CEO’s Report

Samantha Hunter | OTA CEO

As 2021 draws to a close and 2022 stretches before us, it provides an opportunity to look at where we have come from and what lies ahead. I have been considering how the 2021 OT Week theme, Participation, Inclusion and Independence, resonates for us as an association and a profession after a challenging two years of pandemic response.

How has our changing landscape changed the way we work and engage, with our members, with each other and with our communities, partners and stakeholders? Have our lives changed irrevocably?

Undoubtedly there have been challenges associated with the often tight restrictions placed upon us. In the early days we were required to flip the way we conducted business, how we interfaced with clients, friends and families. We had to be rapidly responsive. Our reliance on technology was paramount as we adapted to new systems, new interfaces and to supporting those around us to embrace change that kept them connected, too. As time has unfolded the technical challenges, while still frustrating, seem a lesser burden than the adaptive challenges of constant change and the emotional resilience required to navigate life on new uncertain terms.

The new normal of uncertainty can be unsettling and draining. Supporting others while juggling an ongoing workload, working from home and the endless hours online has been challenging – each person’s resilience and fortitude tested. It has been important for us as an association to demonstrate the ethos of participation, inclusion and independence so no one was left behind.

We actively work to create a space where every one of our team is heard, valued and respected, with diversity front of mind. Different voices bring different ideas and generate different thinking – and, we hope, more creative outcomes. We foster the ability to stretch, bend and snap back (and forward) in our thinking so we can learn from each other, play to our strengths and learn to see things with multiple lenses.

Participation and inclusion also come alive for us as an association working with members. From our divisional council members to the work of the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, the members on reference groups, working groups and individuals responding to calls for case studies or consultation on submissions, the open inclusion of ideas and the participation of our members bring the work of the association to life, maintain our relevance and keep us connected with the profession across the breadth and depth of OT.

We are working towards greater participation and inclusion of those closest to us – the clients and consumers who benefit from the commitment of our members. As our world slowly opens up, we must enable more voices to join ours in amplifying the message of the important work of occupational therapists. Our vision for OT is that “people and communities are engaged in occupations that bring meaning and purpose to their lives, fostering health, wellbeing, participation and inclusion”. To truly live this vision we must open our eyes and our doors to participation outside of our membership and staff, and embrace greater and more diverse participation in our association.

And finally independence. Workplaces have perhaps changed forever. There is still much debate and conjecture about what they will look like in the future. The pandemic has brought about a level of independence never previously experienced. Working from home has presented challenges for some (does anyone ever want to hear the words “home schooling” again!) but there have also been incredible gains for many. Location is less of a barrier to the best staff or a workplace, commute times don’t impinge as greatly on life balance and trust is strengthened when independence is respected.

At OTA with a focus on participation, inclusion and independence we have stood together and built a bigger, stronger team despite not being physically connected for much of the past 24 months.

While technology has allowed that to happen, our culture and commitment has made it happen.

It has been important for us as an association to demonstrate the ethos of participation, inclusion and independence so no one was left behind.