Capstone Projects as Scholarship of Application in Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Education

ABSTRACT

Capstone projects are integrative student learning experiences used in higher education. This article describes the value and merit of capstone projects as scholarship of application within an entry-level occupational therapy education program. The capstone process is outlined and roles and responsibilities of student, faculty members, and community mentors described. Summative curricular evaluation from 5 years of capstone projects indicated that project characteristics and objectives aligned with the theory and desired outcomes of applied scholarship in the areas of student learning, faculty practice and development, and community service. Challenges identified can further inform development of the capstone experience in occupational therapy education.     

Using Service-Learning to Teach Mental Health and Research Skills

ABSTRACT

This paper describes how an occupational therapy program used service-learning to integrate the learning objectives for mental health and research curriculum content. The service-learning program assisted participants diagnosed with mental illness to achieve success in higher education and/or related goals and served as a clinical program within a research curriculum for entry-level graduate occupational therapy students. The occupational therapy students served as mentors for the participants. The purpose of the program for the occupational therapy students was to teach research skills, clinical skills, and increase comfort in working with the mental health population. Seventy-eight occupational therapy students participated in the program over four academic years. A case example of a student/participant mentoring relationship is provided. Results indicated that the occupational therapy students gained comfort with the population and competence in their clinical and research skills.     

A Framework for Promoting Scholarship Productivity in Occupational Therapy Curricula

ABSTRACT

This paper describes a curricular model to support the production of quality research and development of occupational therapy professional students, prepared to become leaders in the production and utilization of evidence for practice. This model is designed for programs with faculty challenged by the dual mandate of program excellence and expectations for scholarly productivity needed for tenure and promotion: typically programs at research universities. The essence of the model is the paralleling of research and competencies for clinical practice where faculty and students participate as a community of scholars. It is based on the literature that addresses the tensions between achieving excellence in research and scholarly productivity, and excellence in teaching. The experience of one university with this model over a five-year period of time is shared with the student-faculty productivity outcomes. These outcomes include dissemination of 55 collaborative peer reviewed products and faculty has generated support for 25 paid graduate assistantships. The combination of student outcomes and faculty support for their research has strengthened the ability of the faculty to excel in meeting the University mandate of scholarship while providing a high quality professional educational program.     

Education and Practice: Connecting with Research

This paper discusses a faculty project that explored community research needs to guide and shape the research curriculum and class assignments for a master of occupational therapy education program. Thirteen community partners were identified and interviewed. Eleven of 13 valued or greatly valued research. Those same 11 expressed an interest in collaborating with the Department of Occupational Therapy. The community partners identified 86 potential future topics for research covering many areas of practice; the majority of them focused on pediatrics. The community partners also identified several research supports already in place such as team work, administrative support, and access to clients. They identified barriers to implementing research including lack of time and assistance for the research process. This information will be incorporated in student research projects, course assignments, and faculty research agendas to provide students with an authentic learning experience while meeting community partners' needs.     

The Use of Experiential Learning in an Occupational Therapy Program: Can it Foster Skills for Clinical Practice?

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the effectiveness of the integration of experiential learning opportunities near the end of the occupational therapy students’ didactic education. Using a pretest–post-test questionnaire, journaling, and feedback from a focus group, results suggested that there was a significant improvement in occupational therapy students’ self-perception of their ability to perform a multitude of occupational therapy-related skills. The development of professional skills was also seen in the provision of client-centered care during occupational therapy interventions. Although clinical reasoning skills were enhanced, results indicated that it had a large impact on the students’ professional growth and development.     

Constructing a Program Development Proposal for Community-Based Practice: A Valuable Learning Experience for Occupational Therapy Students

SUMMARY

Skills required to develop and fund programs can advance an occupational therapist professionally, and innovative occupation-based programs are necessary for the future of occupational therapy. This paper describes a community-based learning experience embedded within the occupational therapy curriculum of the Medical College of Ohio. While developing the Program Development Proposal, each student practices needs assessment; marketing; goals- and objectives-setting; occupation-based programming; budgeting; staffing; program evaluation; and grantsmanship. Outcome surveys of graduates indicate that the experience was positive and provided graduates with a solid foundation for program development. The experience also enhanced partnerships with community-based sites.     

Curricular Inclusion of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Content in Occupational Therapy Education in the United States

An exploratory, cross-sectional survey design was used to explore the extent to which CAM was included, what factors impacted its inclusion, topics and student learning outcomes covered, who taught the material, and what sources were used to prepare for delivering course content. While the vast majority of responding occupational therapy educators reported curricular inclusion of CAM, educational experiences for occupational therapy students varied widely. This overview of the curricular inclusion of CAM by faculty in occupational therapy programs in the United States indicated that many occupational therapy educators are responding to the demands of a more integrative healthcare system. Resolving ethical and pragmatic issues, providing faculty development opportunities, and standardizing student learning outcomes would align all stakeholders and mitigate ambiguities that currently exist surrounding the inclusion of CAM in occupational therapy education.     

