Attributes of excellence in practice educators: the perspectives of Australian occupational therapy students

Clinical educator expertise: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Allied health clinicians supervising healthcare students in workplace learning play a key role in a learner's progression to autonomous practice, yet expert educator practice is not well understood. How expert clinical educators in allied health professions are defined, enact their role, develop educational expertise and bring value to workplace learning is unclear.

METHODS

A scoping methodology was chosen to understand what is known about clinical educator expertise in allied health, focusing on definitions, characteristics, impacts and development. Searching seven databases, the authors used an iterative, systematic approach to the selection, collation and analysis of peer-reviewed and grey literature.

RESULTS

Within 21 included papers, diverse terms and definitions were used to describe expert clinical educators across 9 allied health professions and 5 countries. Expert educator characteristics included advanced skills in facilitating learning, the ability to build positive relationships with learners and a proactive attitude to developing personal supervision skills through reflection. Impacts were identified for learners and educators, and the few sources examining educator development found that expert practice grows in a dynamic, multi-mode, non-linear fashion.

CONCLUSION

A comprehensive picture of the expert clinical educator in allied health is not yet conceptualised, despite some characteristics being associated with expertise. The differences between expert and less proficient educators are unclear with little examination of the impacts, value or development of expert educator capabilities. We offer a framework for future research and advocate for focused studies that examine clinical educator expertise, to enhance approaches to professional development and recognition of excellence in clinical educator practice.

Educator-Informed Development of a Mental Health Literacy Course for School Staff: Classroom Well-Being Information and Strategies for Educators (Classroom WISE)

Educators play a critical role in promoting mental health and well-being with their students. Educators also recognize that they lack knowledge and relevant learning opportunities that would allow them to feel competent in supporting student mental health. As such, educators require resources and training to allow them to develop skills in this area. The Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Network partnered with the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine to develop Classroom Well-Being and Information for Educators (WISE), a free, three-part mental health literacy training package for educators and school staff that includes an online course, video library, and resource collection. The Classroom WISE curriculum focuses on promoting positive mental health in the classroom, as well as strategies for recognizing and responding to students experiencing mental health related distress. This paper describes the curriculum development process, including results of focus groups and key informant interviews with educators and school mental health experts. Adoption of Classroom WISE can help educators support student mental health and assist in ameliorating the youth mental health crisis.

Occupational therapy fieldwork educators: Examining professional quality of life

BACKGROUND

Occupational therapy practitioners with the simultaneous working role of fieldwork educator support the growth of the profession by supervising students, but little is known about their reported burnout, compassion fatigue, and compassion satisfaction levels, and if specific work characteristics predict those levels.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this research was to: 1) assess the current levels of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burnout in occupational therapy fieldwork educators through The Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL), and 2) to explore how professional characteristic variables correlate and predict the measured constructs of compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction.

METHODS

A cross-sectional design was used, and participants were recruited from a convenience sample to complete the ProQOL and a work characteristic questionnaire.

RESULTS

On the average, 117 fieldwork educators scored higher on the subscale of compassion satisfaction when compared to those of the normed group. Linear regression analyses revealed that a higher number of roles and greater years working predicted higher compassion satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

This study contributes to understanding the experiences of fieldwork educators in multiple roles, their reported levels of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burnout, and the potential for development of personal, educational and organizational resources to support professional quality of life indicators within the role of fieldwork educator.

Barriers to Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Education in Iran: The Perspectives of Fieldwork Educators and Students

Background

Clinical education is a vital factor in the process of learning in medical sciences universities. The aim of the present study was to explore the perspectives of fieldwork educators and students concerning barriers to occupational therapy fieldwork education in Iran.

Materials and Methods

A qualitative research was conducted from May 2019 to April 2020 to address the study objectives. The data analysis was performed using conventional content analysis based on Graneheim and Lundman's approach. Purposive sampling was used to enroll 12 educators and 14 students of various backgrounds (physical disabilities-adult, physical disabilities-pediatrics, psychosocial-adult, and psychosocial-pediatrics) in the study.

Results

The findings indicated that the main themes were related to fieldwork educators, fieldwork settings, educational planning, students, and educational regulation.

