C LI NI CA L LY SP EA KING
SELF-REFLECTION EQUALS SOUND CLINICAL REASONING Written by: ROSA WALSTON LATIMER
Cheryl Hon, B.A., MOT works at Vancouver Coastal Health’s GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre in British Columbia, Canada. She currently works in the Outpatient Spinal Cord Injury program. “My first job as an ocupational therapist was in community-based pediatrics,” Hon said. “I worked with school-aged children for two years before moving to Access Community Therapists where I began practicing in community-based general rehabilitation and complex seating for 10 years.” Hon has presented numerous times on the topic of wheelchair seating and positioning and pressure injury prevention and management with her colleague, Lindsay Alford, BSc., OT, including a NRRTS Live Webinar on how to assess and manage spinal deformities in wheelchair seating titled “What About the Trunk?” (https://nrrts.org/courses/1-21-21/) Among several of her published works, Hon was the first author of an article published in the Journal of Occupational Science titled “Moving from China to Canada: Occupational Transitions of Immigrant Mothers of Children With Special Needs.”
Cheryl Hon, B.A. MOT
the resident, that ‘wheelchairs are so important to our residents. It isn’t just a piece of equipment; it helps them in every aspect of their daily living.’ At the time, I found this to be a bit of a surprise as I had no experience with wheelchairs, and no one in my life used a wheelchair. Her words stuck with me though; as I began looking for a career that would suit my interests and strengths, I found more and more the world of wheelchair seating seemed to fit what I was looking for.”
WHAT SPECIFICALLY DREW YOU TO A CAREER AS AN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST? Growing up, I knew I wanted a career in health care, but I also enjoyed being creative. My mother enjoyed working with people and practiced as a care aide and ran a day care while my dad was an electrical engineer. From a young age, I knew I would love working directly with people but also loved creating and fixing things. This career has allowed me to do all these things. I once considered a career in social work. I applied and didn’t make it into the program. Rather than re-applying, I decided to pursue occupational therapy (OT) as I thought it would be more suited to my interests and strengths. I think it was probably meant to be, and I probably make a better OT.
WHAT KEEPS YOU ENGAGED IN YOUR WORK?
Cheryl Hon at work carving out some foam for a client's seating system.
Hon described the “true ahha” moment that fixed the importance of a wheelchair to an individual in her mind. She was in high school and volunteering at a long-term care facility: “The OT (occcupational therapist) I was working with told me one day during our usual rounds, carrying out a walking program for
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I enjoy learning from my clients and colleagues. I think we all have so much to offer one another. I believe sharing knowledge and experiences is the best way to improve practice and facilitate self-reflection. My favorite part is working directly with the clients and problem solving through very challenging issues. Prescribing equipment to address not only physical but also psychosocial challenges is a part of my work that I find incredibly rewarding. Lindsay Alford and Cheryl Hon presenting a workshop for local therapists.