A interdisciplinary community partnership for health professional students: a service-learning approach

This paper presents a qualitative approach to studying the reflective learning experiences of health professional students after they participate in an interdisciplinary community-based healthcare course. Over a 2-year period, health professional students from various health-related disciplines voluntarily took an interdisciplinary community-based health course offered at an urban, mid-Atlantic, private university. Through didactic and experiential opportunities, students in the course learned the importance of providing health care services to underserved populations at urban community-based sites. Throughout the semester, students kept journals, completed community response forms, and participated in documented class discussions. A research team of health professional faculty applied constant comparative analyses to the journal entries and community site-visit response forms. Four central themes were identified as the students engaged in learning experiences at various community sites: (1) the need for preventive healthcare; (2) the importance of health services and resources; (3) the awareness of student attitude and behavioral changes; and (4) increased awareness of student and client expectations for health care services. Interpretations of these findings and recommendations for future research are presented.     

Using a learning community to enhance course integration in a school of allied health

The occupational therapy department at East Carolina University conducted a case study of an intact learning community to assess its potential to enhance the integration of course content. This learning community of students and faculty offers a method of supplementing curricula. The learning community consisted of seven students and two faculty members. Analysis of individual interviews, focus group discussion, and self-administered self-efficacy assessments indicated that students perceived the learning community as enhancing their ability to integrate course material from pediatrics and research occupational therapy courses. Recommendations for implementation in other settings are offered.     

Helping Occupational Therapy Students and Faculty Develop Cultural Competence

SUMMARY

Given the need for health professionals, including occupational therapists, to be able to work with individuals and populations from a variety of cultures, this paper describes a qualitative study in which faculty and students from an occupational therapy program have been immersed in a community-built program serving African American, elderly citizens. Cultural competency and its measurement are addressed and used to assess positive results from the study.     

Approaches to Addressing Occupational and Environmental Health Needs in Mexico

Abstract

The University of California, Los Angeles, has somewhat shifted the focus of its Fogarty program, taking a four-pronged approach: conducting high-level collaborative scientific research with Mexican faculty and trainees at the most advanced institutions in the country; providing training and collaborative research opportunities to faculty/students at other institutions in Mexico (primarily through training faculty who do not hold doctoral degrees); providing environmental and occupational health training to the professional community throughout Mexico; and developing short courses on special topics that provide means for greater research collaboration and skill building. The program is also working with existing institutions to develop academic programs that will enlarge the environmental and occupational health infrastructures in Mexico and Latin America.     

Assessment of Student Interprofessional Education (IPE) Training for Team-Based Geriatric Home Care: Does IPE Training Change Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes?

Our study assesses changes in students’ knowledge and attitudes after participation in an interprofessional, team-based, geriatric home training program. Second-year medical, physician assistant, occupational therapy, social work, and physical therapy students; third-year pharmacy students; and fourth-year dental students were led by interprofessional faculty teams. Student participants were assessed before and after the curriculum using an interprofessional attitudes learning scale. Significant differences and positive data trends were noted at year-end. Our study suggests that early implementation, assessment, and standardization of years of student training is needed for optimal interprofessional geriatric learning. Additionally, alternative student assessment tools should be considered for future studies.     

Occupational therapy students' perspectives regarding international cross-cultural experiences

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perspectives of occupational therapy students who have engaged in international, cross‐cultural learning and service experiences. Methods: This study utilized a qualitative, phenomenological design. Nine semi‐structured interviews were conducted with students who engaged in international learning opportunities. The interviews were coded and analyzed using a constant comparative analysis approach. Results: Three central themes emerged from the data anlysis. Connectedness is the process of forming relationships with others while engaging in cross‐cultural experiences. Students formed relationships with faculty, other students, and people within the community. Cultural awareness is the recognition and understanding of a different culture and responding to those differences. Students attempted to understand the new culture in comparison to their own lived experiences. Complexity portrays cross‐cultural opportunities as dynamic, multi‐faceted and intricate. This was demonstrated as the students raised additional questions about the conflict between their own culture and the new culture they entered. Students also identified limited orientation, support and structure with such experiences and the conflicting roles between volunteer, student, and team member. Conclusions: The ability to connect with others when building relationships in diverse cultural contexts held meaning for the students; however, the students also expressed conflict in trying to make sense of the new culture as it often challenged personal beliefs and constructs. The complexity and challenges of engaging in these opportunities needs to be recognized and further explored to assess how curricula and faculty best supports culturally responsive care.     

