OTSH 69: OT Month Special: Supporting Our Profession Feat. Sarah Putt, OTR/L
- Apr 2, 2021
- 30 min read
Updated: Jun 30, 2025
Want to earn 11 hours of professional development?
Learn more about the OT School House: Back to School Conference Here!
Press play below to listen to the podcast
Or click on your preferred podcast player link!
Welcome to the show notes for the Episode 69 of the OT School House Podcast.
In this OT Month special episode, I am teaming up with Sarah Putt from the OT 4 Lyfe Podcast to talk about the importance of supporting our OT associations. We will discus the perks, the costs, and the reasons why we support our local, national, and world OT associations. The OT associations need our support so that they can turn around and effectively support us. At the end of the episode, we announce a giveaway put together to support you and OT associations all around the world. I hope you enjoy this special OT Month Episode!
Links to Show References:
Become an AOTA Member (Affiliate link)
Be sure to subscribe to the OT School House email list & get access to our free downloads of Gray-Space paper and the Occupational Profile for school-based OTs.
Have any questions or comments about the podcast? Email Jayson at Jayson@otschoolhouse.com
Well,
Thanks for visiting the podcast show notes! If you enjoyed this episode be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts
Episode Transcript
Expand to view the full episode transcript.
Jayson Davies
Hey, ot practitioners, the conference that your colleagues are calling the most valuable event of the year is returning just in time for the 2025 2026, school year. Join me and over 600 other school based ot practitioners this August for the fifth annual back to school Conference featuring 12 hours of practical a, ot a approved CEUs and resources from expert guests later in today's episode, I'll share with you about our incredible speaker lineup and a special discount just for our podcast listeners like you to learn more about the conference, visit ot schoolhouse.com/conference and secure your spot today.
Amazing Narrator
Hello and welcome to the OT school house podcast. Your source for school based occupational therapy tips, interviews and professional development now to get the conversation started, here is your host, Jayson Davies, class is officially in session.
Jayson Davies
Hey everyone, welcome to the OT school house podcast. My name is Jayson Davies, and I am super excited as always, to be here with you. It is ot month that is right. April 5 is here, and we are excited for ot month. I say we because today I am having a chat with Sarah from the OT for life podcast. I know several of you also listen to the OT for life podcast. So just so you know, our episodes are going to be pretty similar today, actually, because we did an episode jointly together and well, it was just amazing, so we decided to share it on both of our podcasts. So you're going to hear this amazing conversation between myself and Sarah put from ot for life. Today we are talking about ot associations, occupational therapy associations. We're going to be talking about local associate associations being, you know, your state level or regional level, if you're outside of America. We're going to be talking about national organizations here in America that is a OT, a, and then we're also going to be talking about the W, F, OT, World Federation of occupational therapy. So if that is anything that you might be interested in, be sure to listen. And if you don't think this might be interesting to you, I would encourage you to listen at least for the first five minutes or so, because we make it fun. This was a super fun conversation with the two of us. I really hope you enjoy this. And to top it all off, at the end of the episode, we are having a giveaway. So let's go ahead and get the OT month party started. Here is Sarah put from the OT for life podcast, and myself talking about ot associations. Hey, Jayson, how are you today? I am doing fantastic. How are you? Sarah,
Sarah Putt
yeah, that's a great word. I'm doing amazing as well. And honestly, like, I'm so excited to have this conversation with you today all about ot associations, because I know that both of us are very, very passionate about this topic, and I think, and I'm curious to kind of get your take on it. But I think ot associations is one of those things that isn't talked about enough in our profession, especially after ot school. I feel like it's like, drilled into our heads in OT school, and then afterwards it's like, oh yeah, no. It's just kind of one of those things you can do if you want to. And I also think there's a lot of misconceptions about ot associations, so I'm excited to just kind of like, jump in and dispel some of these misconceptions and really talk about why we think it's so important to be a part of OT associations across multiple levels. Here.
Jayson Davies
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I actually want to piggyback on what you just said. I never thought about that, but you are right. Like, schools get rewarded, I think, for having, like, 100% a ot a association among their students. Like it's crazy. They advertise that their students are associated with a, OT, a or their state, just like they advertise their NBC, ot pass rates. So yeah, I never thought about that, that that's a good point that you make. But like you said, as soon as we get into the real world, and we now have to pay all that money that the school wants that we deferred for four years associations, you know, they they typically do cost a little bit of money, and we'll talk about more in a second, about the money side of it, but you're right. I think people do kind of start to decline in their membership rate.
