Occupational Therapy News OTnews February 2020 | Page 39

STUDENT EDUCATION FEATURE
Sarah was matched with Dr Jo Watson, RCOT assistant director
for education and research.
‘Jo has been an incredible coach and inspiration to me
throughout my time with the leadership programme,’ she says.
‘After discussions with Jo, I decided that my project would be
to undertake a career promotion activity, specifically focusing on
encouraging more men into the occupational therapy profession.’
She goes on: ‘In 2018, there were 2,938 qualified male
occupational therapists and 35,135 qualified female occupational
therapists on the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
register’ (HCPC 2018).
‘[While] the 2017-18 annual monitoring report of accredited pre-
registration programmes in the UK, produced by RCOT, showed a
gender profile of 1,756 female students compared with 297 male
students (RCOT 2017).’
She adds: ‘Men make up less than 10 per cent of qualified
occupational therapists in the UK. There are similar figures recorded
in the US, with 92 per cent of qualified
‘‘
‘This was slightly disheartening, given that these were students
who had an interest in working in healthcare. It should be noted,
however, that all of the students had heard of physiotherapy.’
Sarah says that she ’doesn’t know’ if she managed to persuade
any of the students she spoke with to consider a career in
occupational therapy, but that she hopes ‘at least one maybe had a
Google when they got back home’.
Sarah was also given the opportunity by her coach Jo and
Health Education England (HEE) to attend the HEE AHP workforce
supply workshop, which focused on exploring entry routes into the
professions.
‘Representatives from various AHP professional bodies met to
discuss alternative routes to registration and improving access to
all of the AHPs,’ she explains. ‘This was an incredibly insightful and
interesting day.
‘Various discussions focused on apprenticeships, an introduction
into an alternative qualification to A Levels, raising awareness of
AHPs during clearing, and also an exciting new website
occupational therapists being female.
which will provide career resources for AHPs in one
‘A survey of 699 male and female
place (E-Learning Healthcare 2019).
The
day
was
occupational therapists in the US
‘There were also discussions about
investigated the perceptions, issues and
recruiting
students from different areas,
not about addressing
factors surrounding the lack of men in the
such as the armed forces, and building
the gender gap within
profession.
relationships with St John’s Ambulance,
some of the professions,
‘The participants identified that it is
to create more awareness about the
often perceived as a “female profession”,
professions.’
but rather promoting a
due to the focus on activities of daily
She remembers: ‘The day was
greater awareness of the
living and that more education of the
not about addressing the gender gap
professions.
general public about the broader nature
within some of the professions, but
of occupational therapy would enhance
rather promoting a greater awareness of
recruitment of men into the profession’(Maxim and
the professions. However, the attention given
Rice 2018).’
to recruiting from male dominated groups, such as
Sarah says that she ‘wanted to try to gain an understanding
the Armed Forces, may lead to an increase in male student
as to why so few men, compared with women, apply to study
applications.
occupational therapy’.
‘There was some discussion regarding creating greater
She was thus given the opportunity, by lecturer Karen Newberry
awareness of the AHPs among 15 to 18 year olds, and work
and the marketing team at Derby University, to carry out a career
towards this had been apparent in the recent production of the
promotion activity at an Open Day, specifically catering for young
‘Wow Show’ video that had been broadcast on YouTube. This
students who were about to choose their A Levels and were
highlights AHP careers in short snappy segments, explaining each
particularly interested in a career in health care.
profession.
Sarah devised a ‘true or false’ questionnaire to help engage with
‘HEE was also showcasing its new virtual reality (VR) careers
the students and to to try to dispel some of the myths surrounding
promotions tools, which allow prospective students to have an
occupational therapy, such as: Is occupational therapy just about
in-depth look at a range of AHP careers from the comfort of their
learning to weave baskets? Isn’t occupational therapy just the same
career’s office.
as physiotherapy? and Don’t occupational therapists just help
‘I had used a very simple, and probably quite boring survey,
people to find jobs?
to try to interact with students at the career promotion event, but
‘I also wanted to make the students aware of all of the different
the VR film promoting occupational therapy, which is currently
areas that occupational therapists could work in and that it isn’t just
in development, will provide a great way of engaging younger
about working in a hospital,’ she reflects
students.’
‘I managed to speak with about 15 male students during the
Further to carrying out the promotion activity and attending the
allotted two and a half hours. The students were more than happy to
HEE education workshop, Jo had also put Sarah in touch with
engage with me and take part in the survey, but not one student had
Deborah Hewson and Sarah Drake, from the Occupational Therapy
heard of occupational therapy.
Academic Forum (OTAF).
OTnews February 2020 39