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OT and Nutrition


I have always been interested in nutrition, so I was excited to learn that we would have a lecture given by a registered dietician as part of our curriculum in occupational therapy school. This is an area in which I believe OTs have a great opportunity to partner with dietitians to provide the best care possible for our clients. Nutrition is one of the foundational pillars of our health, as it affects our physical, mental, and psychological well-being. What we choose to put into our bodies can have a profound effect on not only our health, but on therapy outcomes as well. One of the biggest takeaways from the lecture that I learned was that RDs often have to advocate for their profession, much like OTs do as well. Nutrition and OT are both fields that are commonly misunderstood. RDs might hear, “You help people lose weight through a diet, right?” and OTs hear, “Oh, you help people get jobs?” Both professions have so much more to them than it might seem from the outside.
 Although I knew this before the lecture, another thing that I found interesting (and I think needs to change) is that not every patient admitted to the hospital is given a nutrition consult. I definitely think that this should be the case, as I believe that anyone being admitted to the hospital has an issue that can be addressed through their diet. This is especially true with patients battling cancer, as diet in many cases can greatly influence (for better or for worse) the effectiveness of treatment and severity of symptoms/side effects. I also think it is unfortunate that even those clients who do receive nutrition services while in the hospital are often not given any dietary plans/advice for after discharge. While clients need to be discharged from PT or OT, this is not a requirement for nutrition. This is something that I will keep in mind on my level II fieldwork rotations, especially my first one in acute care. I hope that I can get to know the dietitians at the hospital there, and that I can gain even more insight into their role in the acute care setting.
Occupational therapists can integrate nutrition into treatment sessions in a variety of ways, depending on the individual needs of the client. One way would be to address dexterity, fine motor control and hand strength by having the client hold a bottle of Ensure with one hand and unscrew the lid with the other hand. Another way might be to address a group of clients who have deficits in sequencing by doing a meal prep activity where they would have to follow instructions and take steps in a certain order in order to complete the task. I hope that I am able to incorporate healthy habits related to diet and nutrition into some of my treatment sessions with my future clients.

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