Friday 23 January 2015

Learning Opportunities

Please let me know what you are interested in learning about.
For instance, is anyone interested in an invited speaker, Pippa Olivier on:
auditory processing assessment and other learning concerns?

Charlene Wright
Occupational Therapist

Monday 19 January 2015

Fine Motor Spring Camp May 2015 in Edmonton

Agenda Notes You Can Read!!

Growing Changes: Occupational Therapy Services for Children presents:
Fine Motor Spring Camp in May 2015

A fun and interactive camp for children in Kindergarten and grades 1 - 3 who find printing, using scissors or other fine motor activities challenging. The camp will be run by experienced pediatric occupational therapists. A multi-sensory approach will be used along with co-operative games and crafts to practice the skills needed for hand functioning. This camp is designed for children who may be experiencing mild to moderate delays in fine motor development or who would benefit from extra practice.

The camp places an emphasis on grasp development, formation of letters, legibility, review of lower case, copying, using school tools (scissors, glue) in hand manipulation skills, eye hand coordination and strength. This includes a summary report identifying individual children's strengths, areas of need, and suggestions for further skill development.
This camp will use a multi-sensory approach combining fine and gross motor movement to enhance learning. Parents are welcome to attend the first of the 4 sessions in order to help their child feel more at ease in the group and to learn how to support their child with printing practice at home.

Time: Printing Basics: 10:00 am - 11:15 am for 4 sessions (Saturdays: May 2, 9, 23, 30). Note: no session on May long weekend.
Cost: $250.00
Where: Highlands Community Centre: 6112 - 113 Avenue Edmonton, AB
Contact: Rebecca Summach at 780.965.4310 or email growingchanges@gmail.com to register.
Note: OT services may be covered depending on health plan and are tax deductible.



Wednesday 14 January 2015

Sexual Health/Awareness Programs

Is anyone aware of any programs or resources for sexual health/awareness or stranger safety for special needs kids? Thanks in advance!

Please post in comments below or email ab.ot.pedintgroup@gmail.com

Candace Achtymichuk, B.Sc.O.T.
Occupational Therapist


Tuesday 13 January 2015

Call For Offers - Fieldwork Placement Sites

Happy New Year to our AB and NWT OTs! We hope you have had a lovely holiday season with lots of rest and relaxation.

(1) Call for Offers for 2015 spring and summer placement sessions:

A friendly reminder that the initial response deadline for the 'call for offers' for the upcoming spring and summer OT fieldwork sessions is Friday, January 16. Please forward your offers to Michelle Green (or enter them directly into HSPnet, if that service is available to you).
  • Year 2/Level 3 placements: Mar 23 - May 1 (6 weeks) * dates can be delayed up to 2 weeks to accommodate spring break in the school systems
  • Year 1/Level 1 placements: May 11 - June 26 (7 weeks)
  • Year 2/Level 3/FINAL placements: June 29 - Aug 7 (6 weeks) ** dates are flexible and can be any 6 weeks between June 15 to the end of August to accommodate preceptor summer holidays
(2) Fieldwork Site Profiles:

Our UofA MScOT Program will be undergoing accreditation at the end of 2015. This process ensures that our program is achieving the high standard of education set for occupational therapy across Canada. The Canadian Guidelines for Fieldwork Education in Occupational Therapy (CGFEOT) is the national document that directs OT fieldwork education. Please take a few minutes to review the CGFEOT guidelines found here.

One of the guidelines is to maintain a Fieldwork Site Profile (FSPro) for each placement site (updated at least every 5 years) that provides basic site-specific information to students and fieldwork coordinators. Rather than attempting to scan and send each of you the 'old' form that we have for your site, we are asking that you take a few minutes to complete a new Fieldwork Site Profile.

The Fieldwork Site Profile (FSPro) form is attached. Please decide who might be the best person at your site to compile this information and complete only one form per site with a breakdown of specific services or practice areas being added under some of the headings. My advice would be to keep the information provided simple and straight-forward so that it doesn't need to be updated too frequently!

Please scan and send (or fax) the completed, signed form to Michelle Green by January 31, 2015:

Michelle Green
Clinical Education Assistant
michelle.green@ualberta.ca
Now that the new digital era is upon us, we will be posting the FSPro on an OT department website so that students can easily access the information provided to assist them in making informed decisions about placement selection. (If your site is an HSPnet user, then you can also elect to post the FSPro on your 'site profile' on within HSPnet.)

Thank you in advance for investing the time to coordinate the creation of a new FSPro for your site. If you have any questions about how to best complete the FSPro form, please contact us.

We appreciate your ongoing support of clinical education for our UofA OT students and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

Sincerely,

Cori and team


Cori Schmitz, MEd, BScOT(C)