title: Sustaining the art of practice in occupational therapy.
abstract: The art of practice in occupational therapy is intrinsically centered on relationships, on the qualities that make relationships meaningful, and on the meaning of occupation in a life. Demands from today's health care system make it increasingly difficult for practitioners to engage in meaningful relationships with their patients. The art of practice, jeopardized by the health care system, requires sustenance from other sources. A new field, literature and medicine, suggests a source of sustenance for the art of occupational therapy practice. The reading of fictional literature can provide occupational therapists with sustaining images that can reaffirm their commitment to the art of providing occupation as therapy.
authors.affiliation: School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77551.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Peloquin
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008093:Literature, Modern; D008297:Male; D008513:Medicine in Literature; D009788:Occupational Therapy; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D010684:Philosophy; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations