Mary
Isaacson,
EdD, OTR/L, FAOTA, ATP
Program Director for Master of Occupational Therapy Program
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Mary Isaacson, EdD, OTR/L, FAOTA, ATP is an associate professor and the Occupational Therapy Program Director in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Oklahoma Schusterman Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Isaacson has taught interprofessionally for 17 years and practiced on interprofessional teams for over 30 years as the Chief Executive Officer of Adaptabilities Inc. Dr. Isaacson’s practice expertise is in the area of assistive technology, including service dogs as a “living technology”, and the utilization of technology to enhance people’s lives.
Presenting at the Nexus Summit:
This presentation describes a teaching module created to intentionally engage entry-level occupational and physical therapy students in examining the impact of their beliefs and attitudes on communication with each other and with their future patients. The module addresses the uncomfortable issues of conscious and unconscious bias, the impact of privilege, and communication barriers that can derail teams. This module was added to a course that was already taught by an interprofessional faculty as well as being the first course offered in the curricula for both professional programs. This…