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PubMed1987

The possible effects of a change to master's entry level in occupational therapy.

One of the most challenging debates facing the profession of occupational therapy centers on whether or not the standard for entry level into the field should be upgraded. The occupational therapy baccalaureate degree has been viewed as too limited in scope and professional training, and the master's degree has been forwarded as the standard for entry into the profession. However, upgrading the entry level standard raises several questions. This study considered 25 areas that would be affected by upgrading the entry level from the baccalaureate to the master's level in occupational therapy and in related health professions. A model was developed to provide a framework for analyzing how a change in entry level will affect the current status of occupational therapy as a profession. Although the parallel material is drawn from other health professions, the considerations are similar to the ones faced by occupational therapy. This comparison is especially important because a major change in entry level education has far-reaching repercussions that must be considered before any groundwork is laid for upgrading educational requirements.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1981

Academic performance and job satisfaction.

This paper investigates the possible relationship between job satisfaction and academic performance of occupational therapists who have graduated from the University of Western Ontario in the years 1975 to 1978. Fifty-four percent of the graduates of this time period filled out questionnaires eliciting information on their satisfaction with their jobs as occupational therapists and with the profession of occupational therapy. This information was analyzed with the therapists' academic performance of Grade XIII and their four years in the Occupational Therapy Program. The results indicated that although job satisfaction related significantly to three individual academic courses it did not relate to overall performance as measured by grade average.

Humans↗
PubMed1998

Occupation: the keystone of a curriculum for a self-defined profession.

The idea of occupation is proposed as the basis for constructing a curricular renaissance for occupational therapy in preparation for a new millennium. Implementing an occupation-centered curriculum could create a more integrated profession in which practice, ideas, scholarship, and education nurture and support one another, increasing the autonomy of both the occupational therapy profession and recipients of its services. A practice-oriented rationale for curricular design includes explication of the idea of occupation, a view of the person as an occupational being embedded in that concept, and the thought process of occupational therapy. Recommendations are provided to create an integrated curriculum that will contribute to future-oriented practice and a self-defined profession.

Curriculum↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Holism in occupational therapy: elusive fiction and ambivalent struggle.

The profession of occupational therapy is said to have underpinnings of holistic, humanistic, and client-centered values. How does this claim translate into practice? This article reports on a qualitative study in which the practice experiences of 12 occupational therapists in the United Kingdom were explored. Through phenomenological analysis of interviews and participant observation data, the findings revealed that although holism is indeed valued, considerable uncertainty exists about what it actually means. The therapists studied seemed to understand holism and enact it in different, sometimes contradictory, ways. Further, each therapist's practice could be simultaneously reductionistic and holistic, depending on the perceived needs of the situation. Therapists struggled to negotiate the tensions between beliefs and practices and to cope with their uncomfortable feelings when they did not achieve their ideals. Although the occupational therapists in this study strove to be person-centered, the demands of their work context pushed them to be pragmatic and strategic.

Health Services Research↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Bridging conflicting ideologies: the origins of American and British occupational therapy.

Occupational therapy practice has bridged two contradictory value systems for more than 100 years. This article describes the origins of practice ideas in both the United States and Britain and demonstrates that founding members of the occupational therapy profession all shared a core of humanistic beliefs while embracing the emerging paradigm of scientific medicine. The result has been an intellectual tension between the biological and the psychosocial aspects of practice. For more than 75 years, occupational therapists struggled to balance the art and science of patient care; recent debates on modalities, practice domains, and research priorities indicate that the unifying core of the profession is occupation that considers a person's mind and body.

England↗
PubMedDate not supplied

How nurse-midwives define themselves in relation to nursing, medicine, and midwifery.

The way members of an occupation or profession define themselves influences both their interaction with other occupations in the workplace and the future direction of their profession. In order to determine how certified nurse-midwives define their occupational identity, a two-phase study was done. In the first phase, 20 nurse-midwives were interviewed at length. It was found that they used traditional midwifery ideologies of advocacy, normalcy, and competency to differentiate themselves from physicians and nurses. A nationwide survey was then sent to 300 nurse-midwives in which they were asked whether they identified more with midwifery, nursing, or medicine. Their choice of identity was then examined in light of midwifery, ideologies, situational and background factors, and ability to tolerate ambiguity. The analysis of the survey indicated that nurse-midwives identify occupationally with midwifery, rather than nursing or medicine, even though there is some alliance with both of the other occupations. The variables that were most predictive of a positive midwifery occupational identity were philosophical agreement with nurse-midwifery ideologies and increased years of nurse-midwifery practice. A short discussion of the implications of a midwifery versus a nursing identity concludes the article.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

State of health and stress factors in occupation: the mass media profession.

