PRESIDENT’S PIECE
We have had another exciting month at DRTA central. You should have now received the call for abstracts for our virtual conference this year. I encourage you to submit a paper for consideration to showcase the awesome work that we do in practise and also to encourage your own professional development in presenting to peers working in the field. The board would like to produce a journal based largely on the conference proceedings to showcase the body of knowledge within Australia but accessible internationally. This would be an opportunity to (present) and publish what you do in practise. If you would like to do this but in a less formal manner, we encourage to send in a newsletter article and even pictures to help visualise what is being done.
The board are still in the process of looking at the changes in the membership levels and what that means in terms of moving forward. This should be completed during April and hope to report back via the newsletter in May.
Stef is finalising this year’s education calendar and we will be delivering more workshops in the coming months. These will still mainly be done via zoom, but there will also be some ‘face to face’ workshops on offer. Dan Grey also has some leadership education and has affiliated with DRTA for these.
Diversional & Recreational Therapy Week is May 10-16 and fast approaching, and we are in the process of developing a five-minute video to promote the profession and DRTA. In the last week of March an email was sent out directing resources on the DRTA website to promote yourself and your profession. This includes our logo for ‘Human rights in life and leisure’, the theme for awareness week and the conference for this year. We are also looking for some different ideas on how to promote our profession and who and how we should do this. If you have any creative ideas about how to best do this, please let the office know.
The commencement of the new Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) on 1 April is an important development for the aged care sector and for consumers. In last month’s newsletter, information was provided to you about SIRS and we will also be running a workshop specifically on SIRS soon. Please let the office know if you are interested in doing this training and we can reserve a place for you.
Enjoy a bit of a break over the easter break, if possible and remember daylight saving changes on the first Sunday in April.
Until May,
Charlise Bennett
DRTA President