Occupational Therapy Commons^™

Training And Instruction Of Learning And Study Strategies Improve Academic Performance In Rehabilitation Students, Evan M. Pucillo, Gabriela Perez

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Prior study has demonstrated that certain learning strategies can be improved with training and instruction. As a result, downstream academic success may be potentiated. However, it is unclear if instructional intervention can influence academic outcomes among rehabilitation students. The purpose of this study was to compare changes in grade point average (GPA) after exposure to a set of standardized self-paced training modules on the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) in Physical therapy (PT) and Occupational therapy (OT) students. Methods: A causal-comparative design was used, and a multi-center convenience sample collected N=75 entry-level PT and OT students [PT: 41(55%); …

Exploring First Semester Allied Health Students’ Transition To Graduate School Through The Lens Of Occupational Adaptation, Carly E. Williams, Jessica N. O'Brien, Rebecca E. Dodick, Jillian M. Bell, Jennifer O. Knauth, Lorrie A. George-Paschal, Nancy Krusen, Jacquie Rainey

Innovations in Health Sciences Education Journal

The purpose of the study was to examine experiences of students transitioning into graduate allied health programs within a public university in the United States. Researchers assessed students’ occupational adaptation as well as factors that facilitated and inhibited their transition. Researchers collected data using the Relative Mastery Scale (RMS) (George-Paschal, Krusen, & Fan, 2022) and a researcher-developed transition survey. Participants included 129 students from three allied-health professions. Researchers conducted a mixed ANOVA to explore differences in RMS ratings across three disciplines. There was a statistically significant increase in RMS ratings over time for all disciplines and statistically significant differences between …

The Dynamics Of A Full-Time Academician: Teaching, Scholarship & Service, Jalissa Nicole Black

Department of Occupational Therapy Entry-Level Capstone Projects

Academia by definition is “an environment or community concerned with pursuing research, education, and scholarship” (Oxford Languages, n.d.). In higher education, such as graduate-level studies, academia is a system fostering the growth in knowledge and practicality of students aiming to be of professional standing, however, academia from a full-time faculty member standpoint is to also be a life-long learner and pursuer of knowledge as well. My doctoral capstone experience (DCE) took place under the guidance of Christina Kane, EdD, MS, OTR/L, a full-time faculty member at Nova Southeastern University where she acts as Doctoral Capstone Coordinator, Academic Professor, and Advisor …

Exploring The Experiences Of Underrepresented Students Pursuing Health-Related Graduate Or Professional Programs, Alison Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many years graduate and professional education programs for the health professions have sought to increase the diversity of their student body to include students from a wider variety of backgrounds. Increasing the diversity of healthcare providers is an essential component of addressing inequities in healthcare. However, despite initiatives to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the health professions, these professions remain largely White and female. Previous researchers have sought to identify the reasons that racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in healthcare, and the barriers to persistence and success. Little research exists explaining why men are underrepresented in the …

Faculty Perceptions Of Health Professional Students’ Hybrid-Online Learning Strategies: A Multi-Center Qualitative Study, Evan M. Pucillo, Gabriela Perez, Leiselle Pilgrim

Health Professions Education

Purpose. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the utilization of hybrid-online and fully-online instruction in health professional education. Physical (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) programs have become increasingly reliant upon this mode of instruction. Therefore, it is important to understand advising strategies for this educational environment. Faculty advisors may endorse specific learning strategies over others. However, advising strategies of faculty are not well represented in the scientific literature. Methods. A qualitative phenomenological design used a six-item, open-ended questionnaire to purposefully survey faculty members teaching and advising students in hybrid-online PT and OT graduate programs during COVID-19. Dedoose® v.9.4 qualitative software (Los Angeles, …

A Narrative Review Of Student Evaluations Of Teaching In Decolonial Praxis: Implications For Occupational Therapy Higher Education, Fatima Hendricks, Michaele Singleton, Asia Clark, Marina Mishin, Marissa Epps

