From Pages to Practice: What we can learn from the first book on occupational therapy in the Philippines

The first book on OT in the Philippines

Occupational Therapy in the Philippines: Theory, Practice, and Stories is the first book on OT that is written by Filipinos about our local practice. It provides an excellent overview of what we Filipino occupational therapists (OTs) have accomplished over the years in traditional settings and in emerging subfields. 

Because the publishing of this book is an important milestone, we must mine it for insights that we can use daily in our settings. Hence, I’m starting the blog series, From Pages to Practice: What we can learn from the first book on occupational therapy in the Philippines!

Are you a hedgehog or a fox?

We don’t need to agree with everything that the authors of the book are saying. After all, part of reflective practice is to weigh which recommendations apply to each unique situation. Moreover, learning from OTs whose views and experiences differ from ours can improve our creativity as seeing the world from fresh eyes can prevent us from going on autopilot. 

It’s like the hedgehog versus fox theory of Isaiah Berlin. These two creatures have different approaches to survival, which can be both effective depending on the circumstances. The hedgehog generally uses one strategy to fend off predators, and that is to curl up into a tiny ball of spikes and remain still whenever it is attacked. 

We OTs have been trained — and incentivized — to act like hedgehogs. We spend our college years acquiring skills related to our field. Then we train in one or two specialties either through graduate school or through certification programs. This is a good path to take because it deepens our understanding of our craft. We get to repeatedly practice a certain set of skills to the point of mastery. Moreover, being an expert increases our clients’ confidence in our abilities which then opens many doors of opportunity that are not available to generalists.

But being a hedgehog is not the only way to be a good OT. After all, we need to have various kinds of knowledge beyond our specialties to navigate life and to understand people, especially our patients. This is where it’s important to be a fox! While the hedgehog has one major strategy to survive, the fox has several ways of evading attacks. It can run away, climb trees, swim, scratch, bite, or burrow a hole into the ground. In this increasingly complex world, which includes patient handling, it’s crucial to have the skills of a fox if we want to be effective! 

Different Kinds of Lens

Occupational Therapy in the Philippines is an important resource for continuing professional development. It is a book that we must be all proud of because it is a testament of Filipino OTs’ excellence. So join me as I delve into the authors’ insights and reflect on how we can apply them in our daily lives. By reading about the journeys of our fellow therapists, we’ll make new brain connections that will enable us to come up with groundbreaking approaches that will give hope to many.