Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Development Of Teacher Training Program, Manual, & Curriculum Guide For Inclusive Dance Studio, From An Occupational Therapy Perspective, Susanna C. Dunn

OTD Capstone Projects

This capstone project was completed in collaboration with MOVE Inclusive Dance, a nonprofit, inclusive dance studio specifically serving individuals of all ages with various disabilities. A needs assessment conducted with the staff at MOVE necessitated a cohesive teacher manual, including teacher training protocol, disability index, safety precautions, sample class activities, curriculum guide, and more. The focus of this capstone was to create and distribute a teacher training manual to dance teachers at MOVE Inclusive Dance. The teacher training manual was created using anonymous pre and post test qualitative and quantitative surveys to assess teacher perceptions regarding feelings of confidence and …

Dementia Education Opportunities For Pre-Registration Occupational Therapy And Physiotherapy Students- A Scoping Review, Samita Kirve, Alice Teague

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The number of dementia diagnoses is ever-increasing in the aging population, meaning that healthcare staff need to be equipped with the appropriate knowledge, attitudes, and skills to care for people with dementia. However, recent research suggests that globally, both healthcare workers and students require greater dementia education opportunities to meet the needs of people with dementia. There seems to be limited research exploring dementia education opportunities within occupational therapy (OT) and physiotherapy (PT) programs. A scoping review methodology was chosen to explore the literature about dementia education in global OT and PT programs. There was limited literature in this area …

Defining Reasoning, Reflective Practice, And Evidence-Based Practice In Occupational Therapy Education: A Delphi Study, Hannah K. Burke, Pat L. Sample, Anita C. Bundy, Shelly J. Lane

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Reasoning, reflective practice, and evidence-based practice are essential skills for occupational therapy practitioners, but it is unclear how these skills are defined in occupational therapy education. We used Delphi methodology to explore educator conceptualizations of clinical reasoning, professional reasoning, reflective practice, and evidence-based practice. Eligible participants on the Delphi expert panel were required to have been an educator in an occupational therapy program for at least three years at the master’s level or higher, to be a current occupational therapy educator, based in the United States, and available across multiple survey rounds. Nine participants completed all three survey rounds. Among …

Fostering Entry Level Practitioner Knowledge, Confidence, And Competence In Trauma-Informed Care Application, Mollie Keyser, Mary A. Barnes

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Trauma is pervasive worldwide and is associated with poor health outcomes if left unaddressed, however, a gap in practice continues to exist in the implementation of trauma-informed care (TIC). Occupational therapy practitioners will encounter individuals, communities, and populations influenced by trauma, which warrants the need for TIC to improve overall service delivery across the lifespan. However, TIC is currently not systematically integrated into any Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) occupational therapy educational standards. The purpose of this study was to design, implement, and evaluate a TIC application-based workshop for a sample of entry-level occupational therapy doctorate (OTD) students. …

Survey Of Pain Curriculum Among Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Programs In The United States, John V. Rider, Vicki Khau, Kristin A. Valdes

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Occupational therapy practitioners address pain management across settings, populations, and the lifespan. Occupational therapy practitioners offer unique contributions to pain management through biopsychosocial approaches, targeting supported self-management and occupational engagement. Comprehensive pain education is necessary to prepare entry-level occupational therapy practitioners to address pain in practice, yet no standards exist in entry-level occupational therapy education. This survey describes the status of pain-related education in entry-level occupational therapy programs across the United States. A total of 41 entry-level occupational therapy programs completed the survey. Total instructional time for pain content was reported to be an average of 9.68 hours, ranging from …

Relationships Between Reasoning, Reflective Practice, And Evidence-Based Practice: Educators’ Perspectives, Hannah K. Burke, Pat L. Sample, Anita C. Bundy, Shelly J. Lane

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Many models of professional thinking exist within occupational therapy, but the relationships among reasoning, reflective practice, and evidence-based practice as essential skills for practice are not clear. Because occupational therapy educators impart these skills to students, understanding how educators conceptualize relationships among skills is necessary. We used Delphi methodology to explore educator conceptualizations of the relationships among clinical reasoning, professional reasoning, reflective practice, and evidence-based practice. Inclusion criteria were: an educator in an occupational therapy program for at least three years at the master’s level or higher, currently an occupational therapy educator based in the United States, and available across …

