Education Commons^™

Osces’ Impact On Occupational Therapy Student Learning: Insights From Second- And Third-Year Focus Groups, Craig R. St. Jean, Karin Werther, Mary R. Roberts

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are widely used in health programs to assess clinical skills. We present results of a qualitative study investigating occupational therapy students’ perceptions of OSCEs’ impact on their learning and readiness for clinical practice.

Method: Six second and six third year students in the University of Alberta’s Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program were interviewed in separate focus groups. Independent reviewers applied thematic analysis to the focus group transcripts to identify, analyze, and report themes in the data.

Results: Five themes were constructed from the data: from learning to action, transition …

Perceptions Of Specialties And Primary Care Careers: Findings From West Virginia Medical Student And Resident Focus Groups, April L. Vestal, Laura Boone, Robert Walker, A. Brianna Sheppard, Dakota Morris, Ashley J. Noland

Marshall Journal of Medicine

The purpose of this study was to improve the understanding of how perceptions of practicing specific medical specialties contribute to career decisions. Participants included medical students and residents from training programs in West Virginia. Focus groups were conducted between September 2013 and February 2015. Thematic content analysis of focus group interviews was used to identify phrases indicating perceptions of person- versus technique-oriented personality medical specialties.

“Self-focused” and “other-focused” themes emerged within person-oriented comments. Factors affecting “self”, including work/life balance and salary and practice environment, made certain specialties more appealing. Technique-oriented comments included working in a hospital setting, performing technical procedures, …