Fiona Fraser Fules Fire for Finding Fifty Shades of Green

Yesterday, despite snow, ice and several traffic jams, Sheffield Hallam OT students piled into the Robert Winston Building lecture hall to hear COT Education Manager Fiona Fraser talk on "Fifty Shades of Green". Anyone expecting something similar to the popular book might have been disappointed, but not the students who attended, who had the much more exciting chance to hear about how to develop their fledgling careers and find their path in the OT profession!

Drawing on her own personal journey, Fiona talked about the different shades of "green" she has experienced, that is, the varying degrees of connection she has felt with the OT profession, during her career. She used a COT tool to map her journey from newly qualified OT, to working as basic grade OT in a day hospital to her work at COT and undertaking her Masters Degree, plus additional activities along the way such as audits and study days. She recommended the tool to students as a way to understand how the activities we get involved in are shaping our future careers, whether they are linked by a common theme that interests us or are simply opportunities that help us develop a wide range of skills.

Stressing the importance of CPD, Fiona encouraged us to get involved in groups such as SHOUT and our local BAOT regional group. She left us with the thought that we are the makers of our own destiny. We must carve out our own niche in OT, whether it is on a physical rehabilitation ward, in a mental health setting, with older adults, in paediatrics, research, with the COT or any of the myriad areas OTs can work in. "You are the future and the future is bright", she said.

 "You are the future, and the future is bright"

Answering questions at the end, Fiona revealed she had not always been a confident public speaker. Her advice: fake it 'til you make it! Step into the role, act confidently even if you don't feel it inside and visualise yourself succeeding. She recommended Amy Cuddy's fantastic TED talk on body language and confidence:

Fiona also spoke about student leadership and using the Leadership Competency Framework to help guide our development.

And here's some of the feedback we received about the evening::

What did attendees think of the talk?....


"Very informative and inspiring"

"Clear and accessible style, easy to follow, good PowerPoint with pictures instead of text"

"It was very interesting to hear about her career narrative"

"Informative about the different roads OTs can go down"

"... appropriate and useful for the future"

"...will be something to keep in mind throughout practice"


And what did they take away from it?....


"...it has made me think more about being occupation focussed"

"Make the most of opportunities even they don’t seem very significant – look a bit deeper"

"Be pro active, continuously develop CPD - an OT doesn’t necessarily have an OT title"

"Keep up with what is going on in other settings and keep core OT transportable philosophy"

"Will use the career narrative tool"

"Very enthusiastic lecturer, so glad I came, thank you!"

SHOUT Next Week: COT's Fiona Fraser on "50 Shades of Green"

Our February event is coming up next week so, just in time for Valentine's Day, we invite you to a racy talk from COT Education Manager (Student Services) Fiona Fraser.

'Fifty Shades of Green' on Wednesday 13th February 2013. 

About becoming an OT practitioner in today's tough climate, this talk is of particular importance to current students, those who have recently qualified and are job-hunting, and those considering occupational therapy education. So come along, and get your heart racing about OT...

About our speaker: 

Fiona decided she wanted to be an occupational therapist aged 13! Therefore, she was naturally very excited when she qualified from Cardiff University in 2001. Fiona initially returned to her roots in Somerset and worked in a variety of older adult mental health services. She then moved to Worcester to take up a senior post and made the shift to acute adult mental health.  

Fiona got involved in the work of her professional body soon after qualifying, as it was an excellent opportunity to network and ease her anxiety of being a new graduate. She helped organise her regional COT study events and got involved in the work of the regional committee.  Fiona took up her post at the College of Occupational Therapists in March 2005 - and still considers that she has the best job there. Her role is entirely focused on the potential and current student members of the organisation - ensuring that the professional body supports students throughout their journey into professional practice.  

Fiona completed her post-graduate MSc in Advanced Occupational Therapy last year. Although she is enjoying not having assignments at the moment she knows a PhD will appear in her career path at some point in the future...

To book your seat at this popular event please email shout.team@hotmail.co.uk and, unless you hear from us, assume your place is booked.

The event will take place in the Robert Winston Building at our Collegiate Campus. Registration and light refreshments are from 5.30pm. The talk begins at 6.00pm and SHOUT events usually finish before 7.30pm. 

Costs: £2.00 for students and BAOT members, £3.00 for non-members.

Following the event we will hold an informal reflection session 'Wednesday Wind Down' at a pub on Ecclesall Road. Join us there to discuss and tweet your thoughts on the talk content and how it may impact your practice.

>>> Next SHOUT Event: 

WEDNESDAY 13TH MARCH 2013    'Looking again at OT philosophy' with JENNIFER CREEK