Leadership And Management Curricula Trends In Athletic Training Education, Stephanie Wise, Matthew R. Kutz

Journal of Sports Medicine and Allied Health Sciences: Official Journal of the Ohio Athletic Trainers Association

Purpose: Leadership and management skills both are needed by athletic trainers. However, most professional education emphasizes management-related behaviors. The purpose of this study was to differentiate between leadership and management behaviors taught in athletic training programs and explore the pedagogical strategies used in teaching those behaviors. Method: A cross-sectional exploratory design was used to survey Athletic Training Program Directors (PDs). The Leadership and Management Education Assessment Instrument (LMEAI) was developed for this investigation. The LMEAI collected standard demographic characteristics of respondents and used a 5-point Likert scale (1 = extremely important to 5 = not at all important) to assess …

Postsecondary Education Curriculum For Adult Students With Idd At Lipscomb University's Ideal, Rebecca Gracey

OTD Capstone Projects

Igniting the Dream of Education and Access at Lipscomb (IDEAL) is a postsecondary education program for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in Nashville, TN. Students enroll in both traditional university courses and IDEAL courses teaching employment and independent living skills. This project focused on developing curriculum for two upcoming courses as IDEAL grows from a two-year program to a four-year program. Resources were created to develop 12-week curriculums with a focus on independent living skills and employment soft skills to be implemented in the Fall 2023 semester. Each curriculum includes multiple teaching strategies to meet the learning …

Teaching End-Of-Life Care In Speech-Language Pathology: A Tutorial, Amanda Stead, Sara Haynie, Monica Vinson

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Speech-language pathologists often lack preparation for working with patients near the end of life (EoL). Few academic training programs offer dedicated or sufficient content in the area of end-of-life care (EoLC). Furthermore, traditional knowledge-focused outcomes are not the most effective pedagogical strategy in teaching EoL and palliative care to students. Instead, a focus on self-awareness and personal beliefs in relation to death and dying have been shown to have a positive effect on attitudes toward EoLC. The purposes of this paper are three-fold: First, to explore what is known about the teaching and training of EoL in the discipline of …

Applying An Anti-Racist Pedagogy To Develop And Deliver A Racial Microaggressions Workshop For Occupational Therapy Students, Shannon Giannitsopoulou, Jane A. Davis, Bismah Khalid, Ruheena Sangrar

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Many workshops about identifying, understanding, and responding to microaggressions have been designed and delivered to learners within health education. However, few workshops implement an anti-racist pedagogical approach, and none presented in the literature have been created specifically for occupational therapy students. Anti-racist pedagogical approaches explicitly link interpersonal and institutional/structural oppressions to ensure that the impacts of microaggressions are not minimized by focusing solely on interpersonal interactions. A specific workshop is needed to address the noted persistence of racial microaggressions directed at clients, families, students, and practitioners within occupational therapy contexts and due to the embeddedness of practitioners in clients’ daily …

Occupational Therapy Graduate Students’, Recent Graduates’, And Educators’ Perceptions Of The Value Of Anatomy Knowledge, Karissa Legleiter

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

This non-experimental descriptive survey study examined the relationship between occupational therapy (OT) graduate students’, recent graduates’, and educators' values of the regional and specific anatomy knowledge required for OT clinical practice. The researcher collected survey data from 94 OT graduate students, recent graduates, and educators at a private university. Data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics used to analyze the value of anatomical regions and structures and a one-way ANOVA with a post-hoc Tukey to compare the group means on the value of anatomical structures. Results revealed that the regions of the highest value were the back and spine, thorax, and …

Quality Delivered: How A Pandemic Fostered Innovation And Creative Solutions In Clinical Education, Alice M. Davis, Laura Laporta, Nancy F. Mulligan, Stacy Carmel, Shelene Thomas, Denise O'Dell

