LVIV – The Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) hosted a conference with the participation of worldwide professional occupational therapists: the vice-president of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, Samantha Shann; a representative of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, Natalie Zaraska; and a representative of the American Occupational Therapy Association, Lisa Mason.
The motto of the event, held in Lviv on April 24, was “We are starting a new rehabilitation specialization in Ukraine, occupational therapy.”
Oleksandr Laskin
Samantha Shann, vice-president of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, addresses the conference.
As the practice of occupational therapy develops in Ukraine, it is important to know what foreign experience can offer for this newly created specialization in the context of cooperation with the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. The conference focused on how the Canadian and American models of occupational therapy work, what are the profession’s educational requirements, and what are the prospects for the development of rehabilitation service in Ukraine. These were discussed also at a meeting of representatives of the Ukrainian government in the field of health care and Ukrainian specialists in rehabilitation medicine with delegates of foreign professional associations.
“It is valuable when they can support you. Don’t look at what you can’t do, but create conditions in which you can do everything. It is important to see those possibilities in all people with disabilities and develop them. As new professions are introduced, a vision develops on how to make a person successful and independent. Specialists will grow who can help and instruct,” explained Raisa Panasiuk, an authority on the human rights of invalids in the Vinnytsia Region.
Human dignity is the fundamental value on which all the university’s educational programs are focused, noted Sophia Opatska, UCU’s vice-rector for academic affairs. “We want our graduates to leave us not only with knowledge but, above all, with a formed professional understanding, practical habits and a respectful attitude to people.”
In the absence of a formal specialization in occupational therapy, physical therapists, to a certain extent, carried out these functions in Ukraine’s rehabilitation system. Right now in Ukraine there are only four certified occupational therapists who received their education abroad.
This profession has been developing in the United States and Canada since the 1930s. In Canada, 80 percent of occupational therapists work in cities, 20 percent in rural areas; 46 percent in hospitals, 32 percent in the community, 13 percent in professional practices, and 9 percent in long-term care facilities.
According to Ms. Shann of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, in the last 10 years the number of students in occupational therapy programs has increased by 28 percent. Her organization is working on a strategy to develop the field of occupational therapy. It directs the evolution of the profession by establishing international standards. The cornerstone of the profession is understanding the connection between the person, his occupation and the surroundings in which he finds himself, Ms. Shann emphasized.
“Occupation is central in all educational programs in occupational therapy. They are built on modern concepts of the international community of occupational therapists. Each specialist understands that physical occupation supports the patient’s welfare. Educational programs in occupational therapy prepare professionals who can practice occupational therapy in various practical conditions,” she noted.
She explained that, while developing international standards, the WFOT focuses on the following: first of all, these standards do not propose prescriptions; second, they are sensitive to local culture; third, they support human rights; fourth, they look at prevention and the promotion of health as these relate to intervention and treatment. During their education, students study the whole person, both physical and cognitive, and emotional needs.
A specialist in occupational therapy should command not only a certain set of professional skills but concrete qualities of character, explained Ms. Zaraska from the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. Among the important characteristics she cited were: sensitivity, empathy, respect for personalities, tolerance, exceptional interpersonal skills for involving and motivating clients, exceptional observational skills, a creative approach to problem-solving, the ability to adapt and be flexible in stressful conditions, and independent thinking.
In the post-Soviet space, the work of the occupational therapist is connected with work therapy and the treatment of physical disorders. Ms. Zaraska pointed out that in Canada the circle of a an occupational therapist’s competencies is significantly wider: the therapist can provide services for children, for older people who have physical disorders (stroke, burns, orthopedic trauma, bone lesions, spinal injury), and those with cognitive disorders (autism, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity), as well as emotional disorders (post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, addictions).
UCU’s School of Rehabilitation Medicine is conducting similar meetings with specialists in rehabilitation medicine and government representatives in the cities of Lviv, Kyiv and Dnipro. In Kyiv, they are to sign a memorandum on cooperation with Ukraine’s Ministry of Health.
At the Ukrainian Catholic University’s conference on occupational therapy.