Episode 5: We Are Giving Our Own Profession Away

Introduction

Occupational therapy has never lacked value—but we often struggle to communicate that value. In this episode of Outspoken OT, Michelle explores how the language we use to describe our profession may be unintentionally shrinking our own scope. Through current conversations, historical perspective, and practical solutions, this episode challenges occupational therapists to stop minimizing their expertise and begin communicating with greater confidence, clarity, and scientific precision.

From the Feed

The episode begins with a discussion from the Practical Occupational Therapy community that questions whether occupational therapists have become too comfortable defining themselves by what they are not instead of what they uniquely contribute. Through perspectives from clinicians working in sports medicine, home health, schools, and other practice settings, the conversation explores professional overlap, interdisciplinary collaboration, and whether occupational therapists have unintentionally surrendered parts of their own scope through oversimplified messaging.

Michelle's Hard Take

Michelle examines the catchphrases that have become embedded within occupational therapy culture and asks whether they accurately represent the profession. While these sayings are often well-intentioned, many reduce occupational therapy to simplistic comparisons with other disciplines instead of communicating the depth of occupational science, clinical reasoning, and activity analysis. The discussion argues that professional identity is shaped by language, and that the way occupational therapists describe themselves directly influences how colleagues, administrators, policymakers, and the public perceive their value.

Learning from Our History

This episode revisits the powerful 1981 Presidential Address by Mae D. Hightower Vandamm, demonstrating that many of today's concerns surrounding scope, overlap, and professional identity are not new. Listeners will explore how historical warnings about protecting occupational therapy's unique expertise remain remarkably relevant today and why understanding our professional history is essential to shaping our future.

Action Steps

Protecting occupational therapy begins with individual practitioners. Michelle encourages listeners to stop reinforcing limiting stereotypes about the profession, strengthen their communication skills, advocate for occupational therapy using scientific and evidence-informed language, and confidently articulate the profession's unique contribution to health and participation. Collaboration should strengthen occupational therapy—not dilute it—and professional advocacy begins with how each of us speaks about our work every day.

Key Occupational Therapy Concepts

Professional identity • Occupational science • Activity analysis • Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF) • Clinical reasoning • Occupation • Participation • Occupational performance • Interprofessional collaboration • Professional communication • Evidence-informed practice • Professional advocacy • Scope of practice • Motor learning • Task salience • Neurorehabilitation • Healthcare leadership • Professional history • Occupational justice • Public perception.

Conclusion

Occupational therapy does not need to become something different—it needs to communicate more clearly what it has always been. This episode challenges practitioners to move beyond catchy slogans and simplistic comparisons by embracing language that reflects the profession's scientific foundation, intellectual depth, and unique contribution to healthcare. When occupational therapists define themselves with confidence and clarity, they strengthen not only their own careers, but the future of the profession itself.