Sarah Putt
So maybe we can just start and talk about what type of OT associations are out there.
Jayson Davies
All right, I'll just start by what I'm a part of, and that is actually my state association in California. It's ot Occupational Therapy Association of California. So that is the more local state association I'm also a part of a OT, a which everyone knows about, whether you're an OT in America or an OT outside of America. I think everyone knows a ot a because they do publish the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, and they're just a huge, or relatively huge Association. That's our national one. And then I recently became a part of w OT, which Sarah and I have different. Ways to pronounce this, or we say W OT, I call it woo fot,
Sarah Putt
and I love, absolutely love that. I've always called it woof it so, but I might be a convert, and I might have to start calling it woo fot.
Jayson Davies
I love it. But anyway, that is the world OT, Association. And, yeah, what about you? Where are you at right now? With associations? Yeah,
Sarah Putt
so I 100% agree with what you said, and I've always been a big proponent of being a member of the state association. So when I was in California, OT, that was the big one. And but now that I'm up in Washington, they have their own state association as well as a, OT, a, I've been a member for many, many, many, many, many years, and also woof it. I'm just a huge proponent of being a member at various levels. And because of all the international stuff that I do, woof it is a it's an important association that I am a part of. So, yeah, basically, state, national, international, that's it, right there.
Jayson Davies
So I have to acknowledge something. I did take a break from, I think OT, out of out of school. I don't think I took a break from a, OT, A, but I do think I took a break from the state association, and I think it was primarily because A, they don't have auto renewal, or they didn't at the time, and B, because I don't think I went to the conference, and so it just kind of fell off the radar, and I didn't re sign up for it. Have you ever let it lapse consistently when you are in one place? Does it ever? Have you ever had it lapse? Okay,
Sarah Putt
so I'm gonna be real and, like, super honest and transparent with you right now. Yes, I have. I haven't always been pro ot Association, and I definitely was members when I was in school, but as a new grad, and for the first few years of practice, I didn't see the value. I didn't so that I didn't see the value, but I guess I just didn't understand it. I didn't take the time to really, like, dive into it. And I felt like it was just, like, crammed down our throat in OT school, that I'm like, It's fine. I don't I don't need to do that right now. It really wasn't the money. It just kind of wasn't of wasn't understanding the value that they brought, and they actually did for our profession. So there were many years that I was not a member of any ot associations, and I am admitting that because I think there are a lot of people that might resonate with that and be like, yeah, what is the importance? Like, what do they actually do for us? And a lot of times, people just think it's like, you pay money, but you don't get anything in return. But what I will say is, once I went to my first A ot a conference, and I want to say this was like five years out of school, completely converted, and I was like, I get it. I totally understand why we need to be members of these associations now. So since that moment, I have not allowed any lapse in my memberships. But up until that point, I hate to admit it, but I did let it
Jayson Davies
lapse. You know, it happens, but you know the good thing is, is you can always renew, and it doesn't cost extra to renew. It's just the regular price. So not a bad deal. While you were speaking, and we're actually now moving into the point where we're going to talk more about the benefits of it. I realize one of the benefits that we hadn't talked about previously, and that is networking, and the fact that in 2017 at an OT event, you and I had lunch together, and that is how we met. So if we were not either of us were not ot members. At that time, this podcast wouldn't exist, like this episode right now may not exist because maybe we may not be friends. So I just want to throw it out there. That's a benefit of being part of an association, networking.
Sarah Putt
Yeah, you are 100% correct. Jayson, I remember that lunch and how fun it actually was, and I think it was supposed to be like, 15 minutes or whatever, like, just to like, Hey, this is so and so it's nice to meet you. And then I think we, like, sat down for like, an hour, hour and a half, and we were probably all late to the next session, because we just had this amazing chat. So I'm so glad you brought that up, because, yeah, like, You're so right. This probably wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for that conference, but then also for us being members, to even get to the conference and all that good stuff. So yeah, networking, that's absolutely huge.
