We have received communications from many colleagues from around the world during this difficult time. Many have cancelled or postponed courses to support the efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Many are living in countries where the borders have been closed and some are unable to leave their homes except for documented reasons. Our hearts go out to our entire international community and we want you to know you are on our minds.
In light of rapidly changing circumstances in the United States and the need for social distancing, our staff at CIOTS’ Headquarters will be working from home. This change will not negatively influence our operations. Because we are an international service provider, virtual communication has been our norm and we will continue to conduct business as usual. We are committed to collaborating with you on solutions and are standing by to assist.
We’d like to share some of the solutions:
- We are supporting educational institutions to transition from planned face-to-face AMPS courses to the online AMPS course option.
- We have been hard at work providing guidance to strategic partners who have needed to quickly pivot to online learning due to the inability to run courses as scheduled.
- Some of our cancelled workshops are moving to our online AMPS course. This AMPS course can be taken at home. In July 2018, online AMPS was launched as a critical resource for occupational therapists and occupational therapy students who are not fortunate enough to have access to in-person courses. The online course has certification rates equal to in-person courses and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
- The Powerful Practice: A Model for Authentic Occupational Therapy book has been well received internationally and has been integrated into many occupational therapy programs. Utilizing our online supplemental resources, OT practitioners have the opportunity to organize virtual study groups.
As always, we’re grateful for the opportunity to have you in our community. On behalf of the global CIOTS team, we are thinking of you all. Please keep in touch as you are able and let us know how you are doing.