June 11, 2008 is Coming!

Hey, June applicants, are you getting nervous? Don't! You've been working hard on what I’m sure is a great application! As you’re giving everything the final once-over, make sure

• you have all the required evidence for your activities as identified in the Professional Development Activity List
• the page numbers in your application and your scanned evidence match( (it’s always the obvious things that trip us up, isn’t it!)
• you have made a clear connection between your activities and the indicators to which you’ve assigned them
• you proof your narratives for grammar and typos (best foot forward!) and have asked someone else to read them and give you feedback. It doesn't have to be another OT...a significant other, sibling, or friend will do!

For last minute questions and reassurances, don’t forget to take advantage of one of the remaining Q&A sessions on either Tuesday, June 3 at 4:00 EDT or Thursday, June 5 at 1:00 EDT. Sign up online!

Maria Elena E. Louch, Professional Development Program Manager

Feed Me!

Did you notice? Now you can receive Blog updates automatically simply by subscribing! Look in the right hand column of this page toward the bottom. If you are web-nically inclined, you can even get RSS feeds. If you don't know what an RSS feed is, you are not web-nically inclined and should stick to subscribing via email! :)

I Can’t Figure Out the Points!

Helpful hint regarding points: Stop thinking about them!

Yes, there are numbers assigned to the competencies, the indicators, and the professional development activities. What would our world be like without numbers! While we can explain what they mean, the probability is that they won’t ultimately matter if you approach the application correctly. Here’s what I mean…

If you select your 1 best activity for each indicator in each competency, it is highly likely that when you are done assigning activities to every indicator (without even having thought about points) you will have reached your total point requirement. If you actually don’t have enough points, then you can go back and pick your 2nd best activity for 1 or 2 (whatever it takes) indicators in the competency where you are short.

That’s it…don’t think any more about it!

Okay, realizing that there are still some folks out there who need to understand the nitty-gritty, here you go…

• Each competency has been weighted in relationship to the other competencies, which is ultimately translated to the total number of required points for that competency. All competencies combined equal 100 points.
• Likewise, within each competency all the indicators have been weighted relative to each other. So indicators may be worth .5, 1, 1.5, or 2. The total value of all indicators within any given competency is 10.
• When you assign a professional development activity to an indicator, the points that you receive for that activity (let’s say the 2 points you get for a “Case Study” being applied to a Knowledge indicator) are multiplied times the value of the indicator. If the indicator was valued at .5 points, you would get 1 point. If the indicator is valued at 2 points, you would get 4 points.
• There is no minimum point requirement for each indicator, only a total point requirement for each competency. As long as you have 1 activity for each indicator, you are fine, regardless of how many points you have attributed to that particular indicator.

Don’t let the numbers be the focus of how you approach the application, though. That method can really prevent you from putting your best application forward! The best applications represent a thoughtful appraisal and reflection on the activities that best represent how the applicant met the requirements of a particular indicator – regardless of how many points were assigned!

Maria Elena E. Louch, Professional Development Program Manager

How Many Activities Do I Need?

How do you determine if you have the "right" number of activities represented in your application? From a purely numbers perspective:

• You must have a minimum 5 of the 32 activity categories represented in your application. For example, you may have (1) Case Study, (2) Fieldwork Supervision, (3) Learning - Formal, (4) Presentations - Live, and (5) Quality Improvement. You may certainly have more than 5 activity categories represented.
• You can use as many different individual activities within a single category as you want. For example, your application might have 7 case studies in it.
• Each single activity (e.g., each unique case study) may be used to address up to 4 indicators. It does not matter which competencies those 4 indicators represent; they can all be from 1 competency…or you can use the activity for 1 indicator in 4 different competencies…or any other combination of 4 indicators you can come up with.
• All indicators for all competencies must be addressed. You may use as many different activities as needed to meet that requirement and support the application.

Having the "right" numbers alone isn't enough, though. The goal is to select the best activity for each indicator. It is certainly possible that 1 activity may be used for only 1 indicator and nothing else. An applicant could have a uniquely different activity assigned to every indicator; resulting in 31 different pieces of evidence (in the case of peds, for example) if that's what they felt gave them the best application.

As you are choosing activities to assign to indicators ask yourself, "Does this activity best represent my ability to meet the requirements represented in this particular indicator relative to this competency? As you answer that question for yourself, jot your thoughts down and use them to guide your response to the reflection for that competency later!

Maria Elena E. Louch, Professional Development Program Manager

The Employment Verification Form

How do I track my hours for verification?

It is up to you how you would like to track the specifics of your service delivery. We ask only for the employment verification form to be submitted, so you just need to be sure that whoever is verifying the information feels comfortable and ethical with whatever tracking system you use.

Keep in mind that if you work in a setting in which you have a diverse caseload and you are applying for specialty certification, you may need a more discreet tracking system. For example, if I see a variety of diagnoses for phys rehab and am applying for Board Certification in Physical Rehabilitation, my total hours worked is going to be fine. However, if I am applying for Specialty Certification in Low Vision, I need to be able to count only those hours with clients whose intervention included low vision as part of my service delivery hours for part B of the Employment Verification Form.

I’m Self-Employed, who can sign my Employment Verification Form?

Because private practice takes on many different forms, there are varying ways in which employment verification may be handled. Examples of who might verify the form include:

• an administrator for a company/organization that contracted with the private practitioner for services
• the referral source
• a business partner or co-owner
• the accountant for the practice

You may include multiple verification forms if that is what is needed. If none of the options listed above fit your situation and you have an alternative source for verification that you would like to use, you may forward that information for review and approval to prodev@aota.org prior to submitting an application.

What do I do if my former place of employment has closed or been sold?

In the case a business has been sold, you may still be able to get verification from the new owners since they are required to maintain records for a period of time. If you are able to contact a supervisor from a previous employer, you may use that person as well.

What do I do if my former supervisor no longer works at the institution from which I am trying to obtain employment verification?

Typically institutions will have employment records and another individual can verify the hours worked. Consult the human resources department of the agency/institution.

Until next time, keep working on collecting your evidence and moving forward on your application!

Living Life To Its Fullest!

Christine Urish, PhD, OTR/L, BCMH &
Maria Elena E. Louch, Professional Development Program Manager