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) are the primary source for evaluating teaching effectiveness and are used for deciding tenure and promotion. However, as efforts to engage in a decolonial critique of higher education amplify, the use of SETs in teaching and learning requires scrutiny. A narrative review was used to address the research question of SET biases in decolonial praxis and what insights may be useful for OT decolonial praxis. We identify and describe two content areas: (a) SET biases and (b) recommendations for alternatives promoting OT decolonial praxis. A total of 92 articles were sourced from five databases. Of …

Metacognition And Self-Regulation Influence Academic Performance In Occupational And Physical Therapy Students, Evan M. Pucillo, Gabriela Perez

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

An understanding of student learning strategies is an important component of supporting academic success and avoiding difficulty. Prior inquiry has demonstrated certain learning strategies are more closely related to academic performance than others. The purpose of this study was to describe predictive relationships between the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI), Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), and grade point average (GPA) in occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) programs. A multi-center convenience sample of N=75(100%) entry-level students [OT: 34(45%); PT: 41(55%)] was included from Florida 32(42.7%), California 21(28%), and Texas 22(29.3%). A hierarchical linear regression analysis demonstrated the combination of …

Occupational Therapy Students’ Perceptions Of Feedback During Pre-Fieldwork Simulation Debrief: Useful And Why, Kaitlin R. Sibbald, Diane E. Mackenzie, Jonathan Harris

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Simulation is increasingly used in occupational therapy education with the objectives of developing practice skill competency and enhancing clinical reasoning. Debriefing, an integral part of the simulation process, is critical to achieving these objectives. This study sought to determine the types of debrief feedback Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MScOT) students perceived as most useful and why, and how the advocacy inquiry model of debriefing influenced self-reported increases in clinical reasoning, client care, and planned implementation of feedback in practice. Using an embedded mixed method design with secondary data analysis, sixty-three first-year MScOT students provided 357 descriptions of the …

An Exploration Into Effective Pedagogies In Occupational Therapy Education For The Safe And Effective Use Of Physical Agents, Megan M. Mclaughlin, Alfred G. Bracciano

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Occupational therapy educational standards, established by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE), require students to demonstrate knowledge and use of the safe and effective application of physical agents. A recent change requires educators to reflect on pedagogical approaches for electrotherapeutic and deep thermal agents. With a lack of research on pedagogical approaches to teaching physical agents, research on this important topic is essential. The purpose of this study was to identify education and training methods that facilitate the development of competence with complex physical agents. This study used a mixed-methods survey design with follow-up interviews. The survey sample …

Exploring Coloniality In Occupation-Based Education: Perspectives Of Ghanaian Occupational Therapists, Joana Nana Serwaa Akrofi, Amber M. Angell, Bright Gyamfi, Stefanie Bodison

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The history, scope, and practice of occupational therapy are taught in many parts of the world using western perspectives. Recently, occupational scientists have explored occupation-based education, including the extent to which occupation is central in occupational therapy programs and the mechanisms of teaching occupation. This study explores how western ideologies have influenced occupation-based education in Ghana by examining the teaching and practice of occupational therapy. We conducted a qualitative study using purposive sampling to recruit four participants from the first four cohorts of practitioners. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Our analysis yielded three main themes: Power, participants described power …

On-Campus Occupational Therapy Clinic: Exploring A Supervision Model For Level I Fieldwork Within Curriculum, Kelly Erickson, Serena Hutson

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

This study explored how a revised on-campus occupational therapy clinic model impacted occupational therapy graduate student professional development and clinical practice educator confidence in areas related to the on-campus clinic environment, professionalism, student learning, and collaboration. Specifically, clinical practice educator and student confidence were compared through quantitative survey data across multiple cohorts and clinical educators. This data was used to triangulate qualitative findings from focus groups and open-ended survey questions. Analysis across five years of qualitative data revealed themes related to professionalism including time management, planning, feedback, observation, collaboration, and communication. Quantitative data analysis found significant differences between clinical practice …

Peer Mentoring In An Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Program: Student Experiences During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Lauren E. Stone Kelly

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on education. During this time, educators were tasked to develop creative and new ways to engage and teach students. Mentoring has been shown to positively impact academic and psychosocial outcomes and can enhance clinical skills in both in-person and e-learning environments. However, there is need for further research on peer mentoring programs in occupational therapy curriculum.

