
OT Potential Podcast | Occupational Therapy CEUs
Earn your OT CEUs by listening for free to our episodes, then logging into the OT Potential Club to take a quiz and earn a certificate. In each episode, we discuss new OT-related research and invite an expert guest to pull out actionable takeaways. Perfect for occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants. Episodes are released every other week.
Latest episodes

Apr 4, 2024 • 1h 4min
#77: OT and Making the OTD Capstone Matter with Daniel Rortvedt & Alana Woolley
The number of OT entry-level doctoral (OTD) programs has been expanding rapidly. In 2017 there were 7 programs. As of 2023, there are 95, with an additional 76 in development. The article we'll cover in this course presents early stage research on the doctoral capstone experience and employment opportunities. It backs up what I have now personally observed through mentoring a student: that doctoral students are uniquely prepared for more diverse job opportunities, and sometimes jobs are even created due to the clear value of the capstone experience. There seems to be a benefit for the profession as a whole, in terms of increased awareness. (Our Achilles heel!)After reviewing the article, I’ll welcome our own student, Alana Woolley, and her capstone coordinator, Daniel Rortvedt. Our goal will be to help you decide if you should be a capstone mentor, and shed light on the experience from 3 perspectives.You can find more details on this course here:https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/making-the-otd-capstone-matterLearn more about our guests:https://otpotential.com/occupational-therapy-directory/daniel-rortvedthttps://otpotential.com/occupational-therapy-directory/alanawoolleySee our Capstone Catalog: https://otpotential.com/blog/otd-capstone-catalogHere's the primary research we are discussing:An exploration of the occupational therapy doctoral capstone: Perspectives from capstone coordinators, graduates, and Site Mentors.Support the show

Mar 21, 2024 • 1h 5min
#76: OT and Pediatric Constipation with Quiara Smith
I’ve been surprised as my own kids enter elementary school to anecdotally find that constipation is a common reason to miss activities. But, this aligns perfectly with the research we look at today, and the growing concern that constipation has become a public health concern. As many as 32% of kids (0-18) experience constipation. And, a growing number of occupational therapy professionals are seeing these kids on their caseload. Today we’ll look at an article that examines what an interdisciplinary approach to pediatric constipation can look like. Then, we are excited to welcome to the podcast, Quiara Smith, an OT who owns a pediatric pelvic health practice. Her and I will discuss the practical implications from this article for your OT practice. You can find more details on this course here:https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/ot-pediatric-constipationLearn more about our guest:https://otpotential.com/occupational-therapy-directory/quiara-smithHere's the primary research we are discussing:Interdisciplinary occupational and physical therapy approach to treating constipation and fecal incontinence in children.Support the show

Mar 7, 2024 • 1h 5min
#75: Knowledge Translation and OT with Tim Dionne
It takes an average of 17 years for evidence to make its way into practice. The fields of knowledge translation and implementation science are seeking to change this. And, today we are looking at a scoping review of knowledge translation research in rehab. To be frank, I think the article is pretty convoluted. (Which is funny since it comes from researchers interested in knowledge translation.🤔) But, it certainly gives us a good jumping off point to talk about the challenges around knowledge translation, and the need for innovation in this field. Next week, we’ll welcome Tim Dionne, PhD, OTR/L to the podcast. His research emphasis is on supporting therapists providing quality care, through knowledge dissemination and dissemination and implementation research methods.You can find more details on this course here:https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/knowledge-translation-and-otLearn more about our guest:https://otpotential.com/occupational-therapy-directory/tim-dionneHere's the primary research we are discussing:Knowledge translation research to promote behavior changes in rehabilitation: Use of theoretical frameworks and tailored interventions: A scoping review.Support the show