Conclusions

It can be concluded that the perspectives of students and occupational therapy educators regarding the field of clinical education are not only important but also useful for the attainment of effective clinical education and the development of knowledge related to rehabilitation nursing education. Therefore, educational planners should develop effective programs based on these themes.

Student and supervisor perspectives on the effectiveness of community-based placements for occupational therapy students

Background

Using a community-based model as an integral part of occupational therapy students' practice experiences can enable the development of new emerging practices within the community. The aims of this study were to examine the experiences of students and supervisors in community-based role-emerging practice placements, and to compare the two types of placements (full-time and part-time).

Methods

Data was collected from 41 undergraduate occupational therapy students and seven supervisors using pre-post questionnaires, as well as qualitative data through focus groups and a short online questionnaire. Conventional content analysis was used for qualitative data, Wilcoxon tests were used to examine the change in scores, and Mann-Whitney tests compared the two types of placements.

Results

A significant decrease was evident in students' scores from pre- to post-placement regarding setting and supervision (z = -3.557, p < .001), with a non-significant decrease regarding community. Significant increases in scores were seen regarding students' personal and professional skills (z = -2.805, -3.152, p < .01). Close-to-significant differences in personal skills scores were found between role-emerging types. Overall, students and supervisors expressed positive impressions, while students addressed challenges relating to setting and supervision.

Conclusions

Community-based role-emerging practice placements may contribute to the professional and personal development of occupational therapy students. The results supported the positive aspects of role-emerging practice placements; they also identified the challenges of such placements with regard to students' expectations from the settings and supervision. Exposing students to role-emerging models, and seeking better compatibility with their expectations from community partnerships and supervisors, may contribute to their professional development, which can in turn develop and expand areas of practice in the community. Additionally, role-emerging practice placements can serve as a valuable contribution to professionals and stakeholders within communities, who do not as yet benefit from occupational therapy services.

Perceived impact of faculty practice on nurse practitioner education

BACKGROUND

Faculty practice is believed to positively affect health education, however limited research exists on the impact of faculty practice on nurse practitioner education.

PURPOSE

The purpose was to explore the perceived impact of faculty practice on nurse practitioner education.

METHODS

A preliminary mixed methods approach was used to evaluate nurse practitioner student and faculty perspectives on the impact of faculty practice on nurse practitioner education. Student group interviews were conducted and practicing faculty were surveyed.

RESULTS

Study findings included student and faculty-perceived benefits and challenges of faculty practice on nurse practitioner education. Specific benefits were increased access to faculty preceptors and clinical sites for nurse practitioner students, influencing faculty-developed education materials, increased number of real-world examples, faculty credibility, applying evidence-based practice, and overall improvement in the quality of teaching. Specific challenges were time, faculty availability to students, managing multiple roles, and clinical sites not conducive to precepting.

CONCLUSION

This study provided preliminary information on the perceived impact of faculty practice on nurse practitioner education including the benefits and challenges. Findings support faculty practice as having a positive perceived impact on nurse practitioner education.

What students and new graduates perceive supports them to think, feel and act as a health professional in a rural setting

OBJECTIVE

Clinical placements in rural locations are perceived by students to provide positive learning experiences to support their transition to practice. This study explores how clinical placements in a rural health setting might influence students and new graduates to think, feel and act as a health professional.

DESIGN

A qualitative study comprising focus group discussions was conducted.

SETTING

The study was conducted in a rural health service in Queensland, Australia.

PARTICIPANTS

Allied health students (n = 12) on placement and new graduates (n = 11) working in a regional health service.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

This study identified allied health student and new graduate perspectives on clinical placement factors which support them to think, feel and act as a health professional.

RESULTS

Thematic analysis was used to understand student and new graduate perceptions of how rural placements support thinking, feeling and acting as a health professional. Suggestions for supporting learning included the following: Development of learning partnerships between students and clinical educators with inbuilt expectations and opportunities for reflection and supervision. Creating a culture where students are welcomed, valued and encouraged to take meal breaks with the team supported connectedness. The importance of balancing student autonomy with educating and grading support to increase independence.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings show clinical placement experiences identified by allied health students and new graduates which support them to begin to think, feel and act as a health professional. Suggestions provided by students and new graduates can be used to inform implementation of clinical placement experiences.

