OT Week and The Impact of COVID-19: Julie Jennings - Injury, trauma, training and consultation

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected us all in ways we couldn’t have imagined back when the first lockdown started in March. Over that last 7-8 months, we have all come together as a community to learn how to adapt and to cope with the stresses that the virus has put onto our everyday ‘normal’ lives.

As we adjust into the ‘new normal’ (again), and to mark the start of OT Week, I, along with my expert OT team at Julie Jennings and Associates, have reflected on how the Coronavirus pandemic has affected our work, and what we are doing to make sure we continue providing our vital services safely to those who need it most.

Across OT Week we will be highlighting each of the individual roles we undertake, to give a broader picture of life as an OT during the pandemic.

Name: Julie Jennings

Area of work: I am an Occupational Therapist (OT) in Private Practice, including providing Medico-Legal expertise; OT Consultancy for Commercial Organisations; and the Lead OT for Leeds University supporting students with disabilities.

Background experience: I have diverse experience gained over 30 years with specialist interest in spinal cord injuries, multiple trauma, deteriorating neurological conditions, TBI, amputations, orthopaedics, and surgical care. Alongside clinical practice I regularly deliver disability related training (theoretical and simulated) to a wide range of organisations who work alongside people with health & disability related needs. 

Impact of COVID-19 on working practice or your personal perspective

Clinically, the impact of social distancing measures had a significant effect on the way I could access colleagues and clients and therefore organise my workload. Planned visits, consultations, meetings, training sessions all stopped with uncertainty in many respects as to when and how these would restart.

As an OT, applying risk assessment / risk management strategies is an ingrained skill that underlines many of our working practices; this was called into play in many areas of work as everyone wrestled with the challenges of formulating a way forward that was robust and sustainable. The challenge was made even more difficult with the uncertainty of what the next several months would look like.

Crisis meetings / COVID strategy planning meetings became the norm and my vocabulary quickly increased to include the terms “Zoom” and “Teams” as the new meeting rooms.

Throughout my career I have strongly advocated for the joined up concept of mental and physical health being equally important; now more so than ever. Surprisingly, however, my immediate client group were not former patients / clients but family, friends and colleague who were struggling with the changes that were occurring, the uncertainty of change, the impact of enforced social isolation, the fear and anxiety of an unseen adversary and the self-discipline to maintain direction and purpose when it felt like everything was in chaos. I recognised that many of the “professionals” around me were probably more vulnerable to the impact of mental and physical health challenges as they battled to remain “in control” for the good of others.

Every day involved discussions regarding general health and well-being, looking after ourselves and accepting limitations without guilt. My working practices were scrutinised to ensure I met the latest and ever evolving government guidance, balancing risk and common sense, and ensuring information was as accurate as possible – a task in itself!

Working with other expert OTs that are widely geographically located and engaged in a diverse range of clinical practices was hugely beneficial as we were able to draw upon local and regional expertise to ensure our way forward was informed, timely, appropriate and progressive. I was also aware from the team that our OT skills were being used in many diverse ways due to the expertise that we are able to bring to both traditional and non-traditional settings.

Your OT perspective and what you can do to positive influence challenges imposed by the pandemic

My new emerging practices now regularly involve virtual / video meetings and assessments, as well as supervision and training sessions. Whilst it is great to sit alongside colleagues and enjoy shared stories, lunch or a coffee you can to some extent get the same social contact from interacting face to face via a screen. The shift will hopefully not replace face to face meetings completely but there is a time / cost benefit to hosting virtual sessions and organising larger teams that are spread out far and wide. I now actively advocate having discussions via video means rather than telephone and have “met” many new colleagues that I have only ever spoken to via phone previously. From a professional perspective, I would actively encourage colleagues to maintain their virtual presence and connect more readily to share CPD events / supervision / clinical work etc.

From a client perspective, I have spent more time speaking with people about their “whole health” experience and have found people to be generally more receptive to discussing anxieties and fears when previously this may have felt taboo.

I have developed a training package for a commercial client that helps their staff to understand the issues surrounding mental health and well-being; how to spot developing problems and how they can help themselves feel more in-control. The training course has highlighted that the topic is pertinent to all demographics and many people are simply grateful for someone to “open the door and show them a way”. It is encouraging openness and honesty and fostering a sense of ownership outside of the usual clinical setting. From an OT perspective, the platform offers far more access to individuals than traditional practices often offer and my role in educating and increasing awareness into a complex area has been personally and professionally rewarding.

Your commitments to support the recovery of People that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

I intend to develop more accessible training packages to support people in non-clinical areas that may be struggling with low level health anxieties and mental health issues.

I will ensure my “team” become ambassadors of good practice and that the experience and skill we have collectively is shared to benefit not just ourselves but the profession and the people we treat.

I continue to advocate for comprehensive assessment / screening methods for people dealing with any health related issue to ensure we focus on the whole person, regardless of professional background. What I know is that people open up to people given time, patience and interest. Spending time talking to someone who is struggling (whatever the cause) should never be seen as wasted time.