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Background: Clinical education placements for students enrolled in healthcare programs were abruptly upended in March 2020 due to COVID-19. Programs were faced with decisions of how to mitigate substantive challenges due to an unforeseen pandemic within timeframes that would align with curricular sequences and graduation dates. Schools quickly modified curriculum formats, implemented alternative teaching and learning instruction and developed safety protocols to protect students, clinical faculty, and patients. Purpose: The aim of this study explored the strategies employed by one physical therapy school’s clinical education team, which resulted in successful completion of clinical course requirements and on-time graduation. Method: Data …

Enhancing Otd Clinical Pathophysiology Course Curriculum, Ashley N. Rabuck

OTD Capstone Projects

To build upon the foundation of the OTD Clinical Pathophysiology course as to promote student-centered teaching and learning as well as course application to future occupational therapy clinical practice

Addressing Sexuality: The Comfort And Preparedness Of Occupational Therapy Students, Claire Lynch, Annette V. Joosten

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Undergraduate sexual health education has the potential to increase confidence and the likelihood that healthcare professionals address sexual health in practice. This study explored Australian final year occupational therapy students’ perceptions about their education, and their preparedness and comfort to address sexuality in their final practice placements and into their future careers. An online questionnaire with three sections for (a) demographics; (b) the students' attitudes towards sexual health (SA-SH) questionnaire, which is a 22-item Likert scale about student attitudes toward sexual health issues in their future profession; and (c) nine open questions regarding students’ comfort and preparedness to address sexuality …

Exploring Evidence Based Practice Implementation By Occupational Therapists: Implications For Fieldwork, Angela Benfield, Helen Jeffery

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

A fieldwork education model is used in occupational therapy to develop competency of professional skills, including evidence-based practice (EBP) and clinical reasoning. This quantitative study explored factors influencing implementation rates of EBP in New Zealand registered occupational therapists to better understand students’ experience of evidence-based practice while on fieldwork. An online survey exploring beliefs and practices related to clinical competence, professional reasoning and EBP was conducted. The survey included questions about related beliefs, the measure of Evidence Informed Professional Thinking (EIPT; Benfield & Johnston, 2020), and the Implementation Climate Scale (ICS; Ehrhart et al., 2014). The mean scores on the …

Initial Steps For Integrating Academic Electronic Health Records Into Clinical Curricula Of Physical And Occupational Therapy In The United States: A Survey-Based Observational Study, Stephen C. Burrows, Lola Halperin, Eric C. Nemec, Wendy Romney

Healthcare Informatics Faculty Publications

Training programs must be designed to prepare physical and occupational therapy students for using Electronic Health Records (EHR) and interprofessional collaboration. This report aims to describe physical and occupational therapy students' perceptions of integrating Academic EHR in their Problem-Based Learning (PBL) curricula in the College of Health Professions, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, Connecticut, the United States. A paper-based case approach to PBL was adapted by creating patient cases in an Academic EHR (AEHR). Students were asked to complete chart reviews and review provider notes to enhance their learning. An online survey was conducted to determine their perceptions of using AEHR …

Towards A Medical School Curriculum For Uncertainty In Clinical Practice, Dimitrios Papanagnou, Nethra S. Ankam, David Ebbott, Deborah Ziring

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

Uncertainty abounds in the clinical environment. Medical students, however, are not explicitly prepared for situations of uncertainty in clinical practice, which can cause anxiety and impact well-being. To address this gap, we sought to capture how students felt in various clinical scenarios and identify programs they found helpful as they worked through uncertainty in their clerkships to better inform curriculum that prepares them to acknowledge and navigate this uncertainty. This is an observational cross-sectional study of third-year medical students surveyed at the end of core clerkships. The survey consisted of the General Self-Efficacy (GSE) Scale and Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale …

Exploring Anatomy Coursework And Perceptions Of Occupational Therapy Students: A Survey Study, Ashleigh Giles, William Conrad, Dianna Lunsford, Kristin A. Valdes

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Occupational therapy practitioners utilize their knowledge of human anatomy to understand underlying anatomical dysfunction and how it impacts occupational performance. However, anatomy is not a required standalone course within occupational therapy curricula. This may leave students at a disadvantage throughout occupational therapy programs, fieldwork, and as practitioners. The primary purpose of this study was to explore graduate level occupational therapy students’ previous anatomy undergraduate coursework, student perceived preparedness of anatomical knowledge, and their performance in a mandatory Analysis of Human Movement course within our university’s occupational therapy graduate programs. The secondary purpose was to determine student interest in a standalone …

