Hi Members,
As summer comes to an end, March is upon us bringing autumn to us. Autumn is my favourite time of the year. The weather starts to cool down, the days become shorter and nature brings us the beautiful yellow, orange and brown colours as the leaves change. And for me there is nothing better on a cool day than to snuggle on the lounge with a blanket and a good book. What are your favourite things to do in autumn? What activities do you plan for your clients to celebrate the change of season?
Last month I mentioned our new online learning modules. I am happy to say they are now available. You can access the training platform via the website, just log in and go to the professional development page. These online trainings are video presentations from workshops. We recently filmed the Access to Leisure workshop last month and hope to have it and others available soon. Have you had a look at the training? If so, we would love to hear your feedback. We would also like to hear any suggestions or ideas you may have for future online training.
The board made the announcement last month that the conference location has changed and will now be held in Melbourne. Keep your eyes open for the early bird special that will be coming out soon. Also consider submitting an abstract to present a paper. I challenge you all to step “out of the box” and share your knowledge with your fellow DT’s.
This months focus is on cultural awareness. How do we not just meet the cultural needs of our clients, but make sure we are respectful to the cultural beliefs of all. Consider for a moment you own cultural customs and beliefs. How you would want those needs to be met and how would it feel if they were not respected. We come into contact with people from a range of diverse cultures every day, from friends, co-worker, visits to our service and of course our clients. While we may not always be able to meet the cultural needs of all, it is important to ensure we are respectful all of the time.
How do we identify the cultural needs of our clients? And how do we identify those customs they wish to observe? Cultural awareness is more than just providing opportunities to celebrate cultural customs, it is also respecting a clients wish not to participate. For example an Australian choosing not to celebrate Australia Day due to their beliefs. As clinicians it is important to ensure we are reflecting on our practice to ensure we are meeting the needs the best we can, including their cultural needs.
Kind regards,
Kylie Rice
President