Exploring professionalism: The professional values of Australian occupational therapists

Abstract

Background/aim There has been limited research into the values of the Australian occupational therapy profession and as such, the values have not been made explicit. Explicit values provide insight into what professionalism means to a profession. They can be used by practitioners for self‐reflection purposes, shaping the future practice of individuals. Clear values can also enable the recognition and management of value conflicts between health professions. This study aimed to make a preliminary identification of the values of the profession, by exploring the professional values of 15 Australian occupational therapists. Methods A naturalistic approach and constructivist paradigm guided this study. Purposive sampling was employed to identify Australian occupational therapists who could contribute rich information to the study. Data were collected through semi‐structured interviews that were recorded and analysed using an inductive data analysis method. Results The professional values identified encompassed three main areas: the client and the client–therapist partnership; occupational therapy knowledge, skills and practice; and selfless values. The emerging values guided everyday practice, professional relationships and the responsibilities of being a professional. Conclusion This study provides insight into the professional values of Australian occupational therapists and contributes to research orientated towards identifying the values of the profession. The results also contribute to the understanding of what professionalism means to the Australian occupational therapy profession.

Towards a definition of professionalism in Australian occupational therapy: Using the Delphi technique to obtain consensus on essential values and behaviours

“…After identifying only international literature examining the values of the occupational therapy profession (Duque, 2004;Kanny, 1993;Peloquin, 2007), Aguilar, Stupans, Scutter and King (2012) instigated a preliminary investigation into the professional values of Australian occupational therapists. The professional values that emerged in the study went beyond philanthropic values, to values that guided everyday practice, professional relationships and the responsibilities of being a professional.…”

L’ergothérapeute : un professionnel de la santé? Vraiment? Dans quelle mesure?

“…Lorsque l'on s'intéresse aux valeurs de l'ergothérapie [1,3,[11][12] et à celles des ergothérapeutes [4][5][6][7][8][13][14][15], force est de constater que la valeur qu'est la santé est certes valorisée dans la profession et par les ergothérapeutes, mais dans une moindre mesure que d'autres valeurs reliées à l'occupation humaine (comme la participation occupationnelle, l'engagement occupationnel, la signifiance occupationnelle, l'équilibre occupationnel et la justice occupationnelle). En effet, lorsqu'on interroge des ergothérapeutes sur leurs valeurs professionnelles, et ce, peu importe leur nationalité, la vaste majorité d'entre eux accorde plus d'importance à la participation occupationnelle (c'est-à-dire au fait pour les patients de prendre part aux activités qui sont importantes pour eux et qui donnent un sens à leur existence) qu'elle n'en accorde à la santé [4,[13][14][15].…”

“…En effet, lorsqu'on interroge des ergothérapeutes sur leurs valeurs professionnelles, et ce, peu importe leur nationalité, la vaste majorité d'entre eux accorde plus d'importance à la participation occupationnelle (c'est-à-dire au fait pour les patients de prendre part aux activités qui sont importantes pour eux et qui donnent un sens à leur existence) qu'elle n'en accorde à la santé [4,[13][14][15]. C'est que la profession ergothérapique est davantage liée à l'autonomie et au bien-être des patients qu'à leur santé proprement dite.…”

Occupational Therapy Students’ Perspectives of Professionalism: An Exploratory Study

“…A central competency of most health care practitioners is professionalism (Bryden, Ginsberg, Kurabi, & Ahmed, 2010;Health and Care Professions Council, 2011), despite the fact that some professions, including medicine (Birden et al, 2014;van Mook et al, 2009), physiotherapy (Gersh, 2006), and occupational therapy (Aguilar, Stupans, Scutter, & King, 2012, 2013Bossers et al, 1999), find the concept difficult to define. Students face challenges in learning and understanding professionalism in the context of occupational therapy, as they have few lived experiences, while educators may also experience challenges in teaching and evaluating professionalism due to its inherent complexity (Birden et al, 2014).…”

“…Two common elements of professionalism that emerge from the literature are values and behaviors. Professional values are the foundational, fundamental beliefs maintained by members of a profession (Aguilar et al, 2012;Drolet, 2014). Professional behaviors are the actions based on the values of a profession (Koenig, Johnson, Morano, & Ducette, 2003) and develop over time beginning at the student level (Kasar & Muscari, 2000).…”