Occupational Therapists: Is Our Therapy Truly Occupational or are We Merely Filling Gaps?

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational therapy practice in acute physical hospital settings: Evidence from a scoping review

Britton

Rosenwax

McNamara

2015

“…Occupational therapists with a strong sense of professional identity are more likely to report lower levels of burnout than those with a weaker sense of professional identity (Edwards & Dirette). However, occupational therapists often struggle to define and explain their role (Fortune, ; Mackey, ; Turner & Knight). Current service delivery models in mental health are typically based on multidisciplinary teamwork, meaning that occupational therapists will often work alongside colleagues with differing perspectives of recovery and wellness (Ashby et al ., ; Fortune, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors associated with professional identity, job satisfaction and burnout for occupational therapists working in eating disorders: A mixed methods study

Devery

Scanlan

Ross

2018

Occupational therapists working in eating disorders do face challenges. These are particularly related to the lack of evidence base for occupational therapy in this area. Future research should focus on developing further evidence for occupational therapy in eating disorders and designing outcome measures that capture improvements in daily functioning. These efforts would strengthen the role of occupational therapy and may reduce the risk of burnout and improve job satisfaction and sense of professional identity.

“…Literature has been published about the mismatch between practice in traditional, medically dominated settings such as acute hospitals and the central philosophy of occupational therapy (Fortune, ; Wilding & Whiteford, ). Educators in this study made mention of this incongruence, with quotes from Jane and Clare describing the ‘appalling’ fit between medical model settings and occupational therapy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncovering educator perspectives of occupation‐centred education in Australia: A qualitative study

Tommaso

Wicks

Scarvell

et al. 2018

Background/aim Occupation and an occupational perspective of health and wellbeing are required to be taught in accredited occupational therapy programmes internationally. Current research into occupational therapy education has commonly focused on curriculum design and the experience of students and their developing skills for practice. Little research has focused on the perspectives of educators and in particular their own reflections and beliefs on the use of occupation in occupational therapy education. The aim of this study was to uncover Australian educator perspectives of occupation in occupational therapy education. Method This study utilised a qualitative research framework. Eight occupational therapy educators and practice education coordinators completed semi‐structured interviews. Educators ranged in experience from two to over 20 years in the university sector. The interview transcripts were transcribed verbatim, forming the data for analysis. Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis was used to analyse the dataset. Results Three themes emerged from the data: occupation is our framework; the balance between practice education and occupation‐centred education; and educators changing the focus. Overall, educators believed that the ‘occupation for health’ philosophy and its application are important foundations for education. However, educators provided varied responses on how to teach these concepts to students. Conclusion Gaining educators’ opinions on the importance of occupation in education is beneficial for ensuring consistency throughout occupational therapy curricula. Theoretical models were endorsed by educators to foster occupation‐based practice. Educators must continue to innovate within the profession for occupation‐based approaches in practice and education to be strengthened in the future.