Medical Employment Agency New Zealand & United Kingdom, Medical Staffing International

Medical Staffing International/ NZAOT Occupational Therapy Achievement Award 2006

Award winner’s work improves communication and understanding.

Glenda Schnell, winner of this year’s Medical Staffing International/NZAOT Occupational Therapy Achievement Award, sums up the benefit of her innovative model of service delivery as simply “doing things better”.

The challenge facing Glenda when working at the Starship Hospital’s Child and Family Unit was to maximise the resources available whilst at the same time providing the most effective and beneficial programme for the Unit’s patients - children and adolescents aged 12 to 18 years with serious mental disorders. Though one-to-one intervention was used on occasion, a group programme was the cornerstone of the recovery process because occupational and social functioning is adversely affected when young people are mentally unwell. The provision of a safe environment gave these young people the opportunity to develop their strengths and abilities, and at the same time they would be observed and monitored over time.

This led to the OTTOS (Occupational Therapy Task Observational Scale) being adapted to include five additional components that were felt to be missing: mood, insight, responsibility, frustration tolerance and socialisation. Whilst these behaviours were already being observed, no model existed for recording them, and yet scoring these was key to tracking occupational performance over time. “The challenge was to turn the practice into theory, and extend what we already know”, says Glenda.

Glenda’s innovation brought other benefits with it too. The programme at the Unit was run by a multidisciplinary team, and whilst the OTs took the lead, nurses, teachers, psychologists, cultural workers, students and registrars all worked together. “It was a real bonding experience” recalls Glenda. “Everyone was involved in the evaluation process, and the model gave us a common language that was understood by all. It provided a framework for consistency and resulted in open communications.”

It also helped counter some other challenges: Glenda feels that one of the issues facing OTs is that many people, including other healthcare professionals, don’t know much about OT. “This means that we have to build partnerships, whilst at the same time hold on to our roles and make sure we don’t get usurped – especially in the mental health sector” she says. “But this way of working gave all the professions involved a better understanding of what we do, and got everyone working together.”

Glenda seems to thrive on challenges. As well as spreading the word about her innovation (at the NZAOT Conference in 2002, at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Conference in 2003, as well as in a journal article, plus her work with students) this mother of two young boys is busy completing her Masters Degree in Health Sciences. She’s been working on it for nearly five years and has nearly completed it: the $1,000 Award money will help her complete her final paper on counselling in mental health.

“The Masters Degree has really broadened my interest area, and as a result of it I’ve been able to move into a professional leadership role” says Glenda. So does she think it’s easy for an OT in NZ to advance themselves? “There are opportunities, but you’ve got to make them yourself. You’ve got to use your support systems, and you’ve got to put a whole lot of effort into it yourself.”

Glenda describes winning the Award as “absolutely wonderful. Awards such as this really encourage OTs to celebrate their work. It’s something that’s really worthwhile – something to be proud of.” It’s more than obvious that Glenda thrives on her work: “it’s a fantastic profession to be in; to make a difference where it counts. It’s just so diverse, and there are so many elements to it. It’s never dull. And it’s great for people like me who get bored quickly!” she laughs.

Kirsten Thomforde of Medical Staffing International and NZAOT are delighted to be presenting Glenda with the Award. Kirsten says “Glenda’s commitment has always been evident and I’m really pleased to be contributing to her professional development. Especially as her work has helped to define and promote OT as a profession.”

Last year’s Award winner, Grace O’Sullivan, used her Award to attend the World Federation of Occupational Therapy Congress in Sydney in July to present a paper on her work with people living with dementia. Grace admits that presenting to a couple of hundred people was nerve-wracking “but I got a lot of interest, and a lot of positive feedback”, she says. “The whole experience was very pleasing” - and the Award brings Grace another step closer to her PhD.

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