Occupational Therapy Students' Development of Therapeutic Communication Skills During a Service-Learning Experience

Abstract

This qualitative study examined the effect community-based service-learning experiences had upon occupational therapy students' therapeutic communication skills and their application of theoretical concepts. After their semester-long course was completed, six students de-identified and voluntarily submitted their weekly reflective journals for retrospective analysis in accordance with Giorgi's strategies (1985, 1997). Two analysts identified eight themes: developing trust, establishing boundaries, communication, client-centered care, breakdown of preconceptions, increased self-awareness, power of pride, and power of occupation. Educators are urged to use service-learning experiences to facilitate student interpersonal skill development and integration of theoretical knowledge.

Student Perceptions of Non-traditional Level I Fieldwork

“…This theme parallels the content discussed in classroom activities related to the participant's culture, occupational justice, and occupational deprivation and is similar to earlier findings by Bazyk et al (2010). Again, this skill emerged over many encounters as students described their journey from discomfort to active advocacy and fits the trajectory for the development of cultural competency skills that has been identified by Maloney and Griffith (2013). It is interesting to note that the experience that students describe is deeply embedded in the context of a specific situation, again demonstrating the value of experiential learning.…”

“…However, the communication skills that they identified as valuable, such as learning to read nonverbal communication, verify understandings, and ask clarifying questions, were all skills that were emphasized in the classroom. Occupational therapy students completing service learning activities have also identified trying out and experiencing the effects of various therapeutic communication strategies as helpful to their self-awareness and confidence, but did not identify specific communication skills learned (Maloney & Griffith, 2013). Would students in this study have recognized specific communication skills developed if they were not also taught and reinforced in classroom learning activities?…”

“…For example, they initially struggled to identify occupations not stated in participant goals and instead viewed these occupations as interfering with planned intervention. As is supported in the literature, students came to understand what client-centered practice looks and feels like as they learned to understand the difference between their values and those of their participants, choosing to meet their participant's current needs instead of sticking to their original therapy plan (Maloney & Griffith, 2013;Ripat, Wener & Dobinson, 2013). Actual "doing" seemed to help students appreciate the intervention plan as a flexible tool rather than a template.…”

Efectos de un programa de Aprendizaje- Servicio en el alumnado universitario

“…Entre los beneficios de este tipo de metodologías instruccionales destacan: (a) un aumento del compromiso del alumnado con el aprendizaje (Maloney y Griffith, 2013;McIntyre y Sellnow, 2014), (b) una mejora en la adquisición de los contenidos por parte del alumnado (McIntyre y Sellnow, 2014;Vaknin y Bresciani, 2013), (c) el fomento de ciertos aspectos relacionados con el desarrollo personal y social del alumnado (p.e., responsabilidad, autoestima, etc.) (Knapp, Fisher, y Levesque-Bristol, 2010;McIntyre y Sellnow, 2014), (d) el estí-mulo de la reflexión y el pensamiento crítico entre el alumnado (Stanton, 2014;Vaknin y Bresciani, 2013), (e) un incremento de la motivación y satisfacción del profesorado, generando cambios de actitud respecto a la enseñanza (p.e., mejora el ambiente académico y contenido educativo, aumenta el compromiso y creatividad del profesorado, etc.)…”

The Psychosocial Occupational Therapy Competency Assessment (POT-CA): Development and Implementation in a Level I Fieldwork Course

“…Occupational therapy programs encourage students to develop competence through introspective activities, such as reflective journaling (Costa et al, 2011;Maloney & Griffith, 2013) and the use of setting-specific skills checklists (Haynes, 2011). In one university program, faculty have developed a Psychosocial Occupational Therapy Competency Assessment (POT-CA) to structure and assess the development of skills considered to be fundamental to mental health practice.…”