Reviewer: Elizabeth D. DeIuliis, OTD, OTR/L, CLA, FNAP, FAOTA (Duquesne University)
Description: Dr. Brent Braveman, who serves as editor as well as the author of several chapters, is a well-known leader, manager, and scholar in occupational therapy and, with his third edition of this book, clearly models the way with continual efforts to improve quality and resources for the occupational therapy profession on a distinctive subject of leadership and management. This third edition was published in 2022, with the second edition in 2016 and the first edition in 2005.
Purpose: Dr. Braveman provides an uncomplicated framework to present four main functions of managers, which include 1. planning, 2. organizing and staffing, 3. controlling, and 4. directing. Readers across all levels will also appreciate Braveman's "Evidence-Based Management Process," which is a straightforward, six-step process that is illustrated throughout the book during the "Evidence in Action" feature boxes that occur throughout each chapter. As the book title illuminates, each author and chapter contents model an evidence-based and data-driven approach to being a manager and leader. Educators and readers across all levels will appreciate that the book is filled with case examples that illustrate common scenarios or dilemmas that managers deal with across practice settings and roles. The case examples represent a wide range of scenarios that also shed light on diversity, equity, and inclusivity perspectives. The editor and chapter authors are applauded for also providing examples of how to expose and integrate occupational therapy fieldwork and doctoral capstone students into various functions of managers and leaders.
Audience: The book aims to provide a comprehensive yet tangible resource for managers with varying levels of competency. The editor and chapter authors are successful in creating a unique product that targets a triad of roles including the supervisor, manager, and leader and have created an easy-to-read resource that is applicable to professionals across the management/leadership spectrum, from occupational therapy students who are required to learn about business aspects of practice by accreditors, to entry-level managers and even individuals who hold high-level administrative roles. A review of the contributing author list reveals well-known and respected occupational therapy administrators, scholars, as well as individuals with documented leadership outside of the occupational therapy profession, such as social work and physician assistant studies. With a new emphasis on intraprofessional collaboration highlighted in this third edition, it was surprising to see no contributor representing the occupational therapy assistant (OTA) role. Incorporating the lived experience of the OTA role within leadership and management contexts in future editions of the book would be welcomed.
Features: The book has 20 chapters and 616 pages in total. The table of contents shows that there are four main sections of the book. Section I is an "Introduction to Leadership and Evidence-based Management." This new, third-edition book begins with a thoughtful discussion on leadership including how it compares/contrasts with management as well as several leadership theories, which sets the stage for how critical leadership theory is regardless of your role or title. Section II is "Leading and Managing in Context," which covers diverse topics ranging from an overview of healthcare systems, policy, and legislation to best practice and evidence-based strategies of how to craft professional business memos, social media postings, and business proposals. Section III is "Managerial Skills, Responsibilities and Competencies," which includes chapters on strategic planning, consultancy models, and intricacies of fiscal management, including new content on surviving and thriving in high-demand settings and specific case examples in skilled nursing, sub-acute, home health, school, and outpatient settings. Chapters in section IV, "Leading Evidence-Based Practice and Professional Considerations," lay important groundwork for how to build communities of practice and the professional responsibility of all students, practitioners, managers, and leaders to engage in professional organizations in order to advance the occupational therapy profession as a whole. Each chapter starts with a glossary and critical thinking questions, which help readers generate ideas on key topic areas and spark reflection on their own experiences prior to new knowledge being presented. Text boxes, tables, schematics, and charts are very beneficial to not only highlight or bring attention to key knowledge, but to also provide helpful summaries of evidence, which further solidifies the book's continual theme of an evidence-based approach. There is also a bountiful resource list at the end of each chapter, which will allow readers the opportunity to continue to further their knowledge in particular areas as well as tap into additional sources to expand their professional network. Multiple-choice study questions are provided at the end of each chapter, which allows readers to immediately apply knowledge learned. An answer key is also provided at the end of the book for readers to assess their performance, which will be useful to educators to engage in formative or summative assessment in their courses. "Evidence in Action" is a new feature in this third edition that provides numerous examples of how to be a data-driven manager and model how evidence is not just something to use in clinical practice to support intervention planning, but also to guide the functions of managers and leaders to be more effective in their role.
Assessment: What I really appreciate with this new third edition is a stronger emphasis on interprofessional and intraprofessional practice and management; diving deeper into areas of supervision and collaboration between OTA/OTA roles as well as managing and leading professionals from other disciplines. There is also a new chapter that exclusively focuses on productivity and provides practical resources for clinicians and managers to understand different models of how productivity is calculated as well as strategies to increase staff productivity while also providing high-quality, client-centered services. This text by Dr. Braveman, along with Jacobs and McCormack's The Occupational Therapy Manager, 6th Edition (AOTA Press, 2019) has routinely been cited as a required textbook in occupational therapy educational programs across the United States as well as a resource on the NBCOT exam item writer reference list, which represents resources used by NBCOT to construct the national certification exam for OT and OTA graduates. In comparison, a notable difference with The Occupational Therapy Manager is that it makes a more explicit and palpable connection to AOTA Vision 2025. However, this most likely ensued because the book publisher is AOTA Press. In closing, this new third edition book by Dr. Braveman will continue to be a well-received and well-respected resource used through academia and across practice settings in occupational therapy.