The phenomenon of stress is analysed in terms of work conditions and work behaviour of a heterogeneous cross-section of journalists, publicists and media professionals in Western Germany. The enquiry revealed several interdependencies between professional status and job satisfaction. Stress factors in communication occupations, of psychic and physical origins, and their effects on the state of health and on the life expectancy of the people affected, of whom there are estimated to be 25,000 in the Federal Republic of Germany, are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

Multiskilling: a survey of occupational therapy practitioners' attitudes.

OBJECTIVE: Multiskilling has been identified as one means of reducing she cost of health care. This study examined occupational therapy practitioners' knowledge of multiskilling, how it is affecting service delivery and quality of care, and how therapists believe the addition of skills should occur. METHOD: A questionnaire was constructed for the survey and mailed to a random sample of 200 occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants, all of whom were members of the American Occupational Therapy Association. RESULTS: The 117 respondents had a moderate understanding of multiskilling. They responded that multiskilling is beneficial to both the occupational therapy profession and the clients it serves, but they were also aware of its potential risks or disadvantages. According to respondents, multiskilling occurs formally through defined protocol and; more commonly, informally, driven by necessity and the desire to treat the client most effectively. CONCLUSION: The results indicate a need for the occupational therapy profession to define multiskilling and cross training; develop ways of serving clients that respond to administrative needs and constraints while preserving the uniqueness of occupational therapy; and monitor treatment outcomes of all service delivery methods to provide information regarding efficiency, effectiveness, and client satisfaction.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Occupation reconsidered.

The current article delineates the need for the profession of occupational therapy to maintain relevance and be responsive to current trends. As part of such responsivity, this article proposes a reconsideration of the concept of occupation as an 'adaptive response' to the current societal need for clarification regarding occupational therapy. Reconsideration of what is meant by occupation for general use is discussed and illustrated by the ambiguous use of the term occupation as both a means and an end. Although occupational therapists are comfortable with such ambiguous use because of their apparent ease with complexity, use of the term in an ambiguous manner makes it harder for society to understand what is meant by occupation. Related to this, an annotation of literature on the definitions of occupation is presented in summary form. Furthermore, the political need to reconsider the term occupation is argued in light of the revision of International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), which includes the use of the word activity. Finally, this article proposes that occupation should be considered as the process of doing with meaning, and that activity should be the outcome. Such reconsideration renders us consistent with ICF and paves the way to reduce ambiguity in the use of the term occupation with the general public.

Efficiency, Organizational↗
PubMed1991

The Joint Education and Training Committee of the BOHS, IOH and BEBOH--a discussion on the future of occupational hygiene education and training in the U.K.

This paper begins by drawing a clear distinction between the principles of occupational hygiene, which may be used by many occupational safety and health practitioners, and the profession of occupational hygiene. A new definition of occupational hygiene, which focuses on the objective of promoting health by intervention in the workplace, is proposed. Occupational hygiene professionals should be able to carry out a wide range of activities allied to this objective, from recognizing factors which may affect workers' health to setting priorities for risk management. A description of the competence of a professional hygienist, based on a document produced by the World Health Organization, is presented. The interaction between the various occupational safety and health practitioners is explored and the increasing interaction between the different skill groups recognized. The changing pattern of hazards in the workplace and the changing role of the hygienist are also discussed. In particular, the necessity for hygienists to develop management skills is highlighted. The paper concludes that occupational hygiene education and training must reflect the changing hazards in the workplace and the current approaches to the management of the risks.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed2004

British occupational hygiene practice 1720-1920.

The first recognition of the profession of occupational hygienist was preceded by at least 200 years of developments in disease prevention practices in the workplace, many of which could readily be characterized as occupational hygiene. The nature and pace of adoption of these practices depended on the contemporary state of technology, science, medicine and social concern. At first it was a matter of individual initiative and did not depend on quantitative data, but by the second half of the 19th century techniques of measurement for both harmful effects and for exposure were being introduced and official bodies at both national and local level were active. People from a wide range of backgrounds made contributions to disease prevention at work and by 1920 most of the major concepts and practices of current occupational hygiene practice were in place, if only in rather limited settings.

History, 18th Century↗
PubMed2003

An occupational therapy perspective on falls prevention among community-dwelling older adults.

