
A student-led occupational treatment conference examined how they could form their chosen sector via inclusivity and diversity.
The far more than 100 attendees deemed the added benefits of acquiring diverse through discussions concentrating on neurodiversity, cultural humility and responsiveness, decolonization for occupational justice, mentorship and scholarship.
Marynell Disman ‘22 and Bobbi Dynice ’22, who arranged the party, mentioned they hoped members walked away from the occasion a lot more well-informed than they had arrived.
“As a career that strongly advocates for inclusion and occupational justice for our consumers, it is significant to mirror on the composition of the career alone and the prospective barriers to entry in the career to make it additional accessible to a selection of future practitioners,” claimed Dynice.
They claimed they hoped to carry on to distribute information and facts and educate other people about the worth of range, equity and inclusion.
“We were thrilled with the turnout and gained a ton of constructive comments from students who stated they liked listening to the speakers share their experiences and discover additional about the price of hearing people’s tales. We hope that the initiative continues to improve and become more successful in the future,” mentioned Disman.
Kally Harris ’21, MS ’22, who will be graduating with her master’s in occupational treatment, reported she is enthusiastic to employ the classes she realized in her long term vocation.
“This conference taught me about the value of cultural humility and what it implies to be culturally responsive,” claimed Harris. “As a upcoming practitioner, this facts will aid guidebook my follow and be necessary when it comes to furnishing the very best probable client-centered care.”
Though there are nonetheless massive strides to be designed in the occupational therapy profession, Dynice said that open up discussions and lessons on diversity, fairness and inclusion will have to transpire openly and routinely.
“In buy to be dependable overall health treatment practitioners, we should actively learn about ableism, anti-Black racism, the marginalization of Indigenous men and women and other varieties systemic discrimination that impression our clients and coworkers,” mentioned Dynice. “Learning does not close soon after the meeting it is just the commencing.”
