Health professions education is increasingly creating learning experiences after one's entry-level practice degree. Such experiences include residency and fellowship experiences for health ...professions practitioners. This review of residency and fellowship programs across several health
professions includes the development of residency programs and the implications these developments have on occupational therapy. The analysis across health professions includes medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, and occupational therapy. This thorough analysis
can help guide the development of occupational therapy fellowships. This background provides a foundation to focus on the implications for emerging fellowships within occupational therapy. The findings can be utilized to assist in the development of new successful fellowship programs.
PURPOSE: There is insufficient evidence to support the use of interprofessional high-fidelity simulation (HFS) with occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) students. This pilot HFS aimed ...to provide students an opportunity to engage in interprofessional collaborative
practice (IPCP) in the acute care environment. Researchers investigated student perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors relative to IPCP. METHODS: The HFS involved a patient following total hip replacement. Pre- and post-data were collected from surveys comprised of the Interprofessional
Socialization and Valuing Scale (ISVS)-9A and 9B, Simulation Design Scale (SDS), and open-ended questions. Descriptive, inferential, and thematic analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Twenty-one second-year graduate OT and PT students were recruited through convenience sampling to participate
in this study. Statistically significant differences were seen with ISVS scores for all students. Students responded favorably to all SDS questions. Qualitative data yielded three major themes: 1) interprofessional communication and collaboration, 2) scope of practice, and 3) skill acquisition.
CONCLUSION: HFS is a positively perceived, experiential learning strategy capable of building essential interprofessional skills and enhancing OT and PT students' attitudes and beliefs toward IPCP.
Occupational therapy education must teach using contemporary and evidence-based practices that yield graduates with clinical reasoning skills to successfully practice in dynamic and challenging ...environments. Researchers used a mixed-methods research design to identify the most frequently used and valued instructional methods for developing clinical reasoning with entry-level occupational therapy students. Researchers recruited full-time educators teaching in entry-level occupational therapy programs throughout the United States. Ninety-two occupational therapy educators completed the survey for the quantitative portion of the study. Subsequently, six occupational therapy educators participated in an interview for the qualitative portion of the study. Participants most frequently used laboratory experiences and least frequently used rotating chair discussion for developing clinical reasoning. Participants perceived experiential learning as the most valuable and rotating chair discussion as the least valuable instructional method for developing clinical reasoning. The three themes of the educator, the student, and the environment emerged from the qualitative data. Outcomes suggest occupational therapy educators must embrace the role of facilitator and continue to explore a variety of effective instructional methods. In order to achieve this role, occupational therapy educators need to engage in personal and professional development. Researchers provide additional strategies for developing the clinical reasoning skills required for successful occupational therapy practice.
We compared the graduate outcomes of doctoral students in a traditional on-campus occupational therapy program with those in a hybrid program. Participants were 81 students from an on-campus program ...and 13 students from a hybrid program. Graduate outcomes were measured with student grade-point average (GPA) at the end of each academic year, cumulative GPA, Fieldwork Performance Exam, National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) practice exam scores, and final NBCOT pass rate. Consistent with previous research, our results revealed no significant differences on most outcome variables, suggesting that hybrid programs are an effective delivery model for postsecondary higher education. These findings may provide guidance to occupational therapy programs in curriculum design, content delivery, and program refinement and development. Replication of this study is needed with a larger sample and inclusion of qualitative data. Future studies should compare the affective domain of graduate outcomes in on-campus and online or hybrid programs.
Occupational therapy (OT) education has utilized fieldwork experiences to develop professional identity and clinical competency of entry-level OT practitioners since 1923. Level II OT fieldwork is ...viewed as a necessary and valuable experience by students, clinicians, and academicians. Despite the significant role fieldwork has in the formation of the future workforce, some educational programs report a shortage of OT fieldwork placement sites and the emergence of fee-for-placement fieldwork sites. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and context of fee-for-placement for Level II OT fieldwork in the United States. Investigators surveyed master’s and doctoral level OT programs to examine their experience with requests for fee-for-placement fieldwork sites. The response rate was 32% (58 of 128 programs). Approximately two-thirds (67%, n=38) of respondents reported a decrease in number of Level II placement reservations. Eighty-two percent of programs reported encountering sites who requested fee-for-placement and almost half (43%, n=25) anticipated this trend to increase in the future. The majority of programs (89%, n=52) indicated they avoid placing students at fieldwork sites who charge for placement. The observed trend in fee-for-placement fieldwork may affect OT education by yielding significant implications related to finances, selection and placement processes, and compliance with professional values and ethics for programs and students. The concerns raised by the respondents may warrant a profession-wide consensus and direction toward addressing fieldwork shortages and fee-for-placements.
