Lecture 5: Selecting Portfolio Projects

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Lecture 5 Selecting Portfolio Projects
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Competencies

• Identify options for portfolio projects that
  reflect commitment to, excellence in practice,
  leadership and community service.
• Identify options for meeting continuing education
  needs
• Identify options for meeting professional
  involvement requirement

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Key AttributesThe 4 Commitments

• Life long learning
• Community service
• Advocacy and leadership
• Excellence in practice

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Required Projects

• Must select one project to address commitment to
• Community service
• Excellence in practice
• Advocacy and leadership
• Each project must encompass a minimum 25-30 hours
  of involvement
• Must assume primary leadership role for at least
  one project

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Community Service

• Volunteer in some capacity in a project to serve
  persons in the community
• Project may be sponsored by UAB or a private
  organization

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Advocacy and Leadership

• Assume a leadership role with a professional
  organization such as SOTA or a service
  organization
• Design or participate in an event
• Promoting occupational therapy or the UAB
  occupational therapy department
• Advocating for needs of a special needs group
• Homeless persons, low vision etc.
• Work with the President of AOTA on special
  projects

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Excellence in Practice

• Participate in providing tx to clients under the
  supervision of a faculty member or another
  clinician
• Develop and implement a research project or
  assist in completing a research project being
  conducted at UAB
• Develop a therapeutic tool for tx of a specific
  client population

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Excellence in Practice

• Can include a small amount of observation as a
  component but the majority of the project must be
  hands on.
• Because of this requirement, it must be
  supervised-by OT faculty or another qualified
  person

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Ongoing Projects at UABCommunity

• Social Skills Groups Contact  Jan
• Support Group for Persons with HIV/AIDS in Ensley
  Contact Penny

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Departmental ProjectsExcellence in Practice

• Research
• Possible opportunities to assist
  post-professional students with research projects
• Contact Laura Vogtle
• Mental health
• Assist Penny with research for textbook chapter
• Co-existing conditions
• Mental health disorders
• Substance abuse disorders
• Department Electives
• Pediatrics
• Low Vision Rehabilitation

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Departmental ProjectsLeadership and Advocacy

• Leadership Seminar Penny
• Join second year students in working with Penny
  to carry out projects that she encounters as AOTA
  president-elect and president

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Stuff to keep in mind

• Selection of projects is a personal decision and
  should reflect your interests in OT
• May choose to focus on 1 population or aspect of
  treatment (a theme approach)
• Or be diverse and explore many topics
• Completion of the projects is how you demonstrate
  that you have the right stuffto be an excellent
  practitioner
• Want to wowus when you present orally
• Make it memorable

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Life Long Learning

• Demonstrated through participation in continuing
  education
• Identify the additional knowledge that you need
• Should tie in with your professional development
  plan
• Must complete a minimum of 10 hours
• May do this through a variety of venues

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Possible Venues

• Workshops, seminars, conferences held by UAB,
  professional organizations, consumer groups
• Professional presentations by candidates for
  faculty positions, grand rounds, speakers from
  university centers etc.
• Self-paced clinical study courses including
  online courses

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Possible Venues

• Non-credit education classes offered by UAB
• Introductory sign language, Spanish for health
  professionals etc
• For credit classes taken in addition to the
  electives required for graduation
• Pediatrics and low vision
• gerontology certificate
• Independent self-study
• Identified with advisor
• Must read a minimum of ten articles and summarize

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Involvement in Professional Organizations

• Demonstrate involvement in local, state and
  national OT organizations
• Must document a minimum of 15 hours of
  involvement
• May be a combination of organizations
• Attendance at the continuing education portions
  of state conferences does NOT count

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Timeframe for Implementation of Projects

• Projects technically should not be initiated not
  until the contract is completed
• HOWEVER, the advisor may permit you to begin a
  project early
• You MUST have approval from the advisor to start
  a project early
• If you start a project without advisors consent
  you risk not being able to use the project for
  portfolio