In this episode of Occupational Therapy Conversations, I step back and look at occupational therapy not just as a caring profession, but as a trade. I talk about the core process of OT practice — assessment, treatment planning, intervention, and discharge — and why understanding this matters, especially for therapists working in the NHS. I reflect on how being salaried within a large public system can sometimes disconnect therapists from the commercial value of what they actually do. This episode is a call for occupational therapists to recognise their professional worth, understand that their work produces measurable outcomes, and become better at explaining, promoting, and standing by the value of their practice.

In this episode of Occupational Therapy Conversations, I reflect on gender service as a developing specialist area and ask a difficult but important question: which profession is actually best placed to hold key parts of this work? I explore the shift from a centralised, medically led model toward a more regional and holistic approach, and I argue that occupational therapy has a far stronger place in this space than many people realise. From identity, roles, habits, values, self-management, and health maintenance, this conversation looks at why OT should not stay quiet while other professions plant their flag. A reflective, provocative RIOT-style episode on professional territory, specialist services, and speaking up for what OT can truly offer.

Big machine. Big lines. Very sick patient. But what is ECMO actually doing? In this episode, Hao unpacks VV and VA ECMO in plain, human language — from the femoral vein to the internal jugular vein, from the femoral artery to the aorta, and the real difference between supporting lungs and supporting circulation. If ECMO has ever sounded intimidating, this is the episode that strips it down and makes it teachable.

#ECMO #VVECMO #VAECMO #CriticalCare #ICU #CardiorespiratorySupport #RespiratoryFailure #CardiogenicShock #ECMOTeaching #BedsideTeaching #OccupationalTherapy #OTInCriticalCare #TherapyInICU #RIOTTalk #OTConversationsByHao