Abstract
Date Presented 4/21/2018
This study provides relevant information about what instructional methods faculty use most often and what they find valuable to successfully teach clinical ...reasoning. Future work needs to identify specific methods that are most effective to build the cadre of contemporary scholarship of teaching and learning for occupational therapy.
Primary Author and Speaker: Whitney Henderson
Additional Authors and Speakers: Brenda Coppard
Contributing Authors: Youngue Qi
ABSTRACT
The Centennial Vision of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) has called for occupational therapy to be globally connected. Students can gain cultural competency, clinical ...reasoning, and leadership from attending didactic coursework and participating in discussions and clinical simulations. Immersing oneself in international settings, however, tends to have a greater impact on learning. The authors describe the outcomes of two international outreach programs: China Honors Immersion Program (CHIP) and Institute for Latin American Concern (ILAC). The outcomes of these programs indicate that students believe that such international experiences greatly affect their development, both professionally and personally. Implications of the program outcomes to current professional education are discussed. Future research directions are also proposed.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE. This qualitative focus group study investigated the strategies to prevent or reduce practice errors used by occupational therapists who practice in physical rehabilitation and ...geriatrics.
METHOD. A total of 34 occupational therapists from four geographic regions across the United States participated in four focus groups. Participants worked in the areas of physical rehabilitation or geriatrics and had a minimum of 1 year of practice. Participants responded to open-ended, guiding questions. Data collected from the focus groups were analyzed qualitatively for themes.
RESULTS. Analysis of the collected data yielded four themes related to specific strategies occupational therapists use to prevent or reduce practice errors: (1) strengthen orientation and mentoring for new therapists, (2) ensure competency through performance competency checks, (3) enhance existing or establish new safety policies and procedures, and (4) advocate for the profession and for systemic change.
CONCLUSION. Findings of the study suggest that occupational therapists implement various discrete strategies to prevent or reduce practice errors and improve client safety. Occupational therapy practice and professional training must emphasize the inevitability of practice errors; the importance of orientation and training, including assertiveness training; and the inclusion of performance-based competency checks.
Occupational therapy’s identity is grounded in occupation-centered care. However, evidence suggests external factors in the healthcare system burden practitioners’ time and resources, reducing ...attention directed toward occupation-centered practice and student learning and transfer of theoretically grounded knowledge. The departure from theory-based practice can threaten the identity and viability of the profession. The Occupation-Centered Intervention Assessment (OCIA) was designed for practitioners or students to self-rate the degree to which interventions are occupation-based or occupation-focused, creating an occupation-centered framework. In this pilot explanatory sequential mixed methods study, Level II fieldwork educators and fieldwork students in Alaska completed OCIA training and utilized the tool. A pre- and post-survey identified attitudes toward theory application, feedback, confidence, developing and understanding occupation-centered perspectives, and the OCIA. Additionally, focus group participants discussed using the OCIA during Level II fieldwork and the impact on development, understanding, and communicating using an occupation-centered perspective. Results of the survey revealed preliminary receptivity to the tool as a communication aid and as a theoretical framework for an occupation-centered perspective. The focus group highlighted the “common language” provided by the tool and drew attention to contextual factors influencing the transfer of knowledge and use of the OCIA in practice. Further research is needed to understand the potential of the OCIA as a resource for facilitating student learning with a grounded, occupation-centered perspective.
Occupational therapists must abide by certain standards to maintain a license to practice. Despite the existence of various studies on licensure revocation in other health care professions, no prior ...research has been conducted regarding occupational therapist licensure revocations. The purpose of this study was to examine reasons for occupational therapy licensure revocations in the United States from 2005 to 2015. A retrospective descriptive study design was completed. Data were collected from public databases on state websites or through communication with state licensure board representatives. From 2005 to 2015, 65 occupational therapists had their licenses revoked in 40 states and the District of Columbia. Fraud and criminal conviction were the two most frequently cited reasons for licensure revocations in the majority female sample. The south region of the United States displayed the most license revocations when compared to other regions. The results of this study may enhance the education of occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and students about ethical decision-making in practice. A standardized protocol used by all states in determining licensure revocation is recommended. Additional research on all occupational therapy disciplinary actions could further benefit occupational therapy curricula.
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