Method: This retrospective qualitative study investigates the effects of peer mentoring on student perceptions of learning and professional development. Experiences were tracked for three semesters during the pandemic at an accredited entry-level occupational therapy …

The Use Of Interprofessional Education (Ipe) To Address Collaboration For Individualized Education Plans (Ieps): A Retrospective Study Of Occupational Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology, And Special Education Students’ Perceptions, Kristina Curro, Lisa Shooman, Sue Foo

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

The purpose of this project is to measure the effects of interprofessional education (IPE) on the perceptions of preservice professionals’ development of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). The preservice professionals (PSPs) participants included master’s students from speech language pathology (SLP), occupational therapy (OT) and special education (SPED) programs (N = 78). The primary project goals were to examine the perceptions of the participants’ roles and knowledge on a multidisciplinary education team, their perceptions of the collaborative process, and their familiarity with the IEP development process. A mixed-methods, retrospective, cross-sectional investigation was used to obtain quantitative and qualitative outcomes. A …

Active Learning And Occupational Therapy Theory: A Mixed Methods Study Of A Course Redesign, Mackenzie L. Feldhacker, Diana R. Feldhacker

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The use of theory to guide practice is what distinguishes an occupational therapist’s professional judgment and reasoning from simply technical skills. However, occupational therapists continue to lack confidence and skills in understanding application of theory to inform practice. Thus, effective course design related to theory is imperative in professional formation. This study assessed the effectiveness of a graduate-level occupational therapy theory course redesigned using andragogical, learner-centered, and active learning principles to address gaps in applying and understanding theory. A mixed methods retrospective cohort design was utilized. This included a pretest/post-test survey along with end-of-semester course and instructor evaluation. Eighty-four students …

Cohort Analysis Of Four Graduating Classes Of Occupational Therapy Students' Knowledge Of Aging, Lavona Traywick, Brittany N. Saviers, Terry Wayne Griffin, Teressa Brown

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

At the same time that the number of senior adults in the United States is steadily rising, there is also a rising shortage of allied health care professionals, including occupational therapists, to meet the current and expected needs of the senior adult population. There are national standards that all occupational therapy programs must meet; however, there is not a set national curriculum. It is assumed that students will enter their respective occupational therapy programs with a base knowledge of aging due to prerequisite requirements. To test that assumption, with Institutional Review Board approval, over four consecutive years 192 first-year, first-semester …

Service-Learning And Case-Based Learning’S Impact On Student’S Clinical Reasoning: A Repeated Measures Design Study, Gordon B. Tsubira, Traci Garrison, Sapna Chakraborty, Shana Cerny

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Clinical reasoning is crucial for the occupational therapy profession to thrive in an ever-changing healthcare environment but is seldom isolated for explicit instruction and outcome measurement in educational course curricula. A single-factor repeated measures design study was conducted to compare the impact of didactic case-based learning and experiential service-learning on the development of the clinical reasoning of students at a midwestern public university’s entry-level Master of Occupational Therapy program. The participants were sixteen graduate occupational therapy students who had completed their foundation-level courses. Participants explored modes of clinical reasoning in occupational therapy for eight weeks (the first half of the …

“I Had To Adapt To Continue Being A Student To The Best Of My Ability”: Identifying Occupational Therapy Students’ Processes Of Adapting To Academic Disruption, Laura H. Vanpuymbrouck, Linda M. Olson

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

In the wake of COVID-19, practitioners, educators, and students had to shift to virtual interactions while experiencing significant unknowns and valid fears. This project describes the lived experiences of 37 occupational therapy students who lived through this international pandemic examining their reflections of how occupational therapy theories and models of practice could inform approaches to adapt to the changing context of their lives. Narratives of students collected as part of routine educational assessments in an introduction to occupational therapy theory course were examined using methods of content analysis to understand the perspectives of students’ needs, supports, and mechanisms of adaption …

Interprofessional Education And Practice: Perspectives From Students In Speech-Language Pathology And Recreational Therapy, David Hajjar, Jan Elich-Monroe, Susan Durnford

