Student Outcomes in a Postprofessional Online Master’s– Degree Program

Abstract

The outcomes of five cohorts of occupational therapists who completed an online postprofessional master's degree program were evaluated. Data on graduates' satisfaction with professional skills and status, contribution of the program to their satisfaction, and engagement in professional activities since graduation were collected using an online survey. Forty-nine of 65 surveys distributed were returned (75% response rate). Respondents indicated high levels of satisfaction with professional skills and status and high levels of contribution of the program to their satisfaction. Respondents also reported participation in a variety of professional leadership activities. Results suggest that postprofessional graduate-level education is effective in developing advanced critical reasoning, reflection, and leadership skills in occupational therapists and in facilitating a variety of professional contributions. The online mode was effective in delivering the program content. The value of postprofessional education to individuals and the profession is discussed.

Outcome and impact of Master of Public Health programs across six countries: education for change

“…In other studies change in leadership, technical position or new responsibilities have been reported, however, in those studies it was not clear whether these changes occurred due to gaining seniority or other factors [19,21,29,34,36-41]. Richardson, in 2008, was the only one to ask about satisfaction with professional skills and professional status and the contribution of the program, in this case occupational therapy, to that satisfaction [20]. A higher salary was also reported by Bradley [42], Gill [39], Ruth [43], Drennan [41], although attribution was unclear.…”

“…A high proportion had completed their PhD (9%), this might result from the time lapse between graduation and the study; others indicated that they were in the process of studying towards a PhD [20,34,41,44]. Other studies also reported graduates undertaking further studies [20,21,37,41,42]. …”

“…The highest reported variable not used or not part of their work was “contributed to writing a published chapter of a book”, which in hindsight might have been too high an expectation. Other studies seldom asked for impact on the workplace, or asked it only qualitatively, while only two studies reported quantitatively and/or attribution [20,22]. …”

“…Furthermore, although alumni were sometimes asked what they accomplished in their work, these questions were open-ended and did not address outcome or impact indicators. Impact on the workplace was measured in four studies [19-22] and impact on society was only reported in two studies [20,22]. Impact was not measured in a systematic manner in any of these studies.…”

Overview of Instructional Technology Used in the Education of Occupational Therapy Students: A Survey Study

“…In entry-level occupational therapy educational programs, instruction delivered using elearning resulted in (a) the enhancement of students' clinical reasoning during fieldwork rotations (Creel, 2001;Gallew, 2004;Murphy, 2004;Scanlan & Hancock, 2010;Thomas & Storr, 2005;Trujillo & Painter, 2009;Wooster, 2004); (b) the development of evidenced-based practice skills among postprofessional master's and doctoral students (Reynolds, 2010;Richardson, MacRae, Schwartz, Bankston, & Kosten, 2008); (c) advanced skills related to occupational therapy practice and the knowledge base of such (Richardson et al, 2008); and (d) teaching evaluation and intervention strategies for ergonomics in industrial rehabilitation (Weiss, 2004). Those programs not included on the list on the AOTA website or that did not provide a contact email address were excluded.…”