Join us in celebrating and raising awareness about occupational therapy!
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OT is a part of our culture
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There are many examples of occupational therapy in popular culture, and we'll be sharing your favourite books, movies, and blogs featuring occupational therapy through the month on our social media platforms.
Have more contributions? Comment on our social media posts to add to the lists!
Be sure to follow us online: 
Ask for OT! Advocate for occupational therapy coverage in extended health benefits
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In the 2023 Membership Satisfaction Survey, CAOT members were asked “Which advocacy issue related to occupational therapy is the most important to you?” You reported the top issues to be Access to OT, Mental Health Services, and Extended Health Insurance. We heard your feedback and have worked to create a new Access to Occupational Therapy webpage and updated resources to assist OTs, OTAs, and the public in advocating for increased access to occupational therapy. #AskforOT today!
FREE for OT Month! Addressing trauma in conflict and post-conflict areas from an OT perspective: An overview
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In this free OT Month event with Rachel Thibeault, she will share her experience of working virtually with Ukrainian colleagues on the matter of trauma and coping skills for the past year. She will be leaving in early November for the Ukraine to continue this work.
Addressing trauma in conflict and post-conflict areas from an OT perspective: An overview
October 11, 2023 7:30 p.m. ET
RSVP by email to networks@caot.ca
Occupational therapist assistant (OTA) Appreciation Day
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Celebrate the contributions of and raise awareness about what OTAs do and the value they add on October 12th!
Resources for OTAs are now available!
CAOT strives to support occupational therapist assistants (OTAs) as health care professionals, while helping strengthen occupational therapist (OT) and OTA intra-professional collaborations, providing educational opportunities, and fostering strong connections within the profession.
Explore the OTA resources.
Lighting up the country for World OT Day! October 27, 2023
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We're lighting up the country to raise awareness about occupational therapy! Landmarks across the country will be blue on October 27th (or October 26th, where the 27th was already scheduled) to highlight the contributions our profession has made in Canada since its inception in 1926.
We encourage you to visit the landmarks, take a photo, and share it on your social media! Tag CAOT so we can see you sharing your love for OT and amplify it to our tens of thousands of followers. Use the official hashtags, too!
#OTmonth #WorldOTDay
Alberta
| Calgary Tower – pending Grand Prairie Sundial (Oct. 27) High Level Bridge, Edmonton (Oct. 27) Lafarge Lake, Coquitlam – requested |
Lethbridge City Hall, Lethbridge – pending Reconciliation Bridge, Calgary (Oct. 26) Red Deer City Hall, Red Deer (Oct. 26) Saline Creek Pedestrian Bridge, Wood Buffalo (Oct. 26) |
Shell Canopy, Fort McMurray – pending Sylvan Lake Lighthouse, Sylvan Lake (Oct. 27) Telus Spark Science Centre, Calgary – pending |
British Columbia
| BC Place Stadium, Vancouver (Oct. 27) Legislative Assembly, Victoria – pending Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver – pending |
Science World, Vancouver (Oct. 27) Vancouver City Hall, Vancouver – pending |
Manitoba
Esplanade Riel, Winnipeg (Oct. 27)
IG Field (Stadium), Winnipeg (Oct. 27)
Winnipeg sign, Winnipeg (Oct. 27)
New Brunswick
Downing Street and Downtown Place, Moncton (Oct. 27)
Newfoundland and Labrador
City Hall, St. John’s (Oct. 27)
Confederation Building, St. John’s (Oct. 27)
Northwest Territories
New North Networks' Dome, Inuvik – pending
Nova Scotia
House of Assembly, Halifax (Oct. 26)
Province House, Halifax (Oct. 26)
Ontario
| 340 Pitt Street Fountain, Cornwall – pending 50absoluteworld lightshow, Mississauga – pending Brampton Clock Tower, Brampton (Oct. 26) Brock Tower, St. Catherines – pending CN Tower, Toronto (Oct. 27) Collingwood Clock Tower, Collingwood (Oct. 30) Fred A. Lundy Bridge, Hamiton – pending |
Guelph Market Square (Oct. 28) |
Pearson Airport apron tower, Mississauga – pending RBC Place, London (Oct. 25) Quinte West Sign, Quinte West (Oct. 27) Riverwalk Commons, Newmarket (Oct. 27) Toronto Exhibition Place & Enercare Centre – pending Vaughan City Hall, Vaughan (Oct. 26) Veterans Skyway Bridge, Trenton (Oct. 27) Waterluminate, Waterloo – pending Welland Bridge, Welland – requested |
PEI
Shaw Building, Charlottetown – pending
Quebec
International Civil Aviation Organisation, Montreal – pending
La Grande Roue de Montreal, Montreal – requested
Parc Olympique/Montreal Tower, Montreal – pending
Saskatchewan
Regina City Hall, Regina (Oct. 26)
Saskatoon City Hall, Saskatoon – pending
Sasktel Centre, Saskatoon – pending
Nutrien Tower, Saskatoon (Oct. 27)
gOT Spirit challenge 2023
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We’re proud to sponsor the gOT Spirit challenge 2023, the annual student OT video contest that promotes awareness about and celebrates occupational therapy.
