Health care burnout 101: Occupational therapy for the clinician and the client (March 20, 2025)

Thursday, March 20, 2025

11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)

What time is this for me?

Burnout has been a hot topic during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it didn't start there (e.g., Murthy, 2022). Health care workers have been placed in health systems that value quantity over quality and are increasingly being asked to work beyond their physical and emotional limits to provide services for clients at a high volume, with pressure from management and billing targets (e.g., Koinis et al., 2015).  

This one-day interactive workshop will focus on building a strong foundation for how to assist with healing work-related burnout and how to foster work/life balance using occupational therapy intervention and skills. Participants will learn about the nervous system, the occupational and functional life impacts of burnout, and the aftermath of providing care during the COVID-19 pandemic on health care professionals. Participants will explore burnout in acute, outpatient and private practice settings and evaluate the impact of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and self-efficacy on return to work. The unique position of occupational therapists in assisting with burnout prevention, management and recovery will be discussed. Opportunities will be provided to network and to practice skills in small groups throughout the workshop. Journaling throughout this workshop is encouraged and a template will be provided. There will also be several stretch and movement breaks throughout the day.

Preliminary workshop agenda

Learning objectives

By the end of this workshop, you will:

1. Gain an in-depth understanding of the nervous system's response to stress.
2. Be able to identify symptoms of burnout in yourself and your clients.
3. Understand the occupational therapy role in burnout management/recovery.
4. Apply occupational therapy practice skills to burnout recovery.
5. Gain confidence in your ability to identify and manage work-related burnout.

Target audience

Occupational therapy clinicians and students in occupational therapy programs who wish to be able to identify symptoms of burnout and to develop a plan to prevent or manage burnout, for themselves and for their clients.

Please note: Each participant is responsible to ensure they apply the information within the context of their licensure, provincial/territorial legislations, institution regulations, scope of practice, etc.

Client age group

Adults (20-64 years old)

Areas of practice

Acute Care, Chronic Disease Management, Chronic Pain, Forensic Mental Health, Health Promotion & Wellness, Intensive Critical Care Unit (ICU)/ Emergency Department (ED), Medical-Legal Services, Mental Health, MVA Rehabilitation, Neurology, Palliative/EOL Care, Parental Health, Primary Care, Return to Work, Role-Emerging, Substance Use/Addictions, Women’s Health

Workshop level

Beginner (0-2 years of experience in this specific practice area)   Please note: Participants with more than this stated level of experience are welcome to attend the workshop. The workshop content will be geared towards those with 0-2 years of experience

Presenter

Kat Dikeakos, Reg. OT (BC) 

Kat Dikeakos is a Vancouver-based occupational therapist and provides therapy to clients via telehealth across Canada. Her practice is focused on supporting high-functioning clients to recover from accidents, illness, and burnout. Many of her clients work in health care, management, entertainment, or other high-pressure fields. A holistic health nerd from the very beginning, Kat has a special interest in recovery from complex health conditions and uses an integrative medicine approach to foster healing from the inside out. Her practice includes advanced training in chronic pain management, concussion, rheumatology, and perinatal health. Kat also has a special interest in women’s health and the unique challenges that come alongside pregnancy, parenting, pelvic pain and menopause. Skilled in the understanding of how the body and brain function together, Kat works to educate her clients and help them to develop the skills to manage their health while restoring work life balance and quality of life. In addition, Kat spends time as a mentor for PainBC's British Columbia Adaptive Mentorship Network (BCAMN), chairing the CAOT Chronic Pain & Occupational Therapy Practice Network and sitting on the CAOT-BC Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain, Mental Health and Substance Use.

Registration fees

Early bird rates: Registration and payment completed by January 15, 2025

Regular rates: Registration and payment completed after January 15, 2025

Registration deadline:  March 20, 2025 at 9:59 a.m. (Eastern Time) 

Please note that CAOT does not offer group registration fees. Pending sufficient space, CAOT offers late registration for workshops at the regular rate plus a $50 administration fee.  

*It may be more cost effective to become a CAOT Member or Associate rather than pay the non-member rate. See “Can a non-member register for a Workshop?” in our Professional Development FAQs to know which membership category you are eligible for.  

Included in your registration fee:

Online workshop, access to the recording for a period of 14 days following the workshop, electronic copy of presentation slide handouts, opportunity to network and make connections with other occupational therapists interested in this topic, electronic certificate of attendance.

Cancellation/refund policy

All cancellation/refund requests must be sent in writing to education@caot.ca. All cancellation requests received by March 5, 2025 will be given a full refund minus a $50.00 administrative fee. No refunds will be given after March 5, 2025. Substitutions and transfers requests received by March 5, 2025 are permitted and are subject to a $50.00 administrative fee.

If you are exceptionally unable to complete the workshop, please reach out to education@caot.ca by 25 days following the end of the workshop for extended access to the recording (up to one month after the end of the workshop) or a one-time transfer to another offering of the same workshop if currently open for registration.  CAOT reserves the right to modify the workshop title, description, registration dates and information on the workshop webpage. CAOT will notify participants on or before February 7, 2025 if there is insufficient registration by that date and reserves the right to cancel a Workshop due to insufficient registration up until February 21, 2025. CAOT reserves the right to modify the offering, interrupt Workshops, change the timing of a Workshop, cancel a Workshop or change the technology for the Workshop due to the presenter no longer being able to present the Workshop, severe weather, power failure, building closures or other special circumstances that are beyond the control of CAOT by notifying participants as soon as possible. If the Workshop is cancelled by CAOT, registrants will receive a full refund of the registration fee. CAOT will not be responsible for other costs or expenses incurred by registrants as a result of any such changes.

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The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT) is committed to accessibility as expressed in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). We provide an electronic copy of the handouts approximately one week ahead of time in multiple slide layouts, auto-generated closed captioning through Zoom (excluding breakout rooms), as well as access to the recording for two weeks following the workshop. If you require additional special arrangements for accessibility, please contact education@caot.ca or 1-800-434-2268.    

Please note that workshop is offered in English.