Addressing Suicide In Entry-To-Practice Occupational Therapy Programs: A Canadian Picture, Nadine Larivière, Marc Rouleau, Kim Hewitt-Mcvicker, Lorie Shimmell, Catherine White

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Worldwide, over 800,000 people die each year by suicide, leaving many behind to grieve the loss. Preventing suicide involves reaching people before they are in crisis (prevention), helping them to navigate a crisis that could result in suicide (intervention), and addressing the aftermath of a suicide loss or attempt (postvention). Healthcare professionals, including occupational therapists, unitedly acknowledge the lack of skills, knowledge, and competence in all facets of suicide awareness and prevention in their professional training and in practice. To improve this situation, suicide prevention skills must be taught in entry to practice programs, so they will filter into the …

Advancing The Entry-Level Practitioner: A Curricular Model Of The Professional Occupational Therapy Doctoral Degree, Erika L. Kemp, Lisa A. Juckett, Amy R. Darragh, Lindy L. Weaver, Monica L. Robinson, Carmen P. Digiovine, Lori Demott

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The recent growth of entry-level occupational therapy doctoral (EL-OTD) programs has been met with mixed opinions from both occupational therapy educators and practitioners. These opinions occasionally have been accompanied by uncertainty about the specific curricular components that differentiate the EL-OTD from the entry-level master’s degree. In an effort to address this uncertainty, the purpose of this article is to present one example of an EL-OTD curricular model and describe its distinct educational components. This curricular model integrates recommendations for doctoral education originally proposed by Case-Smith et al. (2014) and is characterized by the following three components: 1) Advanced Coursework; …

Electromyographical Assessments Of Recommended Neck And Trunk Positions For Dental Hygienists, Margaret F. Lemaster, Kyle J. Kelleran, Maryam Moeini, Daniel M. Russell

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Purpose: Dental professionals are recommended to limit neck and trunk flexion to within 20° of a neutral (0°) body posture, however empirical support for the recommendations is lacking. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are differences in muscle workload between a range of neck and trunk postures in a population of dental hygiene students.

Methods: Fifteen first semester senior dental hygiene students with no history of neck and trunk injury volunteered to participate. Surface electromyography was used to record muscle activity from two neck extensors muscles, cervical erector spinae (CES) and upper trapezius (UT), and two …

Sexuality Within Occupational Therapy Education: Assessing Faculty And Student Perceived Competence, Reba R. Duran, Kristin A. Valdes

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Sexuality is a valuable activity of daily living that contributes to an individual’s quality of life. Although sexuality can be addressed in occupational therapy practice, it is often overlooked due to a lack of time, comfort, and knowledge. For sexuality content to be fully incorporated into practice, it has been suggested that education will facilitate the inclusion of sexuality topics into occupational therapy practice. The purpose of this survey study was to assess occupational therapy faculty and students’ perceived competence with addressing sexuality, to determine the methods of sexuality education, and the time spent on the topic in occupational therapy …

Designing Effective Capstone Experiences And Projects For Entry-Level Doctoral Students In Occupational Therapy: One Program’S Approaches And Lessons Learned, Sara Stephenson, Oaklee Rogers, Cynthia Ivy, Richard Barron, Jennifer Burke

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Entry-level doctoral occupational therapy programs require students to complete a capstone experience and project that supports advanced skills through an in-depth learning experience with a student-selected mentor. Strong curriculum design and mentorship are vital aspects of successful capstone experiences and projects. Through the application of these key components, students are supported, in collaboration with mentors, to achieve mutually beneficial projects allowing advancement of the profession through dissemination of capstone work.