Videos will be posted on the gOT Spirit Facebook page by October 21st at 12 pm MST, when voting opens. Like your favourite video on the Facebook page to vote by October 28th; the winner will be announced on October 31st!
Two special episodes of OT Conversations that Matter: the Podcast highlighting the OT role in primary care
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We will be releasing two episodes of OT Conversations that Matter: The Podcast for OT Month to share more information about how occupational therapy professionals contribute to Canadian Primary Care teams.
These discussions stem from insights gained at CAOT Conference 2023, and highlight OTs' significance amid Canada's Health Human Resource crisis and the call for an expanded role in primary care in a paper entitled Occupational Therapy and Primary Care: A Vision for the Path Forward by Donnelly and colleagues (2022).Our aim with this series is to connect OTs from diverse regions, shedding light on how occupational therapy is shaping Primary Care nationwide.
We encourage you to listen and share when they are released!
National Occupational Therapy Private Practice Fee Schedule release
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The Alliance of Occupational Therapy Professional Associations (ACOTPA) is pleased to release the 2023 National Occupational Therapy Private Practice Fee Schedule. This resource can be used to inform public stakeholders and better support advocacy efforts by provincial associations.
ACOTPA does not require occupational therapists to adjust or amend their private practice service pricing to conform with the National Fee Schedule. You are encouraged to evaluate and set your individual service fees based on your business models and local market conditions.
Thank you to all private practice occupational therapists who filled out the (ACOTPA) National Fee Survey to help us collect information on fees charged in private practice across Canada.
Stay tuned to read the 2023 National Occupational Therapy Private Practice Fee Schedule!
CAOT Chapter regional events
Join in the celebration to get to know your regional Chapter and your colleagues better!
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CAOT-SK is hosting in-person events in Saskatoon and Regina. Join your colleagues to network and celebrate the occupational therapy profession in Saskatchewan! Appetizers will be served.
Saskatoon OT Month meet-up
Wednesday October 4th 6:30 p.m.
Hudson's Canada’s Pub
401 21st St. E Saskatoon
We will be making a special presentation of the 2023 CAOT-SK Citation Award to the winner, the specialized seating program, SaskAbilities.
Regina OT Month meet-up
Monday October 30th 6:30 p.m.
The Lobby Kitchen and Bar
2545 Broad St. Regina
CAOT Planetary Health resources
For World OT Day 2023, we're proud to launch our new curation of information on Planetary health & sustainable occupations.
Climate change is a global issue that is significantly affecting the health, wellbeing, and livelihood of many people around the world, and will ultimately impact every person living on this planet. Daily human occupations are recognized as being a major contributor to climate change. Occupational therapists (OTs) are well-positioned to support individuals as they engage in more sustainable occupations, and communities in creating policies and environments that will facilitate engagement in sustainable occupations.
Human activity (e.g., the way our food is produced) has increased worldwide risks of natural disasters, including droughts, and has impacted the livelihood of communities around the world. These changes have prevented many communities from engaging in subsistence occupations, such as agriculture, resulting in occupational injustice and global migration.
Occupational therapists’ expertise can support the objectives outlined in Canada’s National Adaptation Strategy, including supporting Canadians in making anticipatory changes to their daily lives before they are impacted by climate change and help them be ready to respond to extreme climate-related events.
Given the changes happening on a global and local scale, it is imperative to turn our attention to developing/increasing our knowledge and resources in this area. CAOT is committed to exploring how occupational therapy professionals can be a part of the environmental solution for our present and future generations. CAOT’s new Strategic Plan 2023-2026 places a particular focus on sustainability.
Introducing: Find OT Expertise!
Find OT Expertise is a new feature of the FIND an OT tool that helps anyone (e.g., researchers, other healthcare providers, clients) interested in working with an occupational therapist with expertise in a specific area of practice. The program also promotes the fair compensation of occupational therapists for their knowledge and expertise.
Are you an expert in your field?
OTs with expertise in different areas of practice are sought after and consulted by interested parties (e.g., researchers, healthcare providers, and clients). However, OTs are not always renumerated or properly acknowledged for their contributions. To facilitate the connection between OTs with expertise and those interested in working with them, and to promote the fair compensation of OTs for their knowledge and expertise, CAOT has added a new feature to the FIND an OT tool. This new feature will allow OTs to self-identify as experts in their area of practice and to identify their fee rate based on their work experience and expertise. For more information, please contact practice@caot.ca.
The WFOT celebrates World OT Day!
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Join WFOT and celebrate with OTs from around the globe. The theme for this year is "Unity through Community." The theme promotes our role in working together with others to facilitate participation and community interaction. As a profession, we collaborate with many groups and communities for the benefit of individuals and society as a whole.
The WFOT will also be providing a range of other resources that you can utilise to help promote the event. Many of these items will be designed exclusively for World Occupational Therapy Day 2023 and will be available to download from the WFOT website Resources. These resources will include:
- Guide to World Occupational Therapy Day 2023 – A useful resource to help you plan and organise the event together with links to exclusive promotional offers.
- Media Packs with official logo available in different languages free for you to download and use.
- Join the Occupational Therapy International Online Network (OTION) and network with people around the world to share news and ideas about World Occupational Therapy Day.
- Participate in the Occupational Therapy Global Day of Service, a partnership of the WFOT and Boston University that will take place on Tuesday 27th October 2023.