INTRODUCTION

Figure 1. Daisy, K. (2016). Katie Daisy. Retrieved from http://www.katiedaisy.com,    

      https://www.etsy.com/search? ref=auto1&q=katie+daisy&order=most_relevant&view_type=gallery&ship_to=NZ.

   

    (Permission gained from manager)

My name is Laura Weir, I am a third year Occupational Therapy student studying at Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin. My aim of this blog is to grow my own cultural competency, while also educating others around how we can be better culturally competent Occupational Therapists in New Zealand.

Throughout my time studying occupational therapy I have always been challenged to reflect, problem solve and discover meaning. This presentation has challenged me to do all three. 

When thinking about a topic to base my presentation on I struggled to pin point one specific focus, this was because of the fact that I have simply met so many different and unique individuals throughout my life experience and specifically my fieldwork placements. My Fieldwork 4 placement was at a school that was located in a completely different environment than what I was used to - South Auckland. During my time on placement  I met and grew to know so many individuals in which I would have never gained the chance to interact with if it wasn't for placement. I grew passionate about this placement, the experience and the knowledge I gained from it. 

Upon reflecting about my time there, I discovered that I have learnt and thrived off my experiences in all of my placements due to one specific factor, in which I believe is fascinating... culture. 

According to Abdel-Fattah (2016) "We are, at almost every point of our day, immersed in cultural diversity: Faces, clothes, smells, attitudes, values, traditions, behaviours, beliefs, rituals"

Follow me as I gain an understanding of the many different cultures in New Zealand, Aotearoa and how occupational therapists can ensure they are culturally competent in practice.

References

Abdel-Fattah, R. (2016). Randa Abdel-Fattah quotes. Retrieved   
            from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/randa_
            abdelfattah.html

List of illustrations

Figure 1. Daisy, K. (2016). Katie Daisy. Retrieved from http://www.katiedaisy.com,    

            https://www.etsy.com/search?  

            ref=auto1&q=katie+daisy&order=most_relevant&view_type=gallery&ship_to=NZ.

CULTURE

In order to really grasp the idea of cultural competency, as occupational therapists we need to understand the true meaning of culture and how it impacts who we are as individuals. Culture is a very broad term that has many different meanings. Bacall, Jansen and Smith (2016) state that although some assume culture just means ethnicity or race, it is much more diverse than that. culture can be associated with many other factors including gender, religion, age, occupation, geographic location, leisure activities, rituals, social class, sexual orientation, morals, values, beliefs and anything  that shapes or influences us. 

The youtube link below provides some basic examples and statements surrounding the idea of culture. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57KW6RO8Rcs

The iceberg below created by James Penstone helps to put the idea of culture into perspective. The examples of culture as seen above the water can often be observed or are visible to us in every day life. Below the water is that, in which we often cannot see- those underlying cultural values, beliefs, characteristics and ideas that are not often visible, ones that we can only identify through getting to know someone on a deeper level.

Figure 1. Penstone, J. (2011). Visualising the Iceberg Model of Culture. Retrieved from  

     http://opengecko.com/interculturalism/visualising-the-iceberg-model-of-culture/

From my learning and experience regarding the term culture I have derived a simple explanation of the word from my perspective.

I believe that culture is any aspect of a person or a group. Culture is everything and everywhere.  From personality and identity, to rituals, values, beliefs, dress, ethnicity, religious practices, the list goes on and on. From this I have gathered the idea that culture can not be minimised or simply put in a box, it is such a broad term and every single person in this world with specific reference to New Zealand is different.

Figure 2. Hubpages. (2016). What is culture. Retrieved from http://hubpages.com/education/Culture-   

     Observation  

References 
Bacal, K., Jansen, P. & Smith, K. (2006). Developing cultural    
            competency in accordance with the Health Practitioners    
            Competence Assurance Act. New Zealand Family 
            Physician, 33(5) 305 309

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. (2011, February       

           13). What is culture? [video file]. Retrieved from 
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?  

            v=57KW6RO8Rcs  

List of Illustrations

Figure 1. Penstone, J. (2011). Visualising the Iceberg Model of Culture. Retrieved from  

             http://opengecko.com/interculturalism/visualising-the-iceberg-model-of-culture/

Figure 2. Hubpages. (2016). What is culture. Retrieved from http://hubpages.com/education/Culture-   

            Observation

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

As I am an occupational therapy student and my question is derived surrounding this profession it is important that we gain knowledge surrounding what Occupational Therapy actually is.

This youtube clip may provide some insight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETcPH5-LmDw

Occupational Therapy is the art and science of enabling engagement in everyday life, through the doing of occupation. (Townsend & Polatajko, 2007).

“Occupational therapy helps to solve the problems that interfere with your ability to do the things that are important to you. It can also prevent a problem or minimize its effects” (Canadian Associate of Occupational Therapists, 2016).

Occupation is all the things you do: Self-care, looking after others, leisure, work.  Occupation and health are linked. An occupational therapist is a registered health provider who uses the theory of occupation to improve well-being and quality of life (Occupational Therapy New Zealand, 2016).

