President’s Report

Associate Professor Carol McKinstry | OTA President

Communication and collaboration

Being the first issue for 2022, happy new year and best wishes for a better one. At the time of writing, our hopes of starting the year with a sense of “returning to normal” seem a bit fanciful. Hopefully things have settled down by autumn, and all the extra stress and challenges of Covid-19 are easing. Many thanks to everyone – including clinicians, managers, researchers, teachers, students and OTA staff – for your resilience, dedication and persistence in ensuring we all play our part in helping to get through this pandemic.

This issue’s theme of “Communication and Collaboration” has never been more important than during the pandemic. I commend OTA staff for their role in helping members stay up-to-date with safety requirements for practice during the pandemic. Clear, current and plain language is important when seeking clarity during ever-changing situations. As an organisation, we have sought to provide some certainty for members, hence calling government departments to make decisions regarding mandatory vaccinations for health professionals.

Increasingly, OTA wants to ensure we make credible, relevant and timely comments on important issues affecting members and occupational therapy clients. We want to be heard in an often-crowded space, and sometimes this is where we need to collaborate with other similar organisations. Listening to relevant stakeholders is also a particularly important aspect of communication that is sometimes underrated. We are developing meaningful and genuine relationships with stakeholders that can inform our position and thinking, leading to better outcomes for all.

As a board, we are constantly reviewing with whom we should be collaborating – such as consumer groups, government departments, CPD providers, other allied health professional associations and international occupational therapy associations. As an active member of Allied Health Professions Australia, we recognise the need for allied health professions to have a strong, united voice that can communicate more effectively than disparate individual associations.

OTA enjoys a very close working relationship with the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia (OTB) and the Occupational Therapy Council of Australia (OTC). While the OTB regulates and the OTC accredits our education programs, OTA provides valuable insights into matters such as workforce shortages and the provision of continuing professional development to address issues the OTB may be seeing in regard to trends in complaints. Collaborating with OTC, OTA uses the accreditation reports to assess education programs against the WFOT minimum education requirements, maximising efficiency for everyone, particularly universities.

Occupational therapists are recognised for their strong ability to communicate and collaborate. We seek opportunities to collaborate because we know our clients will benefit not only from our services, but from those of others as well. We communicate effectively within teams, advocating for colleagues and supporting them in their work as well. Communication skills are among the most scrutinised abilities that need to be developed before becoming a registered occupational therapist within the classroom setting or professional education placements.

Poor communication is one of the most frequently reported problems when clients lodge complaints. Written communication is particularly important from a medico-legal perspective, with the old saying: “If it is not documented, then it didn’t happen.”

During my time as an OTA member, I have seen significant changes in the way OTA communicates. The monthly state association newsletter, for example, was eagerly read by graduates interested in the latest issues affecting the profession, or seeking information on positions or courses. The Australian Occupational Therapy Journal has been a long-standing flagship for communicating research findings. Today, OTA communication is efficient, rapid and timely through mediums such as the OTA website, emails, electronic journals and social media platforms. This has also enhanced vital communication from members.

As a board, we are looking forward to the opportunities and challenges of 2022. I encourage OTA members to maximise their collaborations and continue effective communication throughout this year to enable OTA to be the best we can be.