The Medical Director of Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital (FNPH), Yaba, Dr Richard Adebayo, has called on hospitals to include occupational therapy practitioners in their medical teams for the holistic recovery of patients.
According to Adebayo, occupational therapy practitioners are the professionals who put the icing on the cake in medical care because the therapy (OT) is widely provided for people with chronic musculoskeletal conditions. So after the surgery and other medical interventions, occupational therapists improve the ability of patients to perform daily tasks.
Adebayo spoke at the 11th and 12th Convocation of the Federal School of Occupational Therapy (FSOT), Oshodi, Lagos.
There were 66 graduands: 25 from the 2015/2016 graduating class, and 41 from 2016/2017 set. The graduates have been groomed and certified to go into active practice or further studies, up to first degree. The overall best graduating student in the 2015/16 set was Yusuf T. Victoria, and Gogo O. Mayokun for 2016/17.
He said when a patient undergoes treatment but cannot adjust to life thereafter so as to carry out everyday activity, there is a tendency for such to go into depression with other problems evolving such as suicidal thoughts, “but when occupational therapy practitioner is included in the medical team, such will attend to the patient after other team members have done their part, and the patient will be able to do activities and valued life roles at work, in the home, at leisure and socially.
“Occupational therapy practitioners facilitate successful adaptations to disruptions in lifestyle, prevent losses of function and improve or maintain psychological status. Some interventions e.g. joint protection and hand exercises are effective for patients after medical treatment. Occupational therapy practitioners are increasingly taking over patients sooner after treatment for interventions to help prevent progression of functional, physical and psychological problems,” Dr Adebayo noted.
The Guest lecturer, Ms Oluwaseyi B. Aladesuyi, a Generic Occupational Therapy practitioner at Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta said it is advisable for the graduands to pursue academic excellence before practising. She reasoned that it is no easy to climb up the medical ladder in the country without adequate paper qualifications, “So from my personal experience while obtaining a Masters in Occupational therapy (OT) it is good you get the papers through further studies rather than going into practice. There is no PhD holder in OT yet in the country, you can make it happen,” she said.
Ms Aladesuyi, whose generic practice cuts across various clinical settings including stroke rehabilitation, paediatric neurology and treatment of orthopaedic injuries, said the relevance of Occupational therapy practitioner stands in the answer to a question of “What matters to you?” not, “What’s the matter with you?”
She said: “In its simplest terms, occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants help people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations). Common occupational therapy interventions include helping children with disabilities to participate fully in school and social situations, helping people recovering from injury to regain skills, and providing support for older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes. Occupational therapy services typically include customised intervention to improve the person’s ability to perform daily activities and reach the goals, of bathing, brushing, writing or signing of cheques or feeding. A major focus of occupational therapy is rehabilitation related to impairments of the upper extremity i.e., shoulder, elbow, forearm, wrist, hand. But either in a specialised hand clinic, general rehabilitation clinic, or acute care setting, the role of occupational therapy practitioner in upper extremity rehabilitation is to return the client to a meaningful participation in his or her daily activities.”
She said the many benefits of Occupational Therapy is seen when the upper extremity disability can result in disruption of many if not all activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. “Occupational therapy professionals receive a strong educational component in psychosocial development and pathology. This provides the basis for understanding the impact of upper extremity dysfunction on key daily activities and roles. Course work in mental health gives occupational therapists the skills to evaluate clients’ psychosocial and emotional needs, modify the treatment approach to facilitate compliance with the rehabilitation programme, and promote the best outcome possible.
“Because of the holistic, client centered approach of occupational therapy, clients are met at their current level of function. Through activity analysis, the occupational therapist is able to address each client’s priorities, along with his or her pathologies, with activity modifications and compensatory techniques to facilitate performing at his or her greatest level of independence from the start, and at every step of the rehabilitation process. This independence encourages integration of the affected upper extremity as soon as possible, thereby making the journey to maximal function seamless,” explained Ms Aladesuyi.
The Registrar /Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Medical Rehabilitation Therapist Registration Board of Nigeria , Mrs Olufunke T. Akanle said the regulatory body paid a re-accreditation to the school June last year checking and scrutinising all students, staff and academic records to ensure compliance with standards, “at the end of the exercise, the programme was reaccredited subject to another visit in 2019. I encourage all the graduands to register with the board. That way we monitor their practice and won’t regard them as quacks.”
The Acting Principal, A. Adeoso, said the major challenge confronting the school was funding, “if the school can get more funding there will be greater facilities to train the students, and also be upgraded to a degree awarding institution of learning. Pending that, First Degree can be obtained at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and overseas.”