Perceptions about trust: a phenomenographic study of clinical supervisors in occupational therapy

BACKGROUND

Finding the best way to facilitate student learning in clinical practice can be challenging for clinical supervisors. While high levels of trust might jeopardize patient safety, low trust might hinder student learning; however, carrying out professional activities is necessary for students to develop professional competence. There is a dearth of scholarly literature regarding the concept of trust among clinical supervisors in occupational therapy education. A better understanding of how trust is created between the supervisor and student may thus aid in facilitating student learning. The aim of this study, therefore, was to explore occupational therapy clinical supervisors' perception of trust and how it is formed.

METHODS

A qualitative method deploying a phenomenographic approach was chosen. Twelve clinical supervisors were interviewed, and the data were analyzed according to the seven-step phenomenographic approach.

RESULTS

Three qualitatively different ways of thinking about trust were found: (1) that trust is about the student and is rather static; (2) trust as a dynamic process based on student performance; and (3) trust as something mutual and interrelated. The findings indicate that trust can be understood in various ways, such as being something inherent in the student or, alternatively, about the student, the supervisor, the relationship between them, and the surrounding context, including the tasks performed. Furthermore, the study shows that trust can be seen either as something static or as a dynamic process.

CONCLUSIONS

This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the variation of ways in which the concept of trust is understood among clinical supervisors in occupational therapy. The study corroborates the prior research finding that trust can be understood as a multifaceted construct. It contributes novel insights about the role of the supervisor as an influential factor in the trust-building process. A deep understanding of the possible differences in the ways of conceptualizing something can help supervisors support learning by building on this understanding. The results from this study contribute to our knowledge of the drivers behind entrusted decisions in clinical education in various professional contexts. We suggest that the results be used in the continuing professional development of clinical supervisors.

"Perceptions, expectations and satisfaction levels of occupational therapy students prior to and after practice placement and comparison of practice placement models"

BACKGROUND

Practice placements in occupational therapy are fundamental components in developing a student's professional identity. Various models of placements are available to expose and expand students' participation in various community-based services. The purpose of this study was to compare occupational therapy students' perceptions and expectations prior to placements with their perceptions and satisfaction levels upon completion of placements, and to compare clinical placement models (role-established and role-emerging).

METHODS

The study included 155 undergraduate occupational therapy students, who completed questionnaires prior to and upon completion of their placements. The questionnaire included items that were divided into categories of placement setting and supervision, personal skills, professional skills, and community. Paired t-tests and two-way repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVA) were used in order to examine the change in scores over time, and a-parametric tests were used in order to compare the two models.

RESULTS

For all students a significant decrease in scores was found from pre- to post-placement regarding setting and supervision (t[df] = 3.96[154], p < .001), and a significant increase in scores was found from pre- to post-placement regarding personal and professional skills (t[df] = 7.82[154], p < .001; t[df] = 14.24[154], p < .001, respectively). Comparison between placement models indicated nonsignificant differences regarding personal and professional skills. However, role-established post-scores were significantly higher than role-emerging scores regarding setting and supervision, but significantly lower regarding the contribution of services to the community.

CONCLUSIONS

Practice placements promote a student's personal and professional skills. Students were less satisfied with the setting and supervision in comparison to their pre-placement expectations. Both models may contribute to students' professional development. Role-established model had an advantage in students' satisfaction with settings and supervision, while role-emerging models had an advantage in students' perceptions regarding contribution to the community. Role-emerging model may contribute to developing and expanding areas of practice in the community.

Clinical educators' skills and qualities in allied health: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

The skills and qualities of effective clinical educators are linked to improved student learning and ultimately patient care; however, within allied health these have not yet been systematically summarised in the literature.

AIMS

To identify and synthesise the skills and qualities of clinical educators in allied health and their effect on student learning and patient care.

METHOD

A systematic search of the literature was conducted across five electronic databases in November 2017. Study identification, data extraction and quality appraisal were performed in duplicate. Qualitative and quantitative data were extracted separately but analysed together using a thematic analysis approach whereby items used in quantitative surveys and themes from qualitative approaches were interpreted together.