Feb 22, 2024 • 1h 11min
#74: Finger Prosthetics and OT with Haley Van Escobar
The art and science of digital prosthetics is rapidly advancing. Yet, many people with amputated fingers do not wear a prosthetic. Part of the problem may be our own fault as health providers. We may be stuck in old stereotypes of poor outcomes and limited options related to digital prosthetics. In this one-hour podcast-base course, we’ll look at a research article that explores the experiences of people who wear digital prosthetics. Our goal is to develop your skills in listening closely to your own clients and their needs in this area. Next week on the podcast, we’ll welcome Haley Van Escobar. Haley has her own hand therapy private practice and works for a digital prosthetic company. You’ll learn how she landed this job, and what the average OT needs to know about this rapidly advancing space.You can find more details on this course here:https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/finger-prosthetics-and-otLearn more about our guest:https://otpotential.com/occupational-therapy-directory/haley-van-escobarLearn more about OT and hand therapy: https://otpotential.com/blog/hand-therapyHere's the primary research we are discussing:User experiences of digital prostheses in daily functioning in people with an amputation of thumb or fingerSupport the show

Feb 8, 2024 • 57min
#73: Diversity in OT with Arameh Anvarizadeh
In previous courses, we’ve discussed that one of the primary ways we can improve our care, as OT professionals, is to increase the diversity of our workforce—with the ultimate goal of having our workforce’s diversity mirror the diversity of the populations we are seeing. This goal will ensure we have the multiple perspectives needed to respond to the needs of our clients. But, until now, we’ve mostly talked about this theoretically. So, what do the actual numbers have to say about the current diversity of our workforce? It’s a mixed bag. In today’s 1 hour CEU course, we’ll look at a report from JAMA that estimates racial/ethnic representation in 10 U.S. healthcare professions.To give you a taste of the positive news: the percentage of Black OTs is better than in PT and SLP. But startlingly, the authors specifically call out OT for having a smaller percentage of Black OTs students than is in our workforce. In other words this measure of diversity showed shrinkage. There is so much to unpack from this data, and we are excited to welcome back to the podcast a guest from one of our most popular episodes: Arameh Anvarizadeh OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA.You can find more details on this course here:https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/diversity-in-otLearn more about our guest:https://otpotential.com/occupational-therapy-directory/arameh-anvarizadehHere's the primary research we are discussing:Estimation and Comparison of Current and Future Racial/Ethnic Representation in the US Health Care Workforce.Support the show

Jan 25, 2024 • 1h 10min
#72: What is OT in 2024? with Ryan Lavalley and Carlin Reaume
Through OT Potential, we’ve released over 70 episodes all exploring new influential OT research. As we enter 2024, it’s time to reflect on the research and ask: What trends are we seeing in OT? How is new research enriching how we think about our practice? In this 1 hour-episode, we’ll talk about new trends, with a particular focus on what commonalities we see leaders in our field doing in their occupational therapy process. We’ll culminate our discussion by exploring how people describe OT. This will be informed by our OT practice framework, but with a special focus on how we communicate about OT to the public. For this exploration, we’ll welcome back to the podcast two of our podcast hosts from 2024, Carlin Reaume OTD, OTR/L, DipACLM, PMH-C, PCES and Ryan Lavalley PhD, OTR/L. Together we’ll unpack what all of these trends mean for your OT practice. You can find more details on this course here:https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/ot-in-2024Read OT Potential's guide to What is OT? https://otpotential.com/what-is-otLearn more about our guests:https://otpotential.com/occupational-therapy-directory/ryan-lavalleyhttps://otpotential.com/occupational-therapy-directory/carlin-reaumeHere's the primary research we are discussing:Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process—Fourth editionSupport the show