Jayson Davies
So yeah, definitely advocacy. But let's go ahead and break it down. Let's start by association. At the local level, we talked about networking a little bit. What other positives and attributes do you find with the local state associations. What are the positives for those?
Sarah Putt
I think one of the big things is really figuring out what's happening at your local level, like within your state, and depending on how big your state is, like, at least for California, it's actually broken out into different regions, and really getting a pulse on what's happening within your region, within your state, and how that applies to your practice, your practice area, anything that is kind of happening that might be impacting how you practice as an occupational therapy practitioner. So for me, for being a member of the State Associations, it's really that like super niche, hyper, low. Goal, really getting a good idea of what's happening around you and within your very specific regional area. What do you think? Jayson,
Jayson Davies
no, you're right on, especially when it comes to advocacy. Because I don't know if you remember, in California, we had, I'm gonna shout her out, Sabrina McCarley, and she was, like, the biggest ot advocate ever. She's now with a ot a. Actually, she's kind of moved up the ranks to a ot A, but she had this whole program, and it was called the go to OT, like everything, you had to have a sticker that said go to OT. And what go to OT was all about was letting OTs know specifically that, hey, in California, there's only, like, I don't know. I'm just going to use the number 50 representatives. I should probably know that better, but I don't 50 representatives or so between the Senate and the House within California, well, there are a lot more OTs than 50 within our state. And so every single senator, state senator specifically for OT, should have a go to OT. They need to be able to know, hey, when something comes on the floor of the house and it has to do with something, with Medicare or with schools, I need to be able to call an OT and get their take on it, or an OT, or multiple OTs, need to be able to call them and be like, hey, this bill is amazing for OT. You know, this is going to be great. This is going to help the kids. This is going to help all of my clients, or vice versa. Hey, this is not a good idea. We need to, you know, put the brakes on this. And I just want to let you know that this won't be good care, because it all comes back down to the client, right? And so anyways, I'm getting off track. But the whole advocacy. Part of it is they really support advocacy. In fact, they even pay an outside agency to advocate for us. And so they have people at Capitol Hill in Sacramento, here in California, that are talking to the legislators on a regular basis, saying, What about this? What about that? You know, we want this bill to help our clients, and that's what part of our funds go to, right? Yep, oh,
Sarah Putt
completely Yeah. And I love that you brought up Sabrina, because any ot conference that I've gone to, I always go to any of the chats that she presents on, and I leave those like, hands up in the air, like, yeah, go OT. And I'm so excited. So thank you for bringing that
Jayson Davies
up, she's my favorite. I love her. My gosh, yes. All right. So the state associations, you know, once you move up to a OT, a, they have more members. They have the age OT and stuff like that. But the other big thing we already alluded to it a little bit, is your conference at the state level. And I know not every state has a super big conference, but I think states are starting to team up a little bit to have conferences, and now with virtual events, you can have people potentially outside of your state, or people who just can't travel to whatever big city is in your state. What's your experience been with state conferences?