Figure 1: Occupational Therapy. (n.d). Retrieved from  

            https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/227502218651729768/

Above I have provided some examples as to what Occupational Therapy is, 

My own understanding of Occupational Therapy is that

We look at addressing the dysfunction people are experiencing in everyday life through the use of meaningful occupation- meaning every activity that we do on a daily basis that has importance to us. We like to look at the person as a whole being. Occupation could, in a way be considered as our medicine. Occupational Therapists work in a variety of different settings including pediatrics, geriatrics, mental health, physical settings, vocational rehab, prisons, community development, the list goes on and on. We take on the persona that all people are occupational beings, who often due to illness or injury are unable to carry out the everyday tasks that are meaningful to them. 

Occupational Therapists focus on the regaining of meaning in peoples lives through doing, creating, adapting, involving, facilitating, engaging, developing and encouraging. When all may seem lost, I would like to believe that an Occupational Therapist maintains the mind set that there is always a way through.

Figure 2: Stoffel, G. (n.d). [Untitled image of occupational therapy quote] Retrieved from  

            https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/452400725044684023/

 References

Canadian Associate of Occupational Therapists. (2016). What is Occupational Therapy. 

            Retrieved from http://www.caot.ca/default.asp? 
            pageid=3024

Velasco, K. ( 2014, February 18). What is Occupational Therapy?.   
             Retrieved from  

             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETcPH5-LmDw
Occupational Therapy New Zealand. 

             (2016) Occupation and Health. 

             Retrieved from http://www.otnz.co.nz/public/

Townsend, E.A., & Polatajko, H. J. (2007). Enabling occupation II: 
             Advancing an occupational 

            therapy vision for health, well-being, & justice through occupation. Ottawa, ON: CAOT   

            Publications ACE.

List of Illustrations

Figure 1: Occupational Therapy. (n.d). Retrieved from  

            https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/227502218651729768/

Figure 2: Stoffel, G. (n.d). [Untitled image of occupational therapy quote] Retrieved from  

            https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/452400725044684023/

NEW ZEALAND CULTURE

When searching “NZ Cultural diversity” I was firstly guided towards the 2013 New Zealand census. Which displayed a list of each different ethnicity present in NZ. A specific quote that stood out to me was the fact that “there are more ethnicities in New Zealand than there are countries in the world, that tells us that New Zealand is a diverse place and getting more so all the time" (Statistics New Zealand, 2013).

I feel that it is important to look beyond ethnicity although it is still an important aspect of culture in New Zealand, our ethnicity may shape who we are through influencing different values, beliefs, practices we need to look at culture from a deeper level.

Figure1:Kiwi
Identity Resource Pack. (n.d). Retrieved from https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/249668373064830919/

The overarching New Zealand or Kiwi culture is generally seen as unique because of their friendliness, individuality, invention and self resiliance- that can do kiwi attitude right? (New Zealand Tourism Guide, 2016).

But we are much more than that.

With the main ethnic population of New Zealand being Maori, European, Pacific Island and Asian- we are still continually growing with a variety of ethnicities residing here broadening New Zealands ethical culture ( New Zealand People, 2016)

Figure
2: New Zealand. (n.d). Retrieved from https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/557531628849402342/

Firstly when looking from  a bicultural Aotearoa perspective, The Maori, New Zealands first settlers make up to around 14.6% of New Zealands population (New Zealand Customs and Culture, 2016). Maori history, language and traditions are central to New Zealands history. This culture is enriched throughout New Zealand (New Zealand People, 2016). An example of this- to name a few is seen through the Haka performed before many of our countries sports games, kapa haka groups throughout our communities, Marae’s present throughout our country and the language that is Te Rea Maori that is learnt through our school systems and on an every day basis.

Because of the fact that New Zealand is a large festive country I researched the variety of different festivals present throughout the year in order to gain an idea of some specific cultures present- this result was huge. Some of these included food, arts, christian, Italian, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender pride, music, Russian film festival, steampunk, victorian heritage, chinese film festivals, lantern festivals, Waitangi day festivals the list once again goes on and on. Through this we can gather an idea at just how diverse New Zealand as a country is- we have no cultural boundaries and are continueing to grow in this.

The link below shows the variety of festivals present in the coming year

http://www.thecuriouskiwi.co.nz/festivals.html

Although there are many stated above, there is one cultural level that can only be observed when getting to know someone. The population of New Zealand is at 4.471 Million (Statistics New Zealand, 2013) within this population individuals differ in there own personal, underlying cultural ideas and beliefs which often aren't specifically visible to the eye. 

References

Festivals in New Zealand. (2016). Retrived from 

            http://www.thecuriouskiwi.co.nz/festivals.html

New Zealand People. (2016). Retrived from 

            http://www.newzealand.com/int/feature/new-

            zealand-people/

New Zealand Customs & Culture. (2016). Retrieved from 

            https://www.boppoly.ac.nz/go/international/new-zealand-

            customs-culture

New Zealand Tourism Guide. (2016). Retrieved from 

            http://www.tourism.net.nz

Statistics New Zealand. (2013). New Zealand has more ethnicities   

             than the world has countries. Retrieved from   

            http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/data-   

            tables/totals-by-topic-mr1.aspx

List of Illustrations
Figure1: Kiwi Identity Resource Pack. (n.d).
            Retrieved from https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/249668373064830919/
Figure2:
New Zealand. (n.d). Retrieved from https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/557531628849402342/