SHOUT Interviews Local OTs - Part Two

Here's the second part of our train interview, conducted on our way to Glasgow, with locally based OTs Helen Saunders (founder of SHOUT) and Sue Peters. They talk about their thoughts on COT conference 2012, share memories of past conferences and give advice to students on attending conference in future years. 

What are you looking forward to most at conference?

Helen: Being able to experience a good mix of presentations in one place, as well as the free ice cream and the possibility of a free ‘brollie!

Sue: The whole experience, plus the opportunity to network and get a showcase of what’s going on in other people’s practice and, of course, all the freebies you get!

Have you got any favourite memories from previous conferences?

Helen: This is the fourth year I’ve attended conference and in the past I’ve enjoyed presenting a Trent regional poster; one year there was a great workshop with Greg Stafford about the political environment; the parties we’ve been to have been good fun and past council member’s lunches have always been a good opportunity for meeting higher up people.

Sue: This is my third conference and I’ve always loved meeting lots of people in the profession and then keeping in touch with them throughout the years.

What advice can you give to students attending conference?


Helen: Go to as many seminars and workshops as you can, take time to go to the exhibitors and see the poster presentations.

Sue: Go out and meet lots of other students, compare and contrast your courses and what you do on them so you can find ways to improve your uni experience.

How does conference impact your practice?

Helen: Through past conferences I’ve learnt about, and developed my use of, MOHO for sensory integration and people with learning disabilities – that’s been really important to my practice.

Sue: After conference you go back to work feeling enthusiastic, prepared to make changes and knowing what to do to move things forward. You feel empowered and can give positive feedback to other team members about what is happening in other parts of the profession.

If you presented something at conference, what would it be and why?

Helen:  In the past I’ve presented a Trent region poster with Wendy [Ferguson]. We were really nervous when we discovered we had to give a seminar, but it turned out to be a really good experience and I think I would do something like that again with the regional committee to show what local groups, like SHOUT, are doing in the region.

Sue: I’d like to present something related to my practice with amputees, perhaps new guidelines for MDTs on how to work with new amputees. 

Why do you think it’s important for OTs to attend conference?

Helen: Conference is necessary to keep up to date with OT and practice. It also helps keep your CPD up to scratch for HPC, as well as enthusing you when you return to work.

Sue:  I think you can take so much away from conference as a full learning experience, but last year’s message of being a “meerkat OT” really worked for me! It describes OTs as forward thinking and staying involved, integrating with other services. Through conference you can link-in with others, use the network opportunities to create bench-marks and create the best care experience for your patients as possible. You also feel like part of the OT community, conferences help to prove our worth as a profession and with all the changes going on in the NHS at the moment using conference appropriately means that we have a better chance of keeping our jobs.

SHOUT Attends the Annual COT Conference 2012!

The SHOUT Team attended the COT conference last week. We handed out leaflets and spread the word far and wide about the SHOUT, making many new contacts. And, of course, we made the most of the freebies!

On Tuesday 12th June, after a mad dash to get to the station on time, we boarded the first of three trains to take us up to Scotland. Despite having booked different coaches we found seats with Helen Saunders and Sue Peters from the BAOT Trent regional group and, being cheeky students, made full use of our captive audience - watch this space for our train interview!

We met other OTs, students and COT staff during the long journey, and arrived 5 hours later feeling energised to jump feet first into the conference.

As soon as we arrived in the huge and sunny central hall of the SECC the tiredness set in, but it was a quick dash to the loos and luggage store before heading straight into our first workshop of the afternoon.  And what a great start to the conference it was: Jennifer Creek with an Introduction to the European Conceptual Framework for OT.

“Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about” stated Benjamin Lee Whorf  (1956) and this was echoed in Creek’s session: words represent concepts and are our tools for thinking and communicating. Defining terms, as the European Conceptual Framework has done, and using these in our shared professional language helps us all to understand what we are talking about and present ourselves with a level of professionalism to other medical and healthcare workers during a time when we need to prove our worth.  Creek asked whether, as a profession, we have been better at using poetic language than scientific language. We need to ensure that we are accurate and precise in how we communicate, using standardised terms and scientific language whilst still keeping the heart of OT and our unique way of expressing our understanding of the person.

During the Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture, Dorothy Gould got us thinking about communication and the language we use with service users when she spoke alongside Dr. Claire Ballinger. Her moving message is one to remember on placement: an OT’s most important quality is warmth. Ballinger also called for advocacy and clear articulation of OT in the political arena, inspiring us to brave collective action. Julia Scott reiterated this in her closing talk to the conference, encouraging us to share our stories and use words powerfully to speak UP for OT.

Not to miss out on an opportunity to promote SHOUT, we joined Twitter to participate in the conference buzz. Following tweeters, such as the BAOT, students and clinicians, was a great way to find out about interesting events going on or summaries of sessions we didn't attend. SHOUT was even tweeted by Mr Twitter himself, the COT Social Media Officer!

 Shouting about SHOUT!

Attending conference was a wonderful experience. We made new friends and felt inspired and honoured to be in the company of so many fantastic OTs and students. It was a real joy to be in the audience when our SHU lecturer Claire Craig received her Fellowship Award (see next post). We particularly enjoyed the opportunity to promote SHOUT to anyone and everyone who was willing to listen, and wore our green T-shirts with pride! 

 We're already looking forward to next year - COT Conference 2013, here we come!