Dusty Marcell, OTD

Seeking a school-based occupational therapy position to support the participation, engagement, and optimal outcomes of students in all aspects of the school environment, through the application of data-driven decision-making during individualized assessments and interventions, while emphasizing caring therapeutic relationships together with strength-based and trauma-informed approaches.

• Completed two-thirds of the RMUoHP School-Based Practice for Occupational Therapy Certificate Program. Completed courses include Practice Models and Evidence: Current School-System Best Practice (SBP 718) and Behavior, Sensory, and Mental Health Issues in School Settings (SBP 728). The final course, Application of Best Practice Interventions in School Systems (SBP 738) has an anticipated completion date is July of 2024.
• Earned a post professional doctorate in occupational therapy (PP OTD) within the leadership concentration track in December of 2023.
• Evidence-based practitioner capable of comfortably formulating a research question, navigating several research databases, analyzing and consuming high-quality literature, and applying knowledge gained to clinical practice, followed by reflection.
• For OTD capstone, utilized mixed method design to pilot novel occupational therapy programming with patients experiencing homelessness temporarily staying at the Edward Thomas House Medical Respite program. A strength-based, trauma-informed approach, and functional literacy strategies were used to implement an intake session and four situated learning sessions with participants that focused on health management skills.
• Twenty years of cumulative experience at two level I trauma centers evaluating and treating adult and pediatric patients with diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds., Twenty years of Acute Care experience, seven years of overlapping Inpatient Rehab experience.
• Informal OT lead for pediatric trauma caseload (intensive care unit [ICU] and acute floor) for several years.
• Independently organize and manage a caseload each day.
• Skilled in the evaluation and treatment of patients on Inpatient Rehab, in the ICUs (Trauma Surgery ICU, Neuro ICU, Medicine ICU, Pediatric ICU), general surgery, neurosurgery, neurology, orthopedics, medicine and pediatrics departments., Evaluate functional status of adult and pediatric patients with a myriad of complex injuries and illnesses and work to maximize their functional independence prior to discharge. Common diagnoses include acquired brain injury (from brain tumor, trauma, or stroke), spinal cord injury, heart attack, and orthopedic injuries including amputation, polytrauma, COVID, as well as complications from chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart failure and HIV/AIDS. Recent experience working with burn patients as well.
• Develop and implement complex treatment plans, including progressing activity of daily living (ADL) performance and functional mobility (using adaptive equipment and ordering durable medical equipment when necessary), making custom orthoses to manage orthopedic injuries and prevent contractures, designing home exercise programs, providing positioning recommendations to staff and family, and performing patient and family education and training.
• Skilled in custom orthosis fabrication, including resting hand splint, pan extension splint, wrist cock-up splint, short and long thumb spica splints, anterior and posterior elbow splint, clamshell splint, dorsal block splint, Sarmientos, foot plates, and others. Experience with serial casting as well.
• Facilitate comprehensive and creative discharge planning for patients, especially those with complex injuries and challenging social situations.
• Provide concise and timely documentation on all evaluations and treatments.
• Facilitate communication within an interprofessional team of doctors, nurses, case managers, social workers, PTs, SLPs and others to coordinate the delivery of patient and family centered care.
• Provide clinical instruction for fieldwork level one and two occupational therapy students. Provide direct and indirect supervision and guidance to students to facilitate their learning process and development into entry level Occupational Therapists.
• Orient and mentor new therapists with problem solving difficult evaluations, treatment planning, discharge planning, and treatment sessions, such as guidance on pediatric patients and orthosis fabrication. Provide volunteers with shadowing experience.

Harborview Medical Center 

(Northwest Regional Level I Trauma Center for Pediatrics and Adults)

• Previously managed annual pediatric competencies for new and experienced acute care OTs.
• Pediatric program development, including the creation of guidelines for hip spica management and oversaw implementation of Harborview Meical Center (HMC) car seat use algorithm.
• Facilitator and co-facilitator for monthly HMC Upper Extremity specific amputee support group.
• OT consultant for University of Washington Prosthetics and Orthotics and OT student clinic day with volunteers who have experienced limb loss.
• Served as OT representative and expert member of a hospital wide interprofessional Limb Viability team that consulted on patients who were at risk for losing a limb, or who had already experienced limb loss.
• Played integral role in initiating and implementing a hospital wide process improvement project for the rehab standard of care for patients with limb loss. This program provided improved consistency in care and a more cohesive progression from the acute care service to inpatient rehab to outpatient therapy. In addition, assisted in creating and updating acute care upper extremity limb loss treatment guidelines and competencies. Developed an upper extremity limb loss information packet that is given to each all HMC patients with upper extremity limb loss. This included: local resources for support groups, online resources, books and helpful items to increase independence with ADLs and increase participation in previous life roles, information on phantom limb sensation and pain, tips for pain management and fall prevention, as well guidance for changing hand dominance.
• Initiated and assisted in revamping the OT Fieldwork II student program and informational resources on Acute car and Inpatient Rehab after attending American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Fieldwork educator continuing education.
• Attend and participate in joint staff and discipline specific meetings. Present on continuing education classes and topics in need of further review. Some presentation topics have included upper extremity limb loss and prosthetics, chronic regional pain syndrome, fine motor coordination in pediatrics, factitious disorders, clinical indications for therapy for the HIV/AIDS population, acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, and universal design for home accessibility.
• Presentations: Scheduled to present capstone at the AOTA Homelessness Community of Practice in April of 2024. Washington Occupational Therapy Association state conference (2009: HMC amputee process improvement project and 2006: Poster presentation on modifying abdominal binders). Bi-annual presenter at HMC “Spine Day” from 2007-2011. Presented at “Amputee Empowerment Day” a community event in 2008.

Regions Hospital (Level I Trauma Center)

• Initiated, developed and implemented a paperless acute rehab documentation standard of care project that quickly raised the quality and precision of hospital wide communication, including within the OT department. This included creating acute care documentation guidelines, competencies, computerized documentation template revisions and employee education.
• Initiated working with OT clinical specialist to overhaul fieldwork level II student program and manual, as well as create a fieldwork educator student manual.
• Initiated and developed written guidelines for weekend and holiday patient prioritization, scheduling responsibilities and frequency of care in order improve efficiency and better utilize the time of limited weekend staff.

• Estimated ESA certificate completion in May of 2024
• Washington state OT licensure
• AOTA Member
• Contributing member of the AOTA Homeless Community of Practice
• NBCOT Certification
• CPR Certified
• Food Handlers Permit
• National “C” soccer coaching license