Occupational Therapy Practice Placement in Ethiopia

Who?

Occupational therapy students in their last semester travel to Ethiopia to complete their final practice placement. Requirements include demonstration of exceptional maturity and dedication to the profession of occupational therapy. Currently the program partners with two European universities and is open for expansion. Please contact us if you are interested in participation.

What?

The practice placement is a unique experience which focuses on transformational learning, community based rehabilitation, service learning, role emerging practice, and culturally responsive care. Students are given action oriented and reflective assignments throughout their 10-12 week stay and required to complete a service-learning project with a partner organization. Some students also complete a thesis and/or field study research as per the requirements of their universities and time is allotted for these projects throughout the curriculum.

When?

Typically the program runs for 10-12 weeks from mid to late February or beginning of March through May, depending on the schedule of the participating universities.

Where?

Currently we operate in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and partner with pediatric organizations but have possibilities for expansion to other regions and populations according to interest.

Why?

This program is intended for students who have an interest in self-reflection, deepening their professional skills in relevant areas, and experiencing a deep transformation during the learning process. The development of skills in role emerging practice settings, cultural responsiveness, and community-based rehabilitation are important trends for the future of occupational therapy practitioners around the world and the occupational therapy capacity on the African continent is still very low. Participation in this program aids the future practitioner as well as the local community and the profession of occupational therapy as a whole through demonstration of the utility of occupational therapy to local populations.

Dr. Toporek received her advanced clinical doctorate in occupational therapy specializing in pediatrics in 2012 from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions and developed this program as her capstone. She received her undergraduate degree in occupational therapy from Medical College of Georgia (now Augusta University) in 1999 and has practiced in the United States, Israel, and Ethiopia. Her areas of interest are pediatrics, role emerging practice, developing nations, culturally responsive care, and transformational learning. She currently owns and operates a pediatric outpatient and home care clinic in the United States and is developing Ethiopia’s first occupational therapy educational program in cooperation with an Ethiopian university, in addition to staffing this program annually.

Training

Because we strive to introduce occupational therapy to Ethiopia and to increase the health outcomes of as many as possible, we often give training to local organizations in relevant topics.

We were invited to teach the staff of Ethiopia’s first home health organization, Home Health International, and as we evaluated the needs along with their founder, Dr. Enawgaw Mehari, and medical director, Hiwot Taffse, we determined that hygiene for home care, ergonomics, and transfer training would be the most appropriate topics for our first training session.

Thus, we developed and implemented a day-long workshop for training the medical director, nurses, and caregiving staff.

Belgian occupational therapy student instructs Home Health International staff on home health hygiene, ergonomics, and transfer skills.

Home Health International staff practices proper usage of gait bet for use during client transfers

Home Health International staff practice supine to sit transfers including use of a draw sheet

The staff eagerly took notes and participated in the training and we are confident that they have the knowledge to reduce the spread of infection, prevent back injuries, and safely transfer their clients in the home setting.

Service Learning

After careful observation and discussion with the staff and administration of the center, this year’s group of occupational therapy practice placement students presented ergonomics education and training. All parties felt this would be a valuable and sustainable service-learning project for the staff and administration of the center.

Students researched principles of ergonomics and developed an excellent PowerPoint presentation and practical training course to protect their backs during daily activities such as washing dishes, cleaning, working in the garden, positioning for sleep, desk work, and core strengthening exercises.

During the course they took photographs to create a poster for the facility to remind staff and administration of techniques for back safety during daily activities.

Participants compared their traditional lifting and weeding techniques with techniques taught in the course.

Discussions were lively and staff members generalized the knowledge to other activities of daily living such as bathing and laundry.

Feedback from staff and administration was excellent and we saw many more opportunities for occupational therapists to contribute to ergonomic education throughout the nation.