best practices in leadership curriculum development: A case study of a curriculum designed to foster authentic leadership skills in graduate students.

Supporting Research and Journal Articles

• Advancing Women in Healthcare Leadership: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of multi-sector evidence on organisational interventions.
• Perceptions of leadership styles in occupational therapy practice.

Learning Objectives

• You will be able to identify best practices for leadership development in OT. 
• You will be able to recognize practical steps you can take for growing as an OT leader.

Agenda

Intro and breakdown of journal article

• 00:00:00 Intro
• 00:02:47 Why leadership is important
• 00:03:25 Leadership development in higher education
• 00:03:53 Intent of this paper
• 00:04:22 Leadership development best practices in the literature
• 00:05:31 Case study of a leadership curriculum in an OT program

Discussion on practical implications for OTs

• 00:09:57 Intro to Victoria Garcia Wilburn
• 00:12:27 How Victoria went from practicing OT to policy advocate
• 00:22:25 Article impressions
• 00:24:45 How do you define leadership for yourself?
• 00:29:46 How has your OT background informed your advocacy priorities?
• 00:33:20 Stories of how OT skills have been helpful in your leadership journey
• 00:37:55 Is there anything you learned as an OT that you have had to unlearn as a leader?
• 00:42:27 What’s been the most helpful thing you’ve done to grow as a leader?
• 00:44:47 What advice do you have for OTs who are ready to grow as leaders?
• 00:48:27 How do we encourage more OTs to step into formal leadership roles?

Target Audience/Educational Level

Our target audience is occupational therapy practitioners who are looking to learn about OT and Leadership.  The educational level is introductory.

Financial and Non-financial Disclosures

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

We here at OT Potential have no financial stake in this topic. Our guest, Victoria Garcia Wilburn also has no financial disclosures.

Speakers

Victoria Garcia Wilburn, D.H.Sc., OTR, CLT

Dr. Victoria Garcia Wilburn represents Indiana House District 32. Her legislative goals are to strengthen our public schools with critical attention to special education services, improve our public health infrastructure with focus on mental and behavioral health, and advocate for common-sense gun safety laws. For example, during Child Abuse Prevention Month, Victoria called for for accountability for the residential care facility industry.

Dr. Garcia Wilburn is also assistant professor in Indiana University’s occupational therapy program. She brings her contributions in the community to the classroom collaborating with students at Indianapolis hospitals, recovery centers, and nonprofits, providing real-world experiences for learning. Her most current projects focus on implementing occupation-based programming for adolescents in addiction recovery.

Victoria graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in occupational therapy in 2005 and earned her master of health science in 2012 at University of Indianapolis.

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L

Sarah’s passion is helping fellow OT practitioners translate evidence into daily practice. Sarah earned her BA in religion from St. Olaf College, then earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from New York University in 2011.

Since then, she’s worked in numerous facilities, including a critical access hospital, an acute trauma hospital, and a state inpatient psychiatric hospital. Sarah is the founder/owner of OT Potential. Read more about OT Potential here.

This course was designed to meet your continuing education requirements

We designed the courses in the Club to meet the requirements for “online” and “independent/self-study” courses. To verify the requirements from your specific state (within the US), check out our post, OT Continuing Education Requirements. If you are outside of the United States and have questions, please contact us.

We are proud to be an AOTA Approved Provider and to meet the requirements for your NBCOT renewal.

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