Improving student-perceived benefit of academic advising within education of occupational and physical therapy in the United States: a quality improvement initiative

Abstract

Academic advising is a key role for faculty in the educational process of health professionals; however, the best practice of effective academic advising for occupational and physical therapy students has not been identified in the current literature. The purpose of this quality improvement initiative was to assess and improve the faculty/student advisor/advisee process within occupational and physical therapy programs within a school of allied health professions in the United States in 2015. A quality improvement initiative utilizing quantitative and qualitative information was gathered via survey focused on the assessment and improvement of an advisor/advisee process. The overall initiative utilized an adaptive iterative design incorporating the plan-do-study-act model which included a three-step process over a one year time frame utilizing 2 cohorts, the first with 80 students and the second with 88 students. Baseline data were gathered prior to initiating the new process. A pilot was conducted and assessed during the first semester of the occupational and physical therapy programs. Final information was gathered after one full academic year with final comparisons made to baseline. Defining an effective advisory program with an established framework led to improved awareness and participation by students and faculty. Early initiation of the process combined with increased frequency of interaction led to improved student satisfaction. Based on student perceptions, programmatic policies were initiated to promote advisory meetings early and often to establish a positive relationship. The policies focus on academic advising as one of proactivity in which the advisor serves as a portal which the student may access leading to a more successful academic experience.

Scoping review of mentoring research in the occupational therapy literature, 2002–2018

“…Arenson et al (2015) x x x Ashburner et al (2015) x Baptiste et al (2010) x x x x x Barnes and Parish (2017) x x Bucey and Provident (2018) x x x x x x Copley and Nelson (2012) x Falzarano and Zipp (2012) x…”

The Use of Quality Improvement in the Physical Therapy Literature: A Scoping Review

“…Twentytwo studies (31%) 27,29,30,32,[39][40][41]48,50,60,70,74,79,81,88,89,96,98,99,101,102,105 used none of these to guide their QI effort. The most commonly cited model/tool was Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles (n 5 19, 27%) 35,38,46,52,54,55,57,58,[63][64][65][66]73,75,78,80,93,100,103 followed by the Model for Improvement (N 5 8, 11%). 38,53,55,57,73,78,80,93 Other organization change models and data demonstration methods common to QI were rarely reported.…”

“…Fifty-three studies (76%) reported some form of descriptive statistics, whereas 40 (57%) studies 19,28,[32][33][34][35]37,[39][40][41][43][44][45][46][47][48]50,52,56,59,62,[66][67][68]70,72,74,75,[77][78][79][80][81]89,[95][96][97][100][101][102] reported some type of inferential statistics. Qualitative analysis was used alone in one study (1.8%), 71 but was combined with additional analytic techniques in seven other studies (10%).…”

“…82 The median QI-MQCS score for the 66 nonreview studies was 12 (range 7-15). Of the scored studies, 9 (13%) 27,36,60,61,63,64,79,99,105 were rated as insufficient quality, 31 (44%) 29,[32][33][34][35]39,42,44,50,[53][54][55]59,[65][66][67][68][69][70]74,77,80,81,88,89,95,98,[100][101][102]104 were rated as moderate quality, and 26 (37%) 28,30,31,37,38,40,41,43,[45][46]…”

The Development of a Portfolio for Academic Promotion and Tenure for Occupational Therapy Educators

“…At the core of academic advising effectiveness is the ability to form a positive and consistent relationship with students throughout their matriculation (Barnes & Parish, 2017;Thomas & McFarlane, 2018). In addition, occupational therapy educators may also be required to participate in advising activities that support institutional growth.…”