In conversation with OT Clinical Lead, Nikki
We caught up with Nikki, Occupational Therapy Clinical Lead (Disability portfolio) recently, for a get to know you chat. Join us as Nikki shares some of her incredible insight on OT, mentoring and empowering people with disability to be part of their local communities.
Welcome Nikki!
Can you start off by telling us a bit about yourself?
I'm an Occupational Therapist (OT) and I have been for 25 years, and my passion has always been working in the disability sector. However, I did deviate for about 10 years into the hospital setting and always felt like that square peg in the round hole. I didn't quite get the role of OT in the hospital setting. However, I learnt some amazing skills that I have been able to apply to the disability sector.
Why did you decide to be an OT?
The reason I became an Occupational Therapist in the first place was because my Dad in the 1980s got contracted to a technical engineering company and he adapted scooters and wheelchairs for people with disability.
My Dad is one of those people who is really innovative and these people he worked with, they became part of our lives, I actually remember them, it was never just a job for him.
Wow that's awesome, who do you remember?
I remember a man with cerebral palsy, he was quite athetoid and my Dad was trying to adapt his scooter to dampen down the speed and braking. They had added new automated doors at Ringwood Plaza which was really innovative, but they didn't open quick enough, so he kept crashing into them. These days there's computer technology that suppliers can use to change the speed, but back then it was about working out a manual solution.
And there was another guy, who'd had bilateral above knee amputations and I remember my Dad trying to work out a wheelchair that would meet his needs.
And we are talking about the 80s when things were not very well set up for people with a disability.
But that was part of my growing up experience, so that made me very passionate about working in the disability space.
Can you tell us a bit about your role at Allied Therapy Services?
I feel like I've got two hats. I'm a clinician like everybody else, so I work with people with disabilities to try and overcome the challenges that they face in day-to-day life and so therefore no single day looks the same.
It's an exercise in problem solving, adaptation and flexibility. I'm often scratching my head, thinking, I don't know... what's the solution here?
So, there's that component and then, there's the leadership component, which is working within a team to ensure that the clinicians have the right resources, they have templates that make their work more efficient, that they have opportunities for mentoring as required.
We're also working on our quality framework and delivering innovation and services that meet that. So, we're looking at; are we achieving the outcomes that we set out to achieve with our clients?
Are we providing the service that our clients want? Looking at their satisfaction with our services. And do the therapists have the right resources to deliver quality therapy? And then as an overall picture, what do we as Allied Therapy Services want to be providing?
So that's high quality services, so that's things like employing experienced clinicians, but then making sure that they can operate within the social model of disability and really looking at quality of life outcomes for people.
You mentioned mentoring is part of your role, so what do you think makes a good mentor?
I think really, being open minded. I see it as a collaboration, I've never come to the table going, I'm an expert.
I think what I really love about mentoring is it's always this dialogue and of learning together because the work that we do is so diverse, so you could never possibly be an expert. You know, and you don't want to be, because the people living with disability that we work with, they are the experts in their own lives, and we're trying to help them overcome some sort of challenge.
I feel like when a therapist comes to mentoring, it's really just going, ok let's unpack this, let's really try and understand what the barriers are and then together, let's problem solve some solutions. A lot of the time the therapists probably already have the solutions within them and it's just a dialogue that helps them unpack the situation, perhaps think more clearly, and think of some more resources to tap into.
And I always walk away going oh, I feel really innovated and invigorated because I've learned something too!
So it's a process for them to learn, but you're also learning something at the same time?
Yeah, I think that some of the situations that people bring to mentoring are really complex. They're not everyday questions for an OT. They're things like, what do I do if I think that the loved one or the caregiver is perhaps not able to be a suitable caregiver anymore?
Or what do I do when the person's not ready to change? Or there's these barriers, we've tried 20 things and nothing's worked. They're complex situations, and often it's just being that soundboard role for them.
Where do you see Allied Therapy Services developing from an Occupational Therapy standpoint?
I think that we have a really strong base already, particularly in neurological conditions, assistive technology prescription and home modifications, but I think the space that we can grow is really going to be around the Autistic community and probably more into congenital disabilities and intellectual disability.
That's where I've been trying to just put a bit more effort in myself to find out what's the evidence base there, what are the resources that are available and what do we need as a group to work more in that space.
What do you see as a clinician's role in helping break down barriers for people with disabilities?
At an individual level, I think we have such a role to play in assisting people that we are working with to have their own voice. I think we are seeing in the allied therapy sector a move away from us being the experts. I remember working in the hospital thinking;
"I'm an expert. I know all about acquired brain injury, and I'm an expert."
And I never think that anymore and I will say to the people that I am working with, you're the expert in your life and the way that your disability presents.
And I'm just here to help you problem solve whatever challenge it is you're facing and help you overcome that if possible, and to bring in the right support. And it can be therapy support, funded support workers, it could be assistive technology or home modifications or educating someone who's working with the person around the best strategies to implement.
I think there's that starting point of helping people be advocates in their own lives.
If we talk in the context of the NDIS, as therapists we are not there in the planning meetings.
So, there's no point us writing a wordy report that nobody understands because the person needs a tool that they can use to say, hey this is what I need and my therapist has put this in writing, but I'm the one articulating it, I'm the one that's fighting for what I need.
So, we need to educate our clients on what they need and explain, this is how you are going to go about it and how you are going to present the information to achieve that.
And while this can be challenging, my ultimate goal is to help people be self-advocates and have more choice and control over their own lives.
On a broader level, I am hoping that what we see over time, by introducing people we work with into mainstream opportunities, not just going yep let's put in a support worker. Let's find that soccer club that's inclusive, or let's find that workplace that seems to be supportive, because that's the very nature of the breaking down barriers and perceptions that people hold, by having the opportunities to have a go and seeing oh hey this person is amazing at what they do. And oh, I might then employ another person with a disability.
You don't have to be limited by this thing that you have. Let’s test the waters, let's try new things and be that guiding light as a therapist, that point of opportunity. Anything we can do to educate the local community that we work in is breaking down a barrier every single time.
What do you think is the takeaway for any therapists reading this right now?
I am sure everyone is already doing this, that we are looking at people who are individuals and they have a set of impairments or challenges or barriers to overcome and it's about having that unique and novel approach to every single person but, I think the biggest thing we can give people is hope.
To say to someone, you can have a better life, you can achieve things!
As therapists we should be asking what is that one thing that we can help you with?
Because we just see such difference in outcomes when someone feels believed in, when they feel like they are having opportunities to grow and develop, to have some autonomy, to have choice and control.
The science is there, it helps people move forward in life and have better quality outcomes.
(As a therapist) you do have enormous influence on people if you can help people have a vision and then work towards that vision.
Amazing Nikki, such a wonderful way to think.
Let’s close off with some word association, I will say a word, you say the first thing that pops into your head.
I'm so bad at these things! I'm not a quick on the spot person!
But that's when you get the best answers, right? Because your brain just stops and you go, what...?
It makes me think of being with my son when he wakes up in the morning and he's like; ''What's 60 times 60?" And I'm like, oh, my... it's 6.30AM...
Alright, hit me.
Alright. Are you ready?
Yep.
Community.
Social
Occupational Therapy.
Diverse
Weekend
I want to say wine... because I can be healthy during the week and then live it up on the weekend!
Work
Innovative
Coffee?
Essential, don't talk to me before coffee!
Dog or cat?
Dog
Pineapple
Queensland and I don’t have it on my pizza!
Australian pineapple is not the same as what they have overseas, so that's why.
Some people would still be horrified! It's a contentious topic!
But thanks so much for your time, Nikki!