Connect with Dianna Mah-Jones

2015 Recipient of CAOT-BC Outstanding Occupational Therapist of the Year Award

By Sarah Slocombe, MOTII Student (while on fieldwork at CAOT-BC)

S: Why did you choose OT as a career?

D: I knew I wanted to work with people but I wasn’t interested in being a teacher or a nurse. My sister, who was in the first graduating class of the combined OT/PT program at UBC, was working as an OT at the University of Alberta Hospital so she invited me for a tour. I kept my options open between applying for OT or PT right up to the moment I went for my interview with the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. I decided studying electrical currents didn’t appeal to me and that my experience with crafts and creativity fit better with occupational therapy.

S: Where have you worked over your career? Where do you work now?

D: I started my career in St. Catherine’s at the Niagara Peninsula Rehabilitation Centre with outpatients. After a year I went back to Edmonton and worked at Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital for 18 years in a number of positions including OT II, clinical instructor, clinical supervisor, clinical coordinator, and assistant director of the adult unit. In 1989 I had an opportunity to go to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, Australia for a five-month work exchange before coming back to Glenrose. In 1991 I went to GF Strong Rehab Centre and worked in several positions from director, to professional practice leader, to clinical practice leader on the Neuromusculoskletal Program, and now as a front-line therapist. In 1999, I formally started my private practice, the primary focus of which is to provide continuing education opportunities for OTs and PTs in western Canada.

My current clinical job is on the In-patient unit of the Spine Program at GF Strong. What I like about working with this diagnostic group is that it provides me with the opportunities to do all the things I enjoy doing as an OT: using neuro-rehabilitative approaches, designing aids and adaptations, making splints, recommending home modifications and working with people for long enough to get to know them and help them on their road to learning a new way of living.

S: Tell me about someone who has influenced your OT practice.

D: A client from four years ago--a professional entertainer whose voice was affected by his spinal cord injury. Concurrent to his regular rehabilitation, he was restoring his vocal cords by serenading the staff everyday. As Christmas approached I said “We need to have a concert so you can practice your occupation”. This was the start of the Holly Jolly Christmas Concert that has become an annual event; the performers are clients, family members, staff and friends of G.F. Strong. This client opened my eyes to the fact that artistic expression can be very meaningful to people’s lives and that, as therapists, we can enrich their therapy program by including these opportunities. One especially memorable experience was with a client from the Acquired Brain Injury Program who was a magician. He withdrew from the concert on short notice because he couldn’t remember all the words for his tricks. To my surprise and delight he sought me out the following year to say he had been practicing and was now ready to be in the show. Recently, I was jiving with a client as part of his mobility retraining—it was therapeutic both physically and spiritually for him.

S: What would someone be surprised to know about you?

D: I'm a thrift store junky--I always have my "OT eyes" open for interesting modalities to buy for the department. I’ve been biking to work for over 40 years. I use Therapeutic Touch (energy work) selectively in my practice. And I'm a member of an award-winning tap dance group called Razzmatap. The18 ladies range in age from 46 to 86, and we've been to world competition in Germany and to festivals in New York, Chicago and San Francisco as well as performing locally.

S: What do you think makes an outstanding OT? What advice would you give someone who wants to better their practice?

D: As cliché as it sounds, passion for the profession, and deeply caring about the people you serve. Never stop learning-- there’s always something more to discover whether it’s from clients, colleagues or courses. I think continuing education is vital to add depth, breadth and currency to your practice and to prepare you when opportunity comes knocking. It’s an investment in yourself. I would also encourage therapists to attend conferences to explore a broader range of topics and to keep abreast of developments in the profession.