RESULTS

Data revealed seven educator skills and qualities: (i) intrinsic and personal attributes of clinical educators; (ii) provision of skillful feedback; (iii) teaching skills; (iv) fostering collaborative learning; (v) understanding expectations; (vi) organisation and planning; and (vii) clinical educators in their professional role. Across all themes was the concept of taking time to perform the clinical educator role. No studies used objective measurements as to how these skills and qualities affect learning or patient care.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Despite much primary evidence of clinical educator skills and qualities, this review presents the first synthesis of this evidence in allied health. There is a need to examine clinical education from new perspectives to develop deeper understanding of how clinical educator qualities and skills influence student learning and patient care.

Occupational therapy international undergraduate students’ perspectives on the purpose of practice education and what contributes to successful practice learning experiences

Introduction

Practice placements (also referred to as fieldwork) are a significant component of occupational therapy education. For international students enrolled in occupational therapy education programmes outside their own country, completing practice placements can be challenging. There is scarce literature that examines the perspectives of international students undertaking practice placements. The study’s aim was to understand international students’ perceptions, what they believe to be the purpose of practice placements and what attributes contribute to successful practice education.

Method

Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were used to elicit the perspectives of seven fourth-year international undergraduate occupational therapy students enrolled at an Australian university.

Results

Thematic analysis identified two key themes: ‘the purpose of practice placements’ (sub-themes: translating knowledge into practice, adapting to real life experiences and building our communication skills), and ‘a successful practice placement’ (sub-themes: the environment, the clinical educator and my responsibilities).

Conclusion

Findings identified what international occupational therapy students believed to contribute to a positive and quality practice placement. All students valued the opportunities that practice education afforded, including developing communication skills and integrating theory into practice. These findings will assist academic and practice educators in the delivery of high quality practice education placement learning experiences for international students.

Factors Influencing Occupational Therapists' Decision to Supervise Fieldwork Students

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that influence the decision to supervise a Level II occupational therapy fieldwork student. A survey was sent to occupational therapists identified from licensure boards and alumni rosters, including those who have and have not supervised students (n = 548). The results identified both positive and negative influences along with predictive factors of supervising a student. While positive factors included continuing education units, education on fieldwork expectations, their own fieldwork experiences, shared supervision, and access to educational resources, negative influences consisted of: job responsibilities, caseload, productivity standards, working part-time, and fear of failing a student. The discussion focuses on how to address the needs of the clinician and facilitate fieldwork placement.

Twelve tips for turning quality assurance data into undergraduate teaching awards: A quality improvement and student engagement initiative

Data on teaching awards in undergraduate medical education are sparse. The benefits of an awards system may seem obvious at first glance. However, there are also potential problems relating to fairness, avoidance of bias, and alignment of the awards system with a wider strategy for quality improvement and curriculum development. Here, we report five- year single center experience with establishing undergraduate teaching awards in a large academic teaching hospital. Due to lack of additional funding we based our awards not on peer review but mainly on existing and very comprehensive quality assurance (QA) data. Our 12 tips describe practical points but also pitfalls with awards categories and criteria, advertising and disseminating the awards, the actual awards ceremony and finally embedding the awards in the hospital's wider strategy. To be truly successful, teaching awards and prizes need to be carefully considered, designed and aligned with a wider institutional strategy of rewarding enthusiastic educators.

Didácticas activas en la asignatura Ocupación y Bienestar del programa universitario Terapia Ocupacional de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Introducción. Distintas investigaciones dan cuenta de la importancia de estudiar los procesos de enseñanza en terapeutas ocupacionales y sus resultados positivos en investigación formativa, comprensión teórica y desempeño académico.Objetivo. Identificar las características de estudiantes de Terapia Ocupacional de la universidad Nacional de Colombia, sus antecedentes educativos y los resultados de las didácticas activas aplicadas en la asignatura Ocupación y Bienestar, ofertada durante el año 2010.Materiales y métodos. Estudio cualitativo descriptivo en el que se buscó conocer los resultados de la didáctica aplicada desde la perspectiva de los estudiantes.Resultados. El estudio permitió evidenciar el compromiso y responsabilidad de los estudiantes al vincularse con las didácticas activas y el cambio de rol del profesor en el diseño de los objetivos de formación y de organización de contenidos.Conclusiones. Se evidencia que la didáctica activa es útil en la educación de la terapia ocupacional. Algunas investigaciones resaltan la importancia de la educación en terapia ocupacional, del aprendizaje autónomo y del desarrollo social y afectivo.