Sarah Putt
I have gone to a handful so far, and I think every time that I go, I'm learning something new. I'm learning a lot of new things. I'm connecting with people that, again, are in my local region, and maybe I didn't know that they were doing this research, or that they were starting some sort of project or starting some sort of company, and it's like that networking piece, but also learning about other people, that you can start other practitioners, that you can refer to, that if you get a client that comes your way and you're like, yeah, they're not, they're not quite in my area, I can refer here. Or if somebody's looking for a certain type of therapist or therapy practitioner, you're like, Oh, I know somebody that specializes in dementia in this area. Let me refer them to you. So again, it's like, it really is just kind of keeping it at that local level and knowing what's happening, but then also being able to, like, make those referrals and make those connections to people that are within your area,
Jayson Davies
absolutely always back to the connections. All about that, those connections that you build, whether or not it directly affects your job, just having a network of other OTs to be a part of. I mean, let's be honest. You're listening to this podcast because you want to be a part of a community commune. OT Right, yeah. So that is definitely a great point for your local because, again, things change from state to state as well, and so being part of your local, your state association will help you understand what's going on in your state. Should we move to a ot a,
Sarah Putt
yeah, let's go to national national ot associations here. All right, I will
Jayson Davies
let you start. What's your most favorite benefit of a ot
Sarah Putt
a? That is such a good question. I feel like there's so much good that a ot a does for us. I think really one of my favorite parts is the promoting of the profession and also kind of securing who we are and what we do right. Like, again, a lot of people still don't understand what occupational therapy is when and when I say people were talking about society in general, and I. Really, truly feel like a ot a has done a really good job and are continuing to do a really good job to bring occupational therapy to the table and give us a seat at the table, especially with like leadership and helping promote what we do, which really we're going to need to be doing this for years and years and years and years and years to kind of go up the ranks and really get it where society as a whole understands who we are as a profession and what we can actually contribute. So that, I think is one of my favorite things, that I know that a ot A is working so diligently behind the scenes on, what would you say? What's your favorite, or what's your top thing of being a member of a ot a that you think is really important that they do
Jayson Davies
well, I think for the most part, I really appreciate the advocacy, but the part that I use most is the access to the journals. And it's not just the American Journal of ot the Asia, they also provide you access to other journals, I believe, the Canadian and Australian journals, I want to say, maybe also one of the European journals. So I find that to be a great benefit, because I love the Asia, but it doesn't always have everything. I mean, there's only so many articles that they can put out every year, and so it's nice to have access to other articles so that I can continue to build my own knowledge. And again, going back to we have a podcast, and our podcast is nothing without all of you listening. And so we want to have things to share with you, and we want to be able to help you as well. And so by accessing those journals that that is key
Sarah Putt
and OT practice magazine too, not not a journal, but still, you're going to be kind of privy to this information of things that are happening within the OT profession too. So I'll throw that one in there. Well, the
Jayson Davies
SIS too, that comes with that, right, your special interest section, maybe, but it comes in addition with you get your ot practice in the little baggie, and then on the back side of it, there's a little extra form that kind of has some specialty area to your practice area. So
Sarah Putt
I think also, one of the really important things that a ot a does is that it really focuses on assuring the quality of occupational therapy services and improving consumer access to healthcare services. So not just helping us as practitioners and helping us as students, but it really is about helping our clients advocating for what ot does, so our clients can have access to the services that they need as well. So really, I know we're focusing a lot on, like, what does it bring to us as practitioners and students, but also, kind of globally, for our clients, they do a lot of work behind the scenes in that aspect as
Jayson Davies
well. Yeah, and that's huge right now with the whole, again, I'm school based, so I don't know all the laws related to I'm gonna completely blush this. It's P, T, S, I don't even know the acronyms for the giant bill going through that is just changing up healthcare and a, OT, a sends out regular updates as to how they are trying to support both OTs and OT assistance in that bill, and how reimbursement is distributed, and all that good stuff that I don't know anything about because I'm a school based OT, but yeah, you know, just like I talked about earlier, how your state organization has advocates on Capitol Hill in your state, well, a OT, a does the same thing. They pay a contractor to have people talking to our US, legislators and so again, that's where part of our funding is going to So, Sarah, do you know the price for a, ot a, I do.
Sarah Putt
So there's, there's a couple different ones, and it depends on whether you're an occupational therapist, occupational therapy assistant. They also break it down for, like, first year ot practitioner, second year ot practitioner, I know. And also for OT and OT a, yeah, and they have a student price. So I'll just like run through this really quick. We'll have this linked in the show notes, and also link to the OT, a page where I got this information. Keep in mind, if you happen to be listening to this episode at a later date. This is as of April 2021. Things might change. So don't quote me and say Sarah said it's supposed to be this much. But for an OT, for the year, it's 225, ot a 131, first year, new ot practitioner is 119 first year, new ot a practitioner is 95 second year ot practitioner 175 second year ot a practitioner 120 and The Student price is 75 now, there's also other breakdowns that I'm not even gonna get, gonna get into there, so if you feel like you might qualify in a different area, definitely go to a ot a and look at their other breakdowns that they have. But now, Jayson, I know that you don't pay on an annual basis, so can you explain how you go about your payment
Jayson Davies
Correct? Yeah. So I have it set on auto pay on a monthly program, I believe, and I just did the math to make sure, but it's 225, is what you said for an OT, you know, with a few years of experience, and you break that down into 12, just a few you break that down. Over 12 months, it is $18.75 so yeah, you know, a few cups of coffee from Starbucks, and that's it. 1875 not that much for what you get. Definitely worth the 1875 and all the benefits that we just talked about. You know, they have conferences for us. They have all the research for us. They advocate for us so much. And I'm just gonna throw this. This out there. We are not being paid by a, ot A, we are not being paid by ot tag, and we're not being paid by who we're going to talk about next, which is W, F, OT or wufod.