Power Skills Curriculum Development For Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities At Friends Life Community, April Coleson

OTD Capstone Projects

Development of life skills curriculum for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities from an occupational therapy perspective

Increasing Participation In Children And Adults With Disabilities At Christ Presbyterian Church, Taylor Boggus

OTD Capstone Projects

In partnering with Christ Presbyterian Church’s Special Needs Ministry for my doctoral capstone project, my aim was to increase participation in the community for children and adults with disabilities. I first created a family needs questionnaire to enable the special needs ministry to identify the needs of the families they serve. I created a resource guide for the ministry to disseminate to their families that includes local resources that serve children and adults with disabilities, including information about the services each resource provides and their contact information. Finally, I created a job skills curriculum to be used in the ministry’s …

Student Perceptions Of Research In An Occupational Therapy Doctoral Program: A Cross-Sectional Survey, Kristin A. Valdes, Stephanie Dalton, Deandra Modeste, Jacqueline J. Moskalczyk, Troy Olmo, Jacklynn M. Smith

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Student perceptions of research in graduate programs play a role within the Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) curriculum and how future clinicians value Evidence Based Practice and research. The Student Perception of Research Integration Questionnaire (SPRIQ) was utilized to examine students’ perceptions of research in their graduate coursework. Participants included in this study were all students enrolled in an occupational therapy doctorate program. All items were scored on a 5-point Likert scale. Mean scores were calculated for each item on the respondents’ submissions. The items were further categorized into subscales. The mean score of all items of the SPRIQ was 4.44 …

Developing Interactive Curricular Elements With Teams Of Faculty, Staff And Students, Betsy J. Becker, Sara Bills, Robert H. Fuchs, Kellie Gossman, Tessa Wells, Peggy Moore

Posters and Presentations: Physical Therapy

Students are continually searching for new resources to augment their learning. Online resources have become highly favored, especially by the millennial age group, for convenience, self-paced content, and versatility across learning styles. It has been reported that e-learning platforms are as effective as traditional face-to-face instruction, but may be best utilized when used as an adjunctive resource for teaching psychomotor skills.1,2 In a study about student confidence, results showed an increase in self-efficacy following the use of online learning materials.3 Blended learning, the next generation of web-based education, mixes advances in technology with creative faculty to fuse effective delivery methods …

Student Motivation To Learn: Is Self-Belief The Key To Transition And First Year Performance In An Undergraduate Health Professions Program?, Susan Edgar, Sandra E. Carr, Joanne Connaughton, Antonio Celenza

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Background: Student motivation to learn has been undervalued to date though has been identified as an area influencing student success and retention at university. The transition into university has been highlighted as a key period affecting student outcomes as well as well-being. Early identification of those students at risk may assist the transition for many students moving into higher education. Previous research has identified the Motivation and Engagement Scale – University/College (MES-UC) as a valid instrument for measuring motivation to learn in physiotherapy students. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between a student’s motivation to learn …

Student-Led Special Interest Groups As A Model For Inclusion Of Specialty Hand Content In Otd Curriculum, Nathan Short, Jennifer Bain, Courtney Barker, Zack Bolton, Kristina Dammeyer, Ethan Fahrney, Kalin Hale, Carter Maples

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

This article presents a student-led special interest group within a doctorate of occupational therapy (OTD) program as a model to supplement the core curriculum for inclusion of specialty content related to hand therapy. Consisting of advanced educational modules, research article review and discussion, as well as related service projects, the group provides ancillary benefits as well as networking opportunities for student participants. An initial program evaluation demonstrates efficacy as students reported a positive impact on various areas of professional and clinical skills to support specialization in hand therapy upon graduation. The student-driven nature of this experiential learning approach provides more …

Perspectives On Teaching The International Classification Of Functioning, Disability, And Health Model To Physical Therapy Students, Cherie Peters-Brinkerhof

Physical Therapy Collection

BACKGROUND: During a re-accreditation visit, deficiencies were discovered in the clinical education curriculum regarding patient-centered care in a Doctorate of Physical Therapy program. To understand the problem and address those deficiencies, the clinical internship experience was examined using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) model as a conceptual framework for clinical reasoning.

OBJECTIVE: This qualitative case study aimed to study (1) perceptions of physical therapy (PT) students regarding their knowledge and learning experiences during clinical affiliations and what knowledge they acquired of the ICF as applied to patient-centered care during their internship, and (2) the perceptions of …