Transition from Student to Practitioner: The Role of Expectations, Values and Personality

Research into occupational therapy job satisfaction has been driven largely by concerns regarding recruitment and retention. There is a need to develop more robust theoretically sound methodologies for the investigation of job satisfaction within the profession.

This article presents the initial findings of a national longitudinal study of Australian occupational therapists. The respondents (n=295) were investigated immediately prior to graduation with respect to their expectations about working as an occupational therapist, their work values and their work preferences. A personality profile was also administered.

The findings indicate that students hold inflated expectations about their first job and retain traditional occupational therapy work values. Demographic and personality profiles reflect those of the international student body and can assist in the prediction of student expectations.

Themes of Meaning: Occupational Therapists' Perspectives on Practice

As part of the broad effort in occupational therapy to define directions for future education and practice, a pilot study was conducted that focused on the meanings therapists find within their practice. Using a phenomenological approach, therapists were asked to describe their most satisfying practice experience. Five primary themes of meaning in occupational therapy were derived from the pilot data: Making a Difference, Being Valued by Others, Sense of Initiative, Sense of Inventiveness, and Agreeableness. These preliminary findings are discussed as they relate to previous research of job satisfaction in occupational therapy. Implications for occupational therapy and questions to be addressed in an expanded study are presented.

Icelandic occupational therapists' attitudes towards educational issues

The purpose of this study was to assess the readiness of occupational therapists in Iceland to accept a professional as opposed to a technical view of the profession. Most Icelandic occupational therapists were educated in other countries, with little emphasis on liberal arts, sciences and research. The first Icelandic occupational therapy programme, a university-level programme, was founded in 1997. All Icelandic occupational therapists were surveyed. Eighty-seven questionnaires were sent out and 80 (92%) were returned and used for statistical analysis. The results of the study showed that Icelandic occupational therapists valued academic skills over technical skills, emphasizing occupational therapy theory unique to the profession and research to validate practice. More recognition among other health professionals was considered the most needed change in the profession. The results of the study showed that the clinicians' attitudes confirmed in general what is emphasized in the curriculum and in students' fieldwork. Further research is needed to explore whether the Icelandic occupational therapy profession succeeds in promoting research and recognition by other health professions.

Work-related stress and occupational therapy

Occupational stress and burnout have been studied extensively in the human services. It has been suggested that healthcare professionals in particular are at risk of stress owing to the caring nature of their work. Articles related to occupational therapy and work-related stress were reviewed in regard to practice in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and Sweden. Although the empirical literature is relatively weak for occupational therapy, it has been argued that occupational therapists in health care share risk factors with other healthcare professionals. These risk factors include repeated exposure to distress and difficult behaviour, prolonged interventions and uncertain outcome. Issues such as professional status, staffing issues and the nature of the profession have been identified as additional risk factors for occupational therapists. However, empirical studies that enable burnout rates of occupational therapists to be compared with those of related occupational groups suggest that this may not be the case. Occupational therapists may in fact be protected from some stress and burnout factors. Further research is recommended to clarify the nature of stress experienced by occupational therapists and to identify both risk and protective factors characteristic of the profession.

Skill acquisition during fieldwork placements in occupational therapy

A critical shortage of occupational therapy fieldwork placements has led therapists to pose the question: how many hours of fieldwork are actually required in order for a student to acquire the breadth and depth of clinical competence required for entry level practice? In this study, student scores on the Performance Evaluation of Occupational Therapy Students, gathered over a four year period, were utilized to address this question. The level of competence expected of a new graduate on the CAOT Occupational Profile (Bridle, 1981) was used as the criterion against which student scores were judged. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the level of acquisition of occupational therapy skills and techniques, by item and by groups of items; to identify "core" and "specialty" items; and to determine whether 1200 hours of field work is the optimal choice for students to be able to demonstrate clinical competence in the field. Results indicate that, while most students attain many of the skills and techniques pertinent to occupational therapy, competence is reached only on those core skills which are frequently encountered and which have actually been experienced by the student across a number of placements. Recommendations include a re-examination by the profession of the expectations which have been set for an entry-level graduate.