Multicultural Training in the United States: A Survey of Occupational Therapy Programs

ABSTRACT

This study was designed to describe multicultural training practices in occupational therapy programs. A survey was sent to occupational therapy programs in the United States to gather information on multicultural content, skills, and teaching methods as well as diversity context and challenges. The response rate was 54%. The most frequently covered multicultural content was related to cultural background and sociopolitical factors. Multicultural skills covered most often were practice oriented and interpersonal skills. Teaching methods reported as used most often differed from the methods thought by the respondents to be most effective. Programs reported multiple challenges to multicultural training including lack of time and lack of diversity in the student body, faculty, and environment. Results suggest that educators may need to expand multicultural content and skills to prepare occupational therapy students for providing care in increasingly diverse practice settings. In addition, increased use of teaching methods that focus on exposure to diverse populations and reflection may be needed to improve the effectiveness of multicultural training in occupational therapy programs.     

Student Development in an Online Post-Professional Master's Program

SUMMARY

Students' perceptions of personal and professional development in an online post-professional Master's degree program in occupational therapy were investigated. In-class postings, reflection papers, and e-mail surveys completed by 14 occupational therapists throughout the course of an online Master's program were coded and analyzed. Three themes were identified: the developmental process of post-professional education, the value of the online learning community, and the influence of positive and negative characteristics of online pedagogy in creating lifelong learners. Results indicated that the students perceived personal and professional growth that enhanced their clinical practice, and that the online learning community supported and enhanced this growth. Online pedagogy was effective in creating a cooperative learning environment that facilitated personal and professional development at the post-graduate level.     

The Perspectives of Fieldwork Educators Regarding Level II Fieldwork Students

ABSTRACT

Ten occupational therapists employed in pediatric and adult rehabilitation settings participated in focus groups to discuss their perceptions of the benefits and drawbacks in working with occupational therapy students. Participants identified professional values, opportunities for continued professional development, recruitment of future employees, and pride in learning experiences available as incentives for working with students. Fieldwork educators who had supervised students lacking foundational communication, problem-solving, and clinical skills were cautious about accepting future Level II students. Time constraints and lack of preparation for the educator role were perceived as barriers to working with students. Fieldwork educators expected the academic institution to provide efficient support, including training for the educator role, information regarding the expectations of the academic program, and ongoing communication over the fieldwork experience. Strategies for strengthening the ties between academic programs and fieldwork sites were explored.     

Active Participation in Fieldwork Level I: Fieldwork Educator and Student Perceptions

ABSTRACT

Fieldwork experiences bridge the gap between a student's education and entry-level practice. Academic programs, faculty members, and fieldwork educators are challenged to prepare occupational therapy students for entry-level practice. The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) standards advocate for both active participation and guided observation in Level I fieldwork experience (. Students report their most meaningful learning experiences, which include performance of clinical skills and participation in clinical reasoning. However, many students enrolled in the author's entry-level master's program and the other schools within a regional consortium report their Level I fieldwork experience is primarily observation. This article describes the results of a survey administered to fieldwork educators and occupational therapy students eliciting their perceptions of active participation in Level I fieldwork. Results indicate that perceptions of the groups are dissimilar. Recommendations and implications for increased active participation in Level I fieldwork are discussed.     

Occupational therapy student experiences of a university mental health course based on an integrated application of problem-based and team-based learning

Background: The goal of problem-based and team-based learning (PBL/TBL) is to maximize student engagement and encourage interactive learning. Combining these methods in course design is described as a win-win situation that optimizes student learning, professional development, and uses varied teaching approaches that fit well within health science. More research is needed in the effectiveness of such a hybrid approach.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore student experiences of a newly developed mental health course based on an integrated application of PBL and TBL in a university occupational therapy program in Sweden.

Methods: In this grounded theory study data were collected through logbooks (n?=?13) and supplemental open-ended interviews (n?=?7) at the end of the course.

Results: The analysis resulted in two core categories: 1) learning is facilitated by a course design based on the integrated application of PBL and TBL, a current topic, and teachers who are perceived as engaging, and 2) a perceived safe setting facilitates learning and creates a good study environment. There were six related sub-categories.

Conclusions: Combining elements of PBL and TBL may have a range of benefits in promoting student learning and professional development. Other aspects may also have a role to play.     

New Doors: A Community Program Development Model

SUMMARY

The need to provide occupational therapy services across a continuum of care has stimulated interest in moving into community-based arenas of practice. Limited job opportunities and lack of awareness of the benefits of occupational therapy are common barriers to this movement. This case study illustrates the “New Doors Model” and describes how a partnership between the university, master clinicians, students, and community agencies can result in (1) expanding occupational therapy services to facilities that have not historically interacted with occupational therapy, (2) training occupational therapists and occupational therapy students, and (3) promoting employment of occupational therapists by community organizations, and (4) a scholarship of practice that studies and supports the development of occupation based practice in community settings. The New Doors Model begins with exposing new sites to occupational therapy through level I fieldwork, progressing to level II fieldwork, and ending with creation of permanent occupational therapy positions