Professional Development

I believe the key to being a successful practitioner is to strive for professional development. When I think of professional development, I think of the term lifetime learner.  Lifetime learning enhances knowledge and provides continual growth.  It can be motivated by professional organization demands or just personal curiosity.  The continual pursuit of knowledge produces competence in an area of interest.  Currently, I am in school where material is laid out and I am required to learn.  In some ways, it is easy for me to be professionally developing because I am enrolled in a curriculum that focuses directly on learning about OT practices.  In the professional world, learning is not mapped out in this way and it requires self-discipline to make time to continue learning.  Professional organizations often motivate this learning though with continuing education requirements for retaining a license.  The motivation behind this is to improve quality service and protect the public.  Professional development helps practitioners keep up to date on the newest research and treatment and give the best care to the clients served.  Our profession is only strengthened by a pursuit of continual learning.