OT-hero Bjorn: Humanity must be supplemented with entrepreneurship

Bjorn Leroy rolled into occupational therapy through his job at Orfit. Hand therapy became his true passion and an independent practice the dream…
In the meantime, this centipede also works beyond our national borders. He puts this multicultural and multidisciplinary experience in a commercial guise to devise his ideal practice. Self-development is central to this.

You only decided to study to become an occupational therapist at a later age? Why?

That was due to my position at Orfit at the time, where I had to train international hand therapists in applying splints, syndromes, …. Feedback came from the field that it would be better if the courses were given by a (ergo ) therapist. As a result, I started looking for an occupational therapist training where I could combine working with studying, which was possible at the PXL. I then combined 3 years of full-time work with studying to bag that coveted diploma. Probably the toughest thing I’ve ever done. In those three years I got my results four times in Belgium and for the rest abroad…

What was initially a sober choice has eventually become a real passion.

Were you convinced from the start to practice the profession in your own practice or did you want to work in WZCs or other care institutions?

For practical reasons, mainly things like living costs or a home loan, it was financially impossible to start somewhere on a starting salary as an occupational therapist. As a result, it quickly became clear to me that it would become my own practice as a secondary profession in combination with another day job. Had the conditions been better or if the reimbursement system for independent occupational therapists had been better, I would have chosen the full 100% for occupational therapy. For myself I have found a nice balance, but the dream remains…

Is there a big contrast between a sales manager, who you were and still partly are, with an occupational therapist?

Partly yes, but less than most would think. In both cases, you work centrally around someone, the customer or the client, and you are also goal-oriented. The ultimate goal, of course, is different. Sales is still all about generating turnover and you work around targets, turnover, profit, etc.

As an occupational therapist you work on the basis of the treatment goals that you agree with your client. You are much more humane and caring. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a less harsh world.

Based on my sales experience, I also think a bit more commercially about my practice and how I want to develop it. Something that, in my opinion, every independent occupational therapist should do.

You are very enterprising. Should more occupational therapists complement their philanthropy with entrepreneurship?

Absolutely! Our profession is a wonderful and humane profession, but in order to keep it that way, you must be able to develop as a therapist. Developing means thinking about where I stand, what do I want and how can I achieve that. To be able to reflect in this way, you must be enterprising and be able to set both intellectual and financial goals. As occupational therapists, we can be deployed very widely, often broader than the “outside world” realizes. To develop that potential, we have to come out ourselves, the core of entrepreneurship, and be able to demonstrate our value in a professional way.

Giving courses and speaking in front of an audience is your thing. How come?

Training is absolutely my thing. How that came about I cannot say. I started it once and it felt like second nature. I just enjoy teaching people something new or making them better than they already were. I also think it’s fantastic to learn something new myself and I always get something new from every training I give. It will be that interaction that does it for me.

You speak five languages ​​perfectly. Why this interest and linguistic talent?

From home, but also from primary school, I received a very good foundation for French and English, supplemented with German in secondary and Spanish in high school. In the end, my languages ​​really improved by living and working in France, Luxembourg and Germany. It will help that I also just enjoy learning a language.

You specialized in hand therapy. Why this choice?

You only decided to study to become an occupational therapist at a later age? Why?

That was due to my position at Orfit at the time, where I had to train international hand therapists in applying splints, syndromes, …. Feedback came from the field that it would be better if the courses were given by a (ergo ) therapist. As a result, I started looking for an occupational therapist training where I could combine working with studying, which was possible at the PXL. I then combined 3 years of full-time work with studying to bag that coveted diploma. Probably the toughest thing I’ve ever done. In those three years I got my results four times in Belgium and for the rest abroad…

What was initially a sober choice has eventually become a real passion.

Were you convinced from the start to practice the profession in your own practice or did you want to work in WZCs or other care institutions?

For practical reasons, mainly things like living costs or a home loan, it was financially impossible to start somewhere on a starting salary as an occupational therapist. As a result, it quickly became clear to me that it would become my own practice as a secondary profession in combination with another day job. Had the conditions been better or if the reimbursement system for independent occupational therapists had been better, I would have chosen the full 100% for occupational therapy. For myself I have found a nice balance, but the dream remains…

Is there a big contrast between a sales manager, who you were and still partly are, with an occupational therapist?