Sarah Putt
No, definitely not. This is just you and me connecting on something that we're both passionate about and really wanting to spread the message so other people hear that like, hey, we know it's important, and hopefully other people can start to understand that there is a lot of value that our associations bring to the table.
Jayson Davies
Yeah, and you know, we haven't even actually mentioned this yet on the interview portion of this podcast. I'm sure you and I will both include it in the intro. But the reason that we wanted to do this is because it's ot month, and this is about supporting OT and, you know, not just supporting ourselves individually, but supporting our profession as a whole. And that is exactly what a ot A is doing for us. So I don't know if you want to add anything before we move on to wufod.
Sarah Putt
I think the only other really brief thing that I just kind of want to throw in as well is that there are other discounts as being a member of a OT, a so there are exclusive member discounts for books, continuing education, units, courses, anything like that, as well as some of their kind of affiliate partners that they have, like car insurance. I know that they have a discount through Geico. They have a discount for professional liability through Mercer or pro liability, which is what I have. And I learned that they had that discount, and I signed up through a ot A and then I recently just learned that they also have an affiliate with Sofi, which has to do with student loans and refinancing and all of that. So again, there's a lot more information that we're not even going to go into detail here, but go check it out if you're interested in any of that, and seeing what other discounts that they have. And I'll just kind of leave it at that, because there's a lot.
Jayson Davies
Well, it's nice to hear that GEICO thinks that OTs are good drivers. I appreciate that exactly. All right, Sarah, you're gonna have to help me out with this one, because I am a brand new W F ot member, and I can share a little bit after you kind of go into it, a little bit about how I did that. But what do you know about W F OT? We'll be back after a quick break while it may be summer break now, the school year will be here before you know it. Get ready for it at the fifth annual back to school Conference coming August, 23 and 24th of this year, join hundreds of school based ot practitioners online for this two day transformative learning event where you can attend live or catch the replays. Don't Miss Amy and Jack from autism level up, sharing neurodiverse strategies to support autistic students or expert handwriting instructor Peggy Morris, as she shares the most up to date research on handwriting and how to put it into practice. Don't miss this impactful event for school based ot practitioners by school based ot practitioners as a thank you for listening to this episode of the OT school house podcast. Use promo code podcast 25 for $50 off your registration at ot schoolhouse.com/conference I'll see you there.
Sarah Putt
So really, in a nutshell, I feel like the World Federation of occupational therapists is the global voice for occupational therapy, and it really is setting the practice standards for what we do within our clinical practice. And I've been a member for many years now, and it's been really, really interesting to watch the member organization. Numbers grow throughout the years as new countries and new programs start to develop. And really, W, F, OT is all about promoting the profession of occupational therapy, but the other thing that they do is they are really diligent about setting up ot programs in countries that might not have universities or colleges that are teaching ot right now. So it is this, it's this global voice. And you know how much I love international ot work and all of that good stuff. So for me, like, what fit is just one of those things that's so important to be a part of. And ever since I found out that I could be a member, I've been a member ever since. So go with it or
Jayson Davies
and, yeah. So I mean, I've only been a member with W ot for like, two months. I didn't really know how to sign up. I didn't know what the cost was. I didn't know anything. And so I've got our little spreadsheet up here or Google Doc that you so kindly put together. And wow, 580,000 occupational therapy practitioners is what w f ot supports in 101 member organizations. That's amazing, isn't it? Yeah. And the best part of this for everyone listening. Mean, I want you to just close your eyes and guess how much it costs to be a part of WFO T real quickly, $30 if you're an OT, a 32 if you're an OT, and 27 if you're a student. That's insane. For the year, yeah, for the year, not a month a year, not a month a year. That's amazing. And Sarah, have you ever gone to the World Conference?
