This chapter is a practical guide for occupational therapy professionals looking to reenter the profession. The authors discuss licensure and the importance of knowing your state’s regulations, address ethical issues in reentry, suggest ways to maintain and develop your occupational therapy identity while on a break, and explain how to incorporate reflection into practice.
Students or new graduates will learn how to plan for a career break and discover why this is important. If you are a practitioner looking to change your area of practice, you will find relevant information here. If you are an educator, manager, or senior-level practitioner, you will learn how to support reentering colleagues and how doing so benefits the profession as a whole.
After completing the chapter, readers should be able to:
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Explain the value of occupational therapy practitioners’ reentry to the profession
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Appreciate why a practitioner might leave and then return to practice at a later date;
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Define the individual’s role in successfully reentering the profession;
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Describe how ethical practice and continuing competence relate to reentry; and
- Understand issues relating to licensure, career breaks, reentry, and future directions for the profession.