Occupational Therapy News OTnews April 2019 | Page 49

STUDENT EDUCATION FEATURE
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therapist why she had to do it, when her nurse always does this
activity of daily living for her.
‘Through verbal encouragement, demonstrating an understanding
of the client’s personality and interests, and a joking and playful
therapeutic rapport, the therapist empowered her client and
motivated her to don her bra and shirt independently.
‘During the session debrief the occupational therapsit said to me:
“See, now that was therapeutic use of self. I knew she could do it,
even though others have been doing it for her. She just needed to
feel supported”.
‘This observed intervention would not have been nearly as
successful if the occupational therapist had not taken the time
needed to develop a strong interpersonal relationship with her client.’
Joanna’s ‘final take-away’ from her observation was ‘the tight-knit
interdisciplinary team, where healthcare practitioners cared for and
knew each other well’.
She says: ‘In the pediatric community therapist office,
occupational therapists and physical therapists bounced ideas off
one another and asked each other for professional advice.
‘While shadowing the cardiology occupational therapist, I
attended a cake and teatime meeting between herself and her
physiotherapy teammates to lift spirits after a difficult week.’
Comparing her UK experience with American occupational
therapy practice, Joanna concludes that she feels ‘differences
between our health insurance systems could be a significant
contributing factor to the rapport I observed between NHS trust
occupational therapists and their clients’.
She explains: ‘Currently in the US, as the cost of health insurance
is on the rise, while levels of reimbursement for practitioners is
decreasing, occupational therapists have to maintain higher and
Lalor et al (2019) conducted a qualitative study to
explore the perspectives of international students on
practice education. Seven international students, enrolled in
the final year of a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy course
at an Australian university, participated in semi-structured
interviews. Thematic analysis revealed two key themes, ‘the
purpose of practice placements’ and ‘a successful practice
placement’. Findings included that students valued
opportunities to integrate theory into practice and develop
communication skills through practice education; and
that the environment/practice educators had an influence
on whether students perceived practice placements to
be successful. The authors identify the need for practice
educators to create individualised learning environments,
and for culturally sensitive resources.
Reference
Lalor A, Yu M-L, Brown T, Thyer L (2019) Occupational
therapy international undergraduate students’ perspectives
on the purpose of practice education and what contributes
to successful practice learning experiences. British Journal
of Occupational Therapy, Jan 24. [Epub ahead of print]
higher caseloads to offset decreased per-client reimbursement
(Winistorfer, Scheirton and Slater 2016).
‘Unfortunately, in practice this means that time with clients is
limited. American practitioners must be highly efficient and organised
with their time and often have to see more patients in a day, limiting
the amount of time that they have to converse with and develop
interpersonal relationships with their clients.’
Clearly inspired by her shadowing experience in the UK, she
concludes: ‘These are just a few of many ways the occupational
therapists that I observed demonstrated intentional therapeutic
relationships and provided a truly holistic, client-centered approach
in practice, which should be to be admired by any occupational
therapists the world over.’
References
Punwar AJ and Peloquin SM (2000). Occupational therapy: Principles and
practice (3rd ed.) Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins.
Solman B and Clouston C (2016) Occupational therapy and the therapeutic
use of self. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 79(8): 514-516
Winistorfer WL, Scheirton LS and Slater DY (2016) The American
Occupational Therapy Association Advisory Opinion for the Ethics
Commission. “Ethical Considerations for Productivity, Billing, and
Reimbursement”. American Occupational Therapy Association. Avalaible
at: www.aota.org//media/corporate/files/practice/ethics/advisory/
reimbursement-productivity.pdf
Joanna Emily Reed, occupational therapy student, Temple
University, College of Public Health, Phildelphia, US. The shadowing
experience was facilitated by Cheryl Gascoigne, occupational
therapist. Email: [e-mail]
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