Sarah Putt
I have. Yes, I went to my first W conference back in 2018 and it was in Cape Town, South Africa. And I kid you not, it was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had in my entire life. I went for like two weeks, and I went for a week before the conference, and I got to kind of just explore Cape Town and go see the sites and meet up with other practitioners from around the world. So I have some ot practitioner friends and students that are in Iceland that I met a couple years ago, and we all got to reconnect at the conference, and it was super fun. And then also just meet all the new people that I hadn't met yet. And then the conference, I just remember walking in every single day, just like my eyes super big, and just like soaking up all the information that I possibly could and leaving the conference just exhausted every day because of the breadth of knowledge and the amazingness of the OT practitioners and students that had showed up to share their research, to share their projects, to share their knowledge of what is going on with ot within their country. And it just was, it was a life changing experience. And we have the next WFO T Congress is going to be in Paris in 2022 and last I checked, I mean, with the current state of everything kind of happening with COVID and the pandemic, last I checked, they are running a hybrid option, so you can go if it's safe, and travel will permit you to go, but they're also running a virtual component as well. So hopefully that might actually open it up to even more people being able to be a part of it. And if I could say one thing. Do it go if it's virtual or in person, just do it. It will change your life. Yeah,
Jayson Davies
you don't have to convince me to go to Paris. That is amazing. I've never been to a Congress before, but I am looking forward to that. Especially. I gotta give a quick shout out to everyone that listens to the OT school house podcast and the OT for life podcast from outside of the United States. We were having a discussion about this before popping on. We have people from Australia, from Greece, from India, from what else, UK and Germany. Yeah. It's amazing. Shout out to all of you, and even for you, I hope all of you are able to be a W, F, ot member. This one, though, is a little tougher to become a member for at least if you're in America that I know of. For me, I actually had to, like, find it on the website. Mind you, I'm already an A ot a member. It's a little bit different. I think if you're signing up for your A ot a membership. I'll let Sarah talk about that in just a second, but I kind of had to find it, and then I had to email them say, hey, I want to be a member. And then we worked it out. But I believe Sarah, you said, now if you are signing up or renewing as an A ot a member, how does that work?
Sarah Putt
Yeah, so basically, you would go through your typical registration or renewing registration, whether it's new or if you have already been a member, and you get to a certain page on the renewal form, and it will actually say, Do you want to be a member of what fit, and it lays out the price and everything, and it's just a little check box. But I will say it can be easily missed. So if it's something that you're really interested in, make sure that you really pay attention when you're going through the renewal or going through the setup process, that you don't miss where it is, because it's just a little check box. And then once you get to the end, you should see it kind of on the summary adding to the total, right, you're going to have that, that price added to the total at the end. So it's there. It's a little tricky to find, but if you're intentional, I know that you can do it. And also, the one thing that I really wanted to bring up, that I think is super cool, that what fit does is they have an annual World ot day, and it is typically on October 27 and it's amazing to watch the scope of promotion of occupational therapy across the globe that happens on that day. It kind of actually happens over a couple days, because we have some people that are going to have that they're going to hit that day sooner than others. And it is amazing seeing schools come together that are putting videos of advocacy and what OT is in their country. And I love it again. It's like one of my favorite things about what fit too. So we got a couple months for that, but put that on your radar as well.
Jayson Davies
Yeah, I always kind of coordinate that, because it's the same month that OT, the conference in California, happened. So it all kind of comes together into one big celebration. It's quite, quite amazing. And I love putting together a social media post and campaign for that. It's just so much fun. And like you said, it almost happens over a few days because of the time zones. The day before you'll start to see posts, and you're like, Wait, am I missing it? Like, oh no, that's someone from Australia posting. They're just in the future. They're in the future. But, yeah, that is pretty. Be amazing. And actually,
Sarah Putt
you just reminded me of something to make note that I know, at least in Australia, and I'm not sure about it in other countries, but if you are listening to this, and you are not in the States, and you're listening from a different country, I know that some countries actually, when you sign up to be in your national membership association, you actually get automatically added to the World Federation. So I know Australia has won, because talking to Brock cook from the Occupy podcast, he mentioned that, but double check that too, because it might just be something that is automatically a part of your national membership, which I think is a great idea.
