Occupational Therapy Dysphagia Management: Our Role Within the Multidisciplinary Team

ALL SESSIONS ARE CLOSED CAPTIONED AND WILL BE RECORDED AND MADE AVAILABLE TO REGISTERED ATTENDEES WITHIN 24-48 BUSINESS HOURS AT THE OTLEARN PORTAL.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

This webinar will provide an introduction to occupational therapy's role in dysphagia management with a comprehensive review of anatomy and physiology, discussion of evaluative and intervention methods, and an emphasis on the role of an entry-level occupational therapist within the multidisciplinary team.

• The learner will be able define dysphagia and identify basic anatomy and physiology related to swallowing.
• The learner will be able to identify symptoms associated with dysphagia including signs of aspiration.
• The learner will understand the role of an entry-level occupational therapist within the multidisciplinary team.

Earn up to 1.50 contact hours.

SPEAKER

Emily Rinaldi, OTD, OTR/L 

Emily Rinaldi, OTD, OTR/L, is currently an acute care occupational therapist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Rinaldi earned her doctorate degree in occupational therapy from Huntington University in May 2021, and a Bachelor of Science in fine arts from Hillsdale College. Throughout her doctoral scholarly pursuits, she became an expert in cadaver dissection through the participation in a teaching assistantship in which she assisted in the dissection of more than 10 cadavers for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and physician assistant programs. Throughout this experience, she found her interest in feeding, eating, and swallowing. Grounded in elements of education, advocacy, and clinical practice, Rinaldi’s capstone project aimed to supply occupational therapy educators and students with educational material specific to occupational therapy's role in the collaborative management of the geriatric population with dysphagia and various swallowing disorders. She graduated from the Mayo Clinic Occupational Therapy Dysphagia Fellowship in March 2023 in which she holds advanced training in the evaluation and treatment of dysphagia for the geriatric population across the acute care and outpatient settings. She is a current member of the American Occupational Therapy Association with active participation in the AOTA Mealtime Occupations Community of Practice which aims to foster a collaborative environment and facilitate development of new evidence-based best practices related to mealtime occupations across the lifespan. She co-authored the recently published book, Adult Feeding, Eating, and Swallowing: Occupational Therapy Dysphagia Management and hopes to continue to travel to provide lectures to occupational therapy programs on the role of occupational therapy in the management of dysphagia across the continuum of care.