Graduates' Reflections on their Preparation for Practice

Abstract

New graduates are the life blood of the occupational therapy profession. It is important that they are equipped to practise in the current health care environment and are confident about their professional contribution. This New Zealand study explored new graduates' perceptions of how well they had been prepared for practice, using three focus groups of graduates from one occupational therapy programme. The findings confirmed that the biggest issues for new graduates were searching for role clarity, inadequate supervision, an insufficient grasp of skills and uncertainty in team responsibility, underpinned by a lack of confidence. Conversely, they felt confident about their ability to research and find information in response to gaps in their knowledge.This study demonstrates that learning how to 'be' an occupational therapist is as important as receiving formal supervision, and suggests that learning how to contextualise and reconstruct knowledge is essential in preparation for graduation. The stressful situations experienced in the first months of practice could be minimised through opportunities to learn how to repackage knowledge, observe role models and have supervision that provides confirmation of plans and bridges the theory-practice divide.■ New graduates are confident in finding theoretical information but lack confidence in its application to practice.■ New graduates need role models as well as supervisory therapists.What the study has added This study contributes to the understanding of how new graduates view their abilities to use information gained from their undergraduate studies, the supports they require and the concerns they identify. ReferencesAdamson B, Hunt A, Harris L, Hummel J (1998) Occupational therapists' perceptions of their undergraduate preparation for the workplace.

Community Service Occupational Therapists: thriving or just surviving?

“…To allow participants to qualify their answers to closed-ended questions, space was made for additional comments. Descriptors for the section on general CS experience were extracted from published articles on novice practitioners' experiences of practice [46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54] . Descriptors were grouped into four areas of professional practice: knowledge and skill in practice (13 items), professional identity and recognition (8 items), supervision and support (7 items), and positive and negative personal descriptors (20 items).…”

Job Club: A Program to Assist Occupational Therapy Students’ Transition to Practice

“…The importance of supervision from an experienced therapist in the same profession should not be underestimated; supervision is important in assisting new graduates as they build confidence and profession specific skills, and very importantly, for the development of professional identity [5]. A study of one hundred and fifty-one New Zealand and Australian occupational therapy graduates found that 96% of new graduates who received supervision reported that it facilitated their development of clinical skills, enhanced the quality of service to clients, and clarified their role as an occupational therapist.…”

“…Additionally, it has been frequently reported that new graduates often expect supervisors to provide specific and regular support but are often dissatisfied with the amount of supervision provided [15]. Studies show that graduates reported wanting more support, in the form of preceptorship and supervision, than was readily available [5][6][7].…”

“…These factors contributed to low confidence, role uncertainty, and poor professional and personal development [5]. New graduate occupational therapists arrive at the workplace with high expectations; however, these expectations, if unmet, result in stress, feelings of incompetence, and withdrawal [16].…”

The competency of New Zealand new graduate occupational therapists: Perceived strengths and weaknesses

“…Rather, issues such as perception and attitudes of new graduates, supervision arrangements and factors influencing choice of employment have the focus of research (Adamson, Hunt, Harris & Hummel, 1998;Gray et al, 2012;Hummell & Koelmeyer, 1999;Rugg, 1996). Studies that have considered new graduates preparedness for practice highlight a particular area of weakness in relation to a perceived lack of technical intervention and practical skills (Hodgetts et al, 2007;Robertson & Griffiths, 2009). Although an earlier study by Atkinson and Steward (1997) revealed that new graduates felt well prepared in selfmanagement and their ongoing professional development.…”