Jayson Davies
Yeah. I agree. A ot a should just do that. Just add it on there. Just add it on there. 30 bucks, just add it on. Yep. All right. Well, I think that, oh, wait, we had one more type of associations that we wanted to talk about really quickly. And this isn't specific to OT, but this is just like associations in general that might have to do with your practice area. Sarah, do you have a few examples of those?
Sarah Putt
I do, yeah. And again, we'll keep this brief, because it's not specific to OT but there are a lot of other associations out there that could be a part of your practice area. So a couple that I know of are being that I work in early intervention. There's the Zero to Three Association, and there I also have some training in hippotherapy. So there's the American hippotherapy association. So those are, those are the two that I have been a member of H A before, and I've also kind of had the zero to three kind of on my docket. Haven't joined that one yet, but I know that those two are out there. Are there any others that you know of? Jayson,
Jayson Davies
well, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to join the one that I just found out about, which is the Association for play therapy. I just kind of feel that as a pediatric therapist. I kind of like belong in this association, so I'm gonna have to check it out. One other thing about these associations is that you can't base it off any information you have about ot associations. You don't know what they do. You don't know what the price is. Some are free, some are paid. You don't know if you're gonna get access to a journal or whatnot. Each one's a little bit different, but I really didn't have much of an idea as to what this was part of until we decided to have this conversation. So super happy that we did, and now I have an association that I might sign up for. So yeah, that's about it. I think, I
Sarah Putt
think just bottom line is like, do your own research and look for whatever it is that you're interested in, and see if there are associations that are out there, reach out to other practitioners and see if they're affiliated with them, if they've gone to their conferences, if they think that it's worth it, because I think there's a lot of amazing work that's being done out there, and honestly, we can't even compile all of it into one podcast episode, so do your own research and see if there's something of interest, definitely for ot associations. But then even outside of OT associations.
Jayson Davies
Yeah, I think you're right. And you know what? Maybe individually, we can both do our own podcast episode on different associations that might kind of pertain to our areas. That'd be cool. So all right, well, we have one more thing that, yeah, Sarah's doing a drum rolling over there, one more thing that we want to do, because we just have such an appreciation for the associations that we are a part of, and we want you to have an appreciation for the associations, and we hope that you will sign up for them, not because we're telling you to, not because we are about to give you away something potentially if you are part of your association, but because we want you To see the value in it, and we want you to be a part of all three of your associations. If possible, we understand financials, you know, can come into play, but if possible, we would love for you to be a part of your state or region if you're outside of an area that calls them states, your national and the World Federation of occupational therapy. So I'm gonna go ahead and let Sarah make the big reveal drum roll.
Sarah Putt
So yeah, we think I'm gonna speak for both of us here. We think that it is so important that you are a part of your ot associations. If you can only do one, great, if you can do two, great, if you can do all three or more even better. So Jayson and I have teamed up, and we are going to be giving away a $50 gift card for people that sign up for their ot associations. So all you have to do is go to the link that we're going to provide in the show notes, and we're also going to be promoting it across social media, and you're gonna have to put in your email so we know how to get in contact with you. Give us your name, so we also know what to call you. And then you just have to mark what associations that you belong to, and each association that you belong to will give you an additional entry into the drawing. So if you're just state, that's one. If it's state and national, you got two. If it's state, national and international and the World Federation, you get three entries into the drawing. And I just wanted to say we're giving away a $50 gift card that basically covers your international association membership right there, and then some. So you know, just just a little. Little something, something, there just
Jayson Davies
a little something, some, yeah, or, I mean, even 1/4 almost of your A ot a membership, which, that's not bad at all. And you know, $200 to one person is 200 completely different to another person. And so again, we're not here to pressure you to make a financially irresponsible move and sign up for something. We just really want you to see the value in this, and when you can do it, we think that the benefit is just so great. It really helps. You know what? I think there was one stat that we meant to plug in, I don't think we did, and that was how many OTs a ot A represents versus how many OTs are part of a ot a. Do you remember what that stat was?
