The time is now!

The American Occupational Therapy Association works hard to promote and support the profession of occupational therapy. In honor of OT Month, I would like to encourage all occupational therapists to consider supporting this hard working association.

Some food for thought provided by AOTA:

“AOTA is working every day to advance the profession, protect OT from external threats, and help develop new practice opportunities. Imagine what would happen if reimbursement for our services disappeared. Or if other health care professionals began doing our work. Or if the profession was locked out of practicing in health and wellness or any emerging practice area where clients can benefit from OT.”

“Many consumers and other health professionals are misinformed about what OT does, and they need to be educated about our effectiveness and value. Ensuring that the public knows what we do means requests for referrals to OT by our clients and recognition by our colleagues.”

“As professionals we have an obligation to lifelong learning. Participating and supporting our professional organization is a basic responsibility to ensure that we are prepared to provide the best care for our clients and to ensure that OT remains a strong, viable profession for those who will need our services in the future. AOTA is dedicated to ensuring that OT thrives for another 100 years.”

If you need more reasons to join, here is a list of the great member benefits that I use all of the time!

• Access to a wealth of knowledge from experienced practitioners who can answer your questions on the OTConnections SIS forums.
• Discounts on great books and CEUS.
• Access to the latest occupational therapy research through a subscription to the American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT)
• Subscription to OT Practice (for a sneak peak of the OT Practice magazine, follow The American Occupational Therapy Association on Facebook for access to the April 9^th magazine!)
• Subscription to a Special Interest Section Quarterly relevant to your practice area, as well as online access to all of the other SIS Quarterlies (I subscribe to the Early Intervention and School SIS)
• Access to “members only” sections of the AOTA website, including AOTA’s Critically Appraised Topics (CATs), which synthesize the research related to a specific area of occupational therapy treatment, such as treatment interventions for autism.
• Monthly e-newsletters keep me up to date on practice and legislative issues.

 These are just the member benefits that I use on a regular basis.  I’m sure there are many more (like discounted rates for the annual conference)!

Are you an AOTA member? What are your reasons for joining? If not, what are you waiting for?