FOCUS ON occupational therapy specifically is not straightforward ; the research covered around half of its members who deliver nursing , midwifery and allied health professions training .
What we do know is that the academic workforce of occupational therapists is slightly younger than for nursing , midwifery and allied health professions in general . However , that demographic advantage could be more than wiped out by the rapid growth in the number of occupational therapy courses .
Even the younger profile for occupational therapy academics in general may be hiding huge variation between regions and institutions , with some potentially having a large proportion of their staff heading for retirement . In short , there is good reason to take seriously the findings of the research .
And Dorothea Baltruks , senior policy and research officer at the Council of Deans of Health , and an occupational therapist , says that the future development of academics is an issue that concerns everyone .
‘ I think this is a significant issue as there ’ s a need to grow the workforce , and that needs growing courses ,’ she says . ‘ But we also need to think about research in this area : if we talk about evidence-based practice , that evidence has to come from somewhere .’
So what are the issues facing academic recruitment ?
Many centre on the images people have of academic jobs ; a route you pursue after decades in practice .
And that creates a major problem ; by the time someone is experienced in practice , they could well need to take a pay cut to switch over to a university career for which they don ’ t yet have all the right skills .
‘ Pay is what people most often mention as the main obstacle for recruiting people from practice , as they are often on higher pay bands in the NHS than the academic position in question is advertised for ,’ says Dorothea .
‘ Lots of Universities will match the pay , but that ’ s not sustainable in the long term and you can create issues if that person is higher paid than someone else with an equivalent position .
‘ There are also issues around how secure some of the jobs in academia are . A lot of people in the NHS will have a secure career and there are development opportunities , while in academia that can be less certain .
‘ There are more contracts that are not permanent , and if you ’ re in a research position you may have to chase money for research and project funding . The working hours and workload is not necessarily lighter either .’
If you have ever considered switching from practice to academia , this may sound like bad news . But take heart ; that pay discrepancy could be a short-term phenomenon . Carolyn Hay , RCOT pre-registration manager , says : ‘ The flipside of that is once you are in academia there can be opportunities to advance the pay scales . And while there can be long hours , the holiday allowance is generous .’
Still , there remains something of a chasm to cross from practice to academia , so the Council is keen to tempt people into academia earlier .
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We need to make sure that an academic career is seen as a possible path from the beginning , including research and teaching .
Says Dorothea : ‘ That ’ s a cultural shift we need to think about ; how to make it more acceptable that younger people with less experience in practice make that shift to academia .’
That will involve everyone thinking differently about academic career routes , with more support for PhDs and early career researchers , so the academic sector can better grow its own staff .
Says Dorothea : ‘ We need to make sure that an academic career is seen as a possible path from the beginning , including research and teaching . I think sometimes there ’ s a perception that if someone moves to academia that we are “ losing ” them , when academia is part of the profession and a vital part of growing it to make it sustainable . ‘ If we include that more , from the undergraduate programmes onwards , with leadership placements to looking at research as part of those programmes , that might be a way to convey that message that you can choose academia and that it ’ s a really valid career opportunity .’ Dorothea also thinks universities can do more to showcase what their own staff are up to .‘ There ’ s an opportunity for universities to be more inspiring ,’ she says . ‘ Lots will be doing their own really interesting work , but often I think they just don ’ t talk about it enough with students . Universities can showcase more what they are doing with their partner trusts . There ’ s so much going on , but so often students don ’ t get to see that .’
While there are is lots more to do , there are already some examples of such practice out there , says Carolyn . ‘ There is some good practice within several HEIs in terms of offering hourly paid and guest lecturer opportunities to practitioners , which can help build links with the university and course team ,’ she says , ‘ and broaden understanding of what an academic teaching role may entail .’
Offering opportunities for those in practice Offering clearer lifelong routes into academia is just one of many solutions proposed by the Council ; its research concludes with a laundry list of actions that it , higher education institutions and professional bodies can undertake to safeguard the future supply of academics .
Many proposed actions are aimed at making it easier for people in practice to get a better feel for careers in academia .
OTnews February 2021 27