Participation Matters

“AOTA’s mission is to advance occupational therapy practice, education, and research through standard setting and advocacy on behalf of its members, the profession, and the public (AOTA Mission & Vision | AOTA, n.d.).” 

Professional organizations play an important role for many professions including occupational therapy. These organizations provide members with a number of benefits including educational opportunities and opportunities to network with other professionals who share similar interests (Ki & Wang, 2016). Furthermore, professional organizations can verify that members have the education for their profession, provide direction for the use of the knowledge to serve the greater good, establish a code of ethics, and can advocate for the advancement of the profession with the bodies that govern licensure and insurance coverage (Ki & Wang, 2016). Membership in professional organizations also supports individual professional development (Mata et al., 2010). It is with this understanding that I write this article and call to action. 

Over the course of the 20+ years that I have been a practicing occupational therapist, I have been actively involved to varying degrees in state OT associations and AOTA. I started with attending continuing education opportunities and occasional business meetings of my local occupational therapy association. That participation and engagement grew as I began presenting at state and national conferences and reviewing submissions for proposals for the annual conference and joining the Commission on Practice (COP). 

As I move into my new volunteer role as the Chair of the Commission of Practice, my appreciation and understanding of the importance of active engagement with professional organizations has only grown. I love it when members send feedback on documents that the COP is working on. Even when the amount of feedback feels overwhelming in the moment, it brings me joy to see OTs and OTAs actively participating and using their voice to shape the guidelines that support our clinical practice. Without members that are actively engaged, OOTA and AOTA cannot execute on their missions and advocate for OTs and OTAs effectively. The only way AOTA and OOTA can advocate and support us as professionals is through our membership and active engagement.

When I hear other OTs talk about their frustrations with the profession, with the advocacy efforts of our professional organizations or the direction that the profession is moving, there are a whole host of questions that I want to ask. Are you a member?… Have you volunteered, even in a micro-volunteer capacity for the organization?… Have you provided feedback when calls for feedback on official documents are sent to membership?… Have you engaged with your representative in the representative assembly?… Have you donated to the advocacy efforts of the political action committee (PAC)?… 

There are so many small ways to engage and to use your voice to help shape the profession for the better. As we continue to build the body of occupational therapy research and collectively, we learn more, we will grow and be better. But, without active engagement from the membership body, the reach for this growth and development will remain small. 

I value the fact that membership in a professional organization is optional for OTs and OTA unlike other allied health professions. I appreciate that I can continue to do my job and have the option of engaging with my state and national professional organizations in a way that feels right to me. 

One of the downsides of this choice, though, is that as OOTA and AOTA membership and active engagement from the membership body decreases, the capacity of OOTA and ATOA to meet the needs of the profession also decreases. This is why I say and will continue to say that participation matters. 

If you want to see change in the profession both locally and nationally you need to actively participate. Vote in elections so that you have a voice in who is representing us as professionals. Provide feedback on official documents, and share your perspective on issues that impact the profession. Participation in small ways matters just as much, if not more than stepping up as a volunteer leader. 

My challenge and call to action to all of you reading this, if you have read this far, is to try to find a way to be more engaged than just paying your annual membership dues. Attend a meeting. Fill out a survey for feedback on an official document. Send a letter to your legislator to help ensure that OT and OTA services are covered and reimbursed. Encourage your peers to join both OOTA and AOTA so that we continue to grow our professional community. It is only through this sort of engagement that we can continue to advance our profession. Thank you for all you do to make this ambitious goal a reality!