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Interprofessional education and practice (IPE/IPP) are important components for undergraduate and graduate students to experience during their programs of study in speech-language pathology and related health professions. The American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) is a member organization of the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) which promotes four core competencies required for effective practice: values/ethics, roles/responsibilities, interprofessional communication, and teams and teamwork. The purpose of this study was to gather the lived experiences from eight pre-professional students, four from speech-language pathology (SLP) and four from recreational therapy(RT), during focus groups and discussion forums conducted before, during, and after a 14-week IPE/IPP clinical …

Service-Learning And Case-Based Learning’S Impact On Student’S Clinical Reasoning : A Repeated Measures Design Study, Gordon B. Tsubira

Occupational Therapy Capstone Presentations

Clinical reasoning is crucial for the occupational therapy profession to thrive in an ever-changing healthcare environment but is seldom isolated for explicit instruction and outcome measurement in course curricula. A single-factor repeated measures design study was conducted to compare the impact of didactic case-based learning and experiential service-learning on the development of the clinical reasoning of students at a midwestern public university’s entry-level master of occupational therapy program. The participants were sixteen graduate occupational therapy students who had completed their foundation-level courses.

Participants explored modes of clinical reasoning in occupational therapy for eight weeks (the first half of the semester), …

Creating Bridges Of Interprofessional Education: Opportunities For Collaborating Across Multiple Disciplines And Campuses, Norman Cadiz Belleza, Jim Mathews, Leiselle Pilgrim, Kaitlyn Cremer, Maureen Johnson, Elisabeth Mcgee, Evan Pucillo, Kathy Wheat, Vibhor Agrawal

Education Collection

Introduction and Purpose: The purpose of this special interest report is to discuss strategies used by to integrate simulation activities across multiple campuses and programs to foster inter- and intra-professional education. Inter-professional (IP) simulations were done between multiple campuses of a large scale, multi-state, health science university. These simulations utilized Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD), Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), and Master of Science Speech/Language Pathology (MS-SLP) students and faculty. IP simulations involved DPT students and faculty from the health sciences university in one state and physical therapist assistant (PTA) students and faculty from a different university in that same …

Do Learning And Study Strategies Predict Success In Hybrid-Online Physical And Occupational Therapist Education?, Evan M. Pucillo, Ellen Lowrie Black

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: An understanding of the learning strategies most accurately predictive of success has become increasingly important as health professional education programs scale the utilization of online learning in the wake of COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive relationship between The Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) and cumulative professional GPA (cpGPA) in hybrid-online physical (PT) and occupational therapist (OT) education. Methods: A convenience sample collected N=149 entry-level PT and OT students from three campuses across Florida, Texas, and California. A total N(%) of 89(59.7%) PT and 60(40.3%) OT students were included for analysis [48(32.2%) male; …

The Impact Of The Sensory Form On Confidence And Competence In Occupational Therapy Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study, Elisabeth Michail, Caroline J. Mills, Kristy Coxon

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The Sensory Form is a new assessment and intervention planning tool utilized with occupational therapy students to teach and guide their professional reasoning amidst limited evidence. This study aimed to determine the impact of the use of The Sensory Form on student competence and confidence in assessment and intervention planning for children with atypical sensory processing (ASP). A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 84 third-year undergraduate occupational therapy students from a large multi-campus university in New South Wales, Australia. Tutorial classes were allocated to The Sensory Form or usual teaching conditions. Participants completed pre-class and post-class self-reported confidence rating scales …

Interprofessional Reflective Journals: Content Themes And Self-Regulated Learning, Joan M. Tunningley

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Self-reflection has been linked with clinical reasoning, academic, and clinical outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine self-reflective journal entries from thirty students for interprofessional core competencies and for self-regulated learning components. The text data was analyzed using an in-depth three cycle coding process, thoroughly described in the methods. The findings were structured into two themes confirming interprofessional content learning: collaboration, team, and communication; and respect and roles. One additional theme emerged, transformation and relatedness, which indicated self-regulated learning components as well as supporting transformative learning. This qualitative case-study contributed to the research of occupational therapy students’ self-reflection …