Sarah Putt
So according to what I pulled from their website just the other day, a ot A represents about 230,000 ot practitioners and students in the US, with only 65,000 being members of a ot A. And in my eyes, that's not good enough. That's not good enough for me. I mean, that's basically about a third of the practitioners and students in the states that are members. So I know I would love to see that number increase, specifically for a ot a, also for what fit for our states, for all of our OT associations. And I think you agree with me too, right? Jayson,
Jayson Davies
absolutely, absolutely. Can you just imagine? Okay, here, just hear me out real quickly. All right, I can just imagine. I know there's some people. I know there's some people that say, a OT, a doesn't do this. Doesn't do that for our profession. Well, what she just said is only 1/3 of us are actually giving them a little bit of money to do what we think that they should be doing. Imagine if we were all giving them $200 a year. Imagine how many more people they could have in Washington, DC, making the cause for occupational therapy. Imagine how much more grants maybe they could provide for the research that we all know ot needs more of. I mean, that is just amazing. Imagine if they had two thirds more within their budget. Basically it would, it would triple their budget if all of us were part of a OT. So just think about that. You know, we want, we are often quick to criticize, but they're also working with a third, I'm thinking of Hamilton, a third of what Congress has suffered. Anyways, they need our support so that they can do more of what we expect them to do. That's the that's kind of the short version,
Sarah Putt
yeah, hands down. And I think there's so much work that happens behind the scenes. And really this is another thing that we didn't really talk too much about, but you can be a member, where you pay your membership dues and you get access to everything that we've talked about earlier on in the episode, but you can also get involved and actually see what they're doing on the ground on a daily basis. And I think there's so much that's happening if you are a member that you don't even see happening behind the scenes. And I think that's where that disconnect or those misconceptions happen, where people just feel like they're paying money, but they're not seeing the benefit, because there's so much happening that you and I just don't see on a daily basis. So keep that in mind. I think it's extremely important to be a part of our OT associations for so many different reasons, and yeah, I'm just, I'm so happy we had this conversation today, Jayson, because I think it's really one of those conversations that needs to be had and shared so people see how passionate we are about it and how excited and just how important it is for us, and hopefully they might be able To start to see why it is really that important for our profession
Jayson Davies
as a whole, absolutely and so just to close out, I think, be sure to click on that link in the show notes, the description that's right below this audio, maybe right above the audio, wherever it is. Go there and let us know what associations you belong to. We're not selling this data. We're not benefiting from this data. We just want to know what you belong to, or go sign up now and then, click on the link and be entered to win a $50 gift card. We are going to ask the winner to show us their whatever association that they're a part of, just to, you know, kind of confirm that. But completely free to enter, we're going to give away a $50 gift card. All you have to do is click on a link one minute, most of your time to fill out a quick google form like this isn't anything fancy, it's a Google form, so feel free go ahead, check that out, enter and yeah, we will reach out to the winner. I'm excited for
Sarah Putt
it. Me too. This is awesome. And again, we're doing this to celebrate ot month in the States. So what better way to celebrate occupational therapy month than stand up for our professions and represent our associations and continue to promote the profession of occupational therapy at the state, national and international
Jayson Davies
levels. Well, sir, I have really enjoyed this conversation. I haven't smiled in a while this much, so I appreciate it. And yeah, it's been fun.
Sarah Putt
It has been fun. Who knew talking about ot associations could be this much fun, and it involves so much smiling. So thank you, Jayson for having this conversation with me too.
Jayson Davies
Did I not tell you that was gonna be a fun episode? Thank you so much to Sarah for putting this all together with me. It was so much fun. And yes, we do have that giveaway going on right now. You can register for it by clicking on the link in the show notes right below or above this podcast, or at ot schoolhouse.com, forward slash podcast. Just find the episode and get it there. We did forget to mention when the giveaway goes to within the podcast. So I'm going to tell you right now. It goes until April 16. You have just about two weeks until the giveaway, and so be sure to click that Google Form link in the notes so you can get that right now. Okay, it only takes a minute to enter. You just have to let us know what associations you are part of, and you can win up to $50 for doing that little piece. All right, so until next time, enjoy your first week of occupational therapy month and take care. Bye, bye.
Amazing Narrator
Thank you for listening to the OT school house podcast for more ways to help you and your students succeed right now, head on over to OT schoolhouse.com Until next time class is dismissed.
Click on the file below to download the transcript to your device.
