OT Practitioner Advocacy
It is important that OT practitioners advocate for the inclusion of their expertise on interdisciplinary bariatric surgery teams to increase awareness of the need and desire for this collaboration.
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There are challenges for occupational therapists to make their mark in interprofessional bariatric healthcare teams due to limited funding allotments for OT services (Forhan & Gill, 2013).
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There are currently no strategies in place for occupational therapists to declare their interest related to bariatric care in either national associations or regulatory registrations because weight and bariatric needs are not considered an area of practice or interest (Forhan & Gill, 2013).
Due to these challenges, it is critical that OT practitioners advocate for their inclusion in the interdisciplinary team to increase funding, national associations, and regulatory registrations.
Advocative Resource
Provided to the right is a downloadable Word Document of a cover letter template created by the authors that can be used for OT practitioners to complete and submit to interprofessional bariatric surgery teams that do not currently have an occupational therapist position.
DISCLAIMER: This is solely an advocating cover letter that includes evidence explaining the benefits of occupational therapy services for people with bariatric needs. The authors are not responsible for the feedback that comes from the submission of using this cover letter. Please use with caution.