Jan 11, 2024 • 1h 6min
#71: Building a Global OT Profession with Vikram Pagpatan
Since this keynote address from the World Federation of Occupational Therapy Congress was published in 2019, it has been cited so many times that it made our list of the 100 most-cited OT journal articles. It’s easy to see why this has become such a popular read. The article stitches occupational therapy together with global trends, in particular growing inequality. The author challenges us to see this problem clearly. And, calls us upon us to build globally relevant occupational therapy from the strength of our diversity. In this one hour CE course, we’ll review this article, then to talk about practical implications of creating change in occupational therapy we are excited to welcome Vikram Pagpatan EdD, OTR/L, ATP, CLA, BCP, FAOTA to the podcast.You can find more details on this course here:https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/building-a-global-ot-professionLearn more about our guest:https://otpotential.com/occupational-therapy-directory/vikram-pagpatanHere's the primary research we are discussing:Building globally relevant occupational therapy from the strength of our diversitySupport the show

Dec 15, 2023 • 1h 2min
#70: OT and Dyslexia with Penny Stack
Dyslexia is the most common form of neurodivergence. It affects around 20% of the population, meaning that people with dyslexia are on almost every occupational therapy professional’s caseload. And yet, not enough OT-specific research and resources have been devoted to how we can help this population. Today, we look at a leading theory of dyslexia that basically reads like a call to action for OT’s to re-examine how needed our skills are. As you’ll see it pushes us to take a strengths-based approach to treating dyslexia, and to regard the condition as rooted in a sensory processing difference (hello, OT!) To help us unpack what this means for your practice, next week we will welcome to the podcast Penny Stack, OTD, OTR/L. She is the founder of DyslexiaRx. In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.You can find more details on this course here:https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/ot-dyslexiaSee all of our pediatric OT courses here: https://otpotential.com/ot-pediatric-coursesLearn more about our guest:https://otpotential.com/occupational-therapy-directory/penny-stackHere's the primary research we are discussing:Theories about Developmental DyslexiaSupport the show

Nov 30, 2023 • 1h 11min
#69: OT for Adults with Intellectual Disability with Meghan Blaskowitz and Wanda Mahoney
For OT professionals working with adults with intellectual disabilities it can feel like there is a lack of resources around best practices for working with this population. Today’s article flips that long-held narrative on its head. The authors set out to find evidence to inform OT for adults with intellectual disability—and to their own surprise they found so much it has become 3 papers. We’ll review the evidence they found to support intervention. Then we’ll welcome to the podcast two of the article authors, Meghan Blaskowitz and Wanda Mahoney. Together, we’ll unpack the practical implications related to intervention and assessments. In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.You can find more details on this course here:https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/ot-adults-intellectual-disabilityLearn more about our guests:https://otpotential.com/occupational-therapy-directory/meghan-blaskowitzhttps://otpotential.com/occupational-therapy-directory/wanda-mahoneyHere's the primary research we are discussing:Evidence to Inform Occupational Therapy Intervention With Adults With Intellectual Disability: A Scoping ReviewSupport the show

Nov 16, 2023 • 1h 19min
#68: Acute Care OT and PT After Birth with Jenna and Rebeca Segraves
Maternal deaths are on the rise, here in the United States. And, we have a postpartum mental health crisis. In OT 90% of us are women, and many of us have personally experienced the inadequate support given to birthing individuals. But, not enough of us have stepped back to ask: why aren’t we (with our training in mental health & daily participation) helping women in the hospital after birth?Luckily, there is a growing number of OTs asking this question and doing something about it. And, my favorite part of this movement is that it is multidisciplinary—our PT colleagues are advocating for our services. At the center of this movement are physical therapists, Drs. Jenna and Rebeca Segraves. They both worked on the commentary we are exploring today, and then will join us on the podcast to discuss the practical implications for your OT practice.In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.You can find more details on this course here:https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/acute-care-ot-after-birthhttps://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-coursesLearn more about our guest:https://otpotential.com/occupational-therapy-directory/jenna-segraveshttps://otpotential.com/occupational-therapy-directory/rebeca-segravesSee our acute care OT guide: https://otpotential.com/blog/acute-care-occupational-therapyHere's the primary research we are discussing:Initiating Occupational and Physical Therapy in the Hospital After Birth: Access, Reimbursement, and OutcomesSupport the show