Now is not the time to cut and run, the profession is told
No matter how hard things are in the public sector, now is not the time to cut and run from occupational therapy, delegates were told in no uncertain terms at last week’s COT annual conference in Brighton.
Closing proceedings for this year’s event, COT chief executive Julia Scott said that year on year the professional body’s annual conference drives our profession forward, enabling OTs to ‘talk our own language’ and ‘challenge with confidence’.
She urged delegates not to stop talking about occupational therapy once back in their workplaces: ‘Now is the time to talk aloud about occupational therapy… be an OT evangelist. If we don’t do it then no-one will do it for us,’ she said.
Reflecting on some of this year’s key speakers she said that conference always provides delegates with some tangible and some abstract memories. ‘Mary Law’s thoughts on outcome measures and evidence could not have been more timely, while Annie Turner asked us to address the need for strong professional identity.
‘Shout it from the rooftops, use social media and make it happen,’ she concluded. ‘Take individual and collective responsibility for the future of our profession.’