Partly yes, but less than most would think. In both cases, you work centrally around someone, the customer or the client, and you are also goal-oriented. The ultimate goal, of course, is different. Sales is still all about generating turnover and you work around targets, turnover, profit, etc.

As an occupational therapist you work on the basis of the treatment goals that you agree with your client. You are much more humane and caring. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a less harsh world.

Based on my sales experience, I also think a bit more commercially about my practice and how I want to develop it. Something that, in my opinion, every independent occupational therapist should do.

You are very enterprising. Should more occupational therapists complement their philanthropy with entrepreneurship?

Absolutely! Our profession is a wonderful and humane profession, but in order to keep it that way, you must be able to develop as a therapist. Developing means thinking about where I stand, what do I want and how can I achieve that. To be able to reflect in this way, you must be enterprising and be able to set both intellectual and financial goals. As occupational therapists, we can be deployed very widely, often broader than the “outside world” realizes. To develop that potential, we have to come out ourselves, the core of entrepreneurship, and be able to demonstrate our value in a professional way.

Giving courses and speaking in front of an audience is your thing. How come?

Training is absolutely my thing. How that came about I cannot say. I started it once and it felt like second nature. I just enjoy teaching people something new or making them better than they already were. I also think it’s fantastic to learn something new myself and I always get something new from every training I give. It will be that interaction that does it for me.

You speak five languages ​​perfectly. Why this interest and linguistic talent?

From home, but also from primary school, I received a very good foundation for French and English, supplemented with German in secondary and Spanish in high school. In the end, my languages ​​really improved by living and working in France, Luxembourg and Germany. It will help that I also just enjoy learning a language.

You specialized in hand therapy. Why this choice?

Because of my position at Orfit I rolled into it a bit, but in the end that is my absolute became a passion. Although I no longer travel the world to train hand therapists, I still live hand therapy every day. I devour everything I can find about hand therapy, I’m in different groups, still give webinars, workshops etc and I really do it every day in my spare time. It is also so broad in terms of syndromes and inextricably linked to action, the core of occupational therapy.

You also work as an occupational therapist in Germany. Is working in Germany different than in Belgium?

Absolutely! Although the essence of our profession is the same, the difference is enormous. I work there in a group practice with a team of 14 occupational therapists, almost all hand therapists, where everyone is fully booked full-time. The health system, the reimbursements, the mutual communication, everything is different than in Belgium. In Germany it is also very normal to go to an occupational therapist, just like we go to a physiotherapist. Our profession is known there and is appreciated. Provided further training, we can also use very different tools there, such as electrotherapy, laser or vacuum therapy, which are unthinkable in Belgium…

What else can we learn from Germany?

General:

Interdisciplinary collaboration is a bit further there in the sense that there is also proactive communication from and to other professional groups. Occupational therapy in an independent practice, but also intramural, is an established value there. Occupational therapists are more self-aware and well-organized. They have, thanks to their membership, a very professional professional association that is taken into account at the national level.

Other tools are also used, see my previous answer, to improve the functional, even if they are initially very function-oriented. Because the independent practices are larger, other (financial) resources can also be used to innovate (i.e. robotics, 3D printing, digital aids for cognitive rehabilitation, etc.).

You are a strong supporter of the use of ICF. Why?

ICF enables us to communicate in a uniform way with other healthcare professionals across the borders of our profession, but also of our country. That may sound like something out of a book, but I strongly believe in this. I myself have often seen in my international career that ICF coding was applied or cited to clarify a study or a case for all healthcare professions and nationalities present. It also helps me in my reflection towards my clients, especially if it is a slightly more complex case.

Do you think OT-Pro can contribute to more recognition and professionalization of the profession?

Certainly. It enables us to communicate in a sound manner with our prescribers. As independent occupational therapists in Belgium, we are not far behind and we have to use every tool that enables us to show to the client, but also to the legislator, that we work in a structured, thorough and professional way. Furthermore, it offers me a guideline in my intake conversations, so that I don’t forget anything, but also a place where I can collect all information, such as evaluations or reports from doctors, and find it quickly. In the meantime, I also have my agenda in it and I use it for invoicing, so that I also maintain my structure and don’t forget anything.