BACKGROUND: Prevention of falls among community-dwelling older adults is an important area of research because of the serious consequences that can result from falls for this population. The risk factors associated with falls tend to be categorized into two groups: intrinsic, or personal factors, such as fear of falling, age, gender, and extrinsic, or environmental factors, such as lighting or slippery surfaces. METHOD: The current falls prevention literature was reviewed using an occupational therapy perspective. RESULT: It revealed that there are only a few brief examples of the relationship between occupation and falls in the literature. The profession of occupational therapy appears to be underrepresented in the current falls prevention literature. The review highlights the important contributions that occupational therapists could make to this functional problem. PRACTICE AND RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS: For occupational therapy, important areas for consideration when attempting to prevent falls among older adults living in the community include using a client-centred approach, compliance, and follow up on recommendations. There is a need for more occupational therapy research specifically on occupation and falls, that explores their relationship and influence upon one another.

Accidental Falls↗
PubMed2004

Ethical decision-making by students in physical and occupational therapy.

The professions of physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) progressively have expanded their scope of responsibility, and practitioners often are placed in positions in which ethical decisions must be made. Few studies have reported the level of moral development and the effects of education on ethical decision making in PT or OT students. This research study was designed to determine the impact of the educational programs at the University of New Mexico (UNM) in PT and OT on the moral reasoning of the students as measured by the Defining Issues Test (DIT). The longitudinal design of this study followed two consecutive classes in each program (N = 94; 58 PT students and 36 OT students) from entry until graduation approximately 2 years later. The subjects completed a demographic survey and the DIT on the first day of class and again during their final semester (OT) or at graduation (PT). A factorial analysis of covariance was used to examine the effects of a professional degree program (PT and OT) and time (ENTRY and EXIT), after adjusting for the effects of age. The mean P score for this sample was between 45 and 46, which is within range for college and professional students. There was a significant relationship between age and the P score of the DIT. There were no significant differences between PT and OT students or between the entering and the exiting scores for either group of students. Based on the results of this study, these educational programs do not seem to be facilitating moral development in these students. The baseline level of moral development and the skills that PT and OT students use when making ethical decisions need to be established. Additional research is recommended with a larger sample size, including students in other locations. To optimize clinical practice, students must be taught how to make ethical as well as clinical judgments. Therapists must be capable of functioning in the changing health care environment, now and in the future. If the disciplines of PT and OT expect to graduate students who meet this challenge, the educational programs must take the responsibility for evaluating students and implementing curricula that facilitate ethical decision making.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Occupational attainment in selected allied health professions.

This study examined the factors in the process of occupational attainment for a single group, the allied health professions. A 14-variable causal model was developed to explain postcollege attainment of a job in one of five allied health professions: medical dietetics, medical social work, occupational therapy, physical therapy, or speech therapy. The sample was composed of 272 college students who responded to the Cooperative Institutional Research Program surveys of 1971 and 1980. Analysis indicated that several variables, including academic integration, having a science major, and being oriented to service, had significant direct effects on attainment in the allied health professions. Knowledge of the personal characteristics and achievements of those who successfully enter jobs in the allied health professions may allow informed student and faculty choices and reduce recruitment and retention problems in schools of allied health.

Allied Health Occupations↗
PubMed2001

[In the chosen occupation health must also play a part! An analysis of occupational medicine assessment of adolescents with health handicaps].

When choosing a profession or occupation, the interests, the abilities, the inclination, innate propensities and, last but not least, health must be considered. Being fit for the job prevents dropouts in vocational education and from giving up the occupation, and avoids cases of employment rehabilitation. Before the decision on a vocational training is taken, a medical examination and consultation of an occupational and sociomedical expert should be mandatory. The results of a study on the reasons of the vocational education dropouts or for giving up the occupation are presented and conclusions for improvement are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Occupational science: academic innovation in the service of occupational therapy's future.

Occupational science is a new scientific discipline that is defined as the systematic study of the human as an occupational being. A doctoral program in occupational science has been established at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. With its emphasis on the provision of a multidimensional description of the substrates, form, function, meaning, and sociocultural and historical contexts of occupation, occupational science emphasizes the ability of humans throughout the life span to actively pursue and orchestrate occupations. In this paper, occupational science is described, defined, and distinguished from other social sciences. A general systems model is presented as a heuristic to explain occupation and organize knowledge in occupational science. The development of occupational science offers several key benefits to the profession of occupational therapy, including (a) fulfillment of the demand for doctoral-level faculty members in colleges and universities; (b) the generation of needed basic science research; and (c) the justification for and potential enhancement of practice.

Education↗
PubMed1992

Opening feminist histories of occupational therapy.

This paper frames the history of occupational therapy in feminist terms. It focuses on gender segregation in occupational therapy, the influence of class and race in shaping opportunities for occupational therapists, and the place of feminism in the goals and achievements of the occupational therapy profession. Such issues have been addressed by feminist scholars in histories of women in medicine, nursing, and other helping professions. These sources help place the achievements of occupational therapy within the context of women's historic entry and advancement in the American work force.

Female↗