Tacit To Explicit Knowledge Transfer In A University Health Care Program: Use Of Student-Professor And Professor-Professor Collaboration, Geela Spira, Allen S. Keener

Pedagogicon Conference Proceedings

Student feedback indicated difficulty applying Occupational Therapy values such as “participation in meaningful occupations” into clinical interventions. Two instructors of a components-based course and a theory course collaborated to link practical OT interventions to conceptual OT models. Use of a model for transfer of tacit knowledge was utilized. Each instructor kept a reflective diary. An iterative process for a semester attempted to transfer learned explicit knowledge into an integrated intuitive ‘art of the therapy’ which incorporated Occupational Science core concepts. Worksheets were developed to make the pathway more explicit. By semester’s end, students completed a comprehensive plan for client care.

The Focuus Model— Facilitating Occupational Performance On Campus: Uplifting Underrepresented Students, Maribeth Clifton, Steven D. Taff

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The FOCUUS Model or Facilitating Occupational Performance on Campus: Uplifting Underrepresented Students, is a theoretically-based, evidence-centered model focused on ethnic minority (EM) students in higher education. The FOCUUS Model recognizes minority status as a determinant of health, where the experience of minority status stress (MSS) resulting from racism, stigmatization, marginalization, discrimination, microaggressions, and challenges to one’s sense of belonging largely influence one’s occupational performance, health, and overall well-being. Historical and contemporary injustices within American culture have resulted in multigenerational occurrences of disparities for EMs. Racial injustice is deeply embedded and still ever-present within practices and traditions in higher education institutions …

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; …

Learning Strategies And Academic Difficulty In Physical And Occupational Therapy Online Education, Evan M. Pucillo, Erica J. Kiernan

Physical Therapy Collection

The purpose of this study was to explore the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) in relation to hybrid-online clinical neuroscience course outcomes in occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) students. OT and PT students self-administered the LASSI during the Spring of 2019. N=34 students (14 OT; 20 PT) completed the LASSI. The scales of Information Processing (r = -0.43; p

Experiencing Ipe: A Framework Integrating Ipec Standards In Multi-Disciplinary Education, Norman C. Belleza, Maureen Johnson

Physical Therapy Collection

Course Overview

This workshop creates an immersive experience demonstrating the effectiveness using the IPEC framework with IPE-based activities and shares outcome measures for integration into respective educational curricula. A gap exists in health-science programs regarding the effects of IPE. Novel activities include a multi-disciplinary experience of an escape room, chart review, and simulation vignettes. After the workshop, attendees will have tools to build an IPE framework in their respective programs.

Description of Content

Interprofessional education (IPE) elicits better quality behaviors amongst team players promoting improved patient safety and patient outcomes. However, there is a gap in multi-disciplinary health-science academic and …

Educational Model Integrating Ipec Collaborative Practice Competencies Across Multiple Disciplines, Norman C. Belleza, Maureen Johnson

Physical Therapy Collection

Purpose

The purpose of this project was to design an educational model that integrates the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Collaborative Practice Competency Domains into the curriculum across multiple disciplines. A faculty team from physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), medicine, and physician’s assistant (PA) programs, collaborated to create an introductory interprofessional education (IPE) framework and course module series. Currently, there are limited studies in rehabilitation education programs demonstrating the effectiveness of IPE-based activities on student outcomes. The proposed framework employs a series of novel educational activities including a multi-disciplinary escape room and scavenger hunt experience, chart review, and interprofessional (IP) …

Master’S And Doctoral Occupational Therapy Students’ Perceptions Of Research Integration In Their Programs, Jeffrey Sargent, Ashley Wermers, Lauren Russo, Kristin Valdes

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

This is a pilot study with the intent of identifying occupational therapy doctorate (OTD) and master’s (MOT) students’ perceptions of research in their coursework. A cross-sectional study was conducted through a survey of OTD and MOT students. The Student Perception of Research Integration Questionnaire (SPRIQ) was emailed to graduate occupational therapy programs in the United States. An unpaired single tailed t-test was used to compare the mean scores between the MOT and OTD student responses for each scale and subscale. Two hundred and twenty-six students filled out the questionnaire. Both the OTD and MOT students had a favorable perception …