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February 10, 2020

Diverse OT: Leadership and Advocacy for Minorities in Healthcare with Michelle DeJesus

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Episode Summary

According to statistics, minorities are underrepresented within healthcare professions. Having grown up with immigrant parents and having to translate for them during medical appointments, Michelle DeJesus, MS, OTR/L has seen first hand the impact this lack of diversity in medicine has on minorities. As a student, she noticed a lack of representation and numerous health disparities impacting both practitioners and clients alike. Now as an OT practitioner, she now uses her experience to promote leadership and advocacy for minorities in all aspects of the healthcare system.

Show Notes

Michelle and Sarah discuss:

When did she notice that there was an issue with diversity and representation within our profession?
The 3 V’s: Voice, Visability, and Validation
Diversity extends beyond than just a person’s race
Diversity includes ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc.
Diversity is not just about validating the practitioner, but it also has a huge impact on our clients
Ability to establish an immediate connection if you and your client are from similar backgrounds
Negative impact on healthcare experiences when there is a difference in culture
The power of connecting to our clients of the same background
Health disparities because of diversity
Health literacy when working with people to make sure they understand what you are trying to explain to them
Super Duper Handouts: https://www.superduperinc.com/Handouts/Handout.aspx
COTAD- Coalition of Occupational Therapists Advocates for Diversity: https://www.cotad.org/
Minority Mentorship Program: https://www.cotad.org/minority-mentorship
COTAD Chapters: https://www.cotad.org/about-cotad-chapters
COTAD Advocacy & Outreach: https://www.cotad.org/community-outreach
She Can Be Both: https://www.instagram.com/shecanbeboth/
Embracing the differences in ourselves
Promoting OT to people outside of our profession and to other professionals that we work with
Perfecting our OT elevator speech
#YouSee campaign: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/yousee/
#DiverseOT: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/diverseot/
Her experience with racism as an OT practitioner
How she feels diversity in the occupational therapy profession has changed since becoming a practitioner
LGBTQIA+ resources: https://therainbowot.com/
What she hopes to see in the future in terms of diversity and representation within OT and heathcare