CAREERS DEVELOPMENT FEATURE
Virtual work experience
Anita Bowser reflects on the running of a virtual work experience event to support students interested in joining the profession resources were shared afterwards to review as required .
Moving forward We plan to run sessions regularly until we can return to our normal face-toface work experience and will include short videos of patient experiences of our interventions going forward . By incorporating the patient voice , we hope to bring further understanding of our different roles and allow others to be inspired .
In the spirit of the NHS People Plan ( England 2020 ), we have worked creatively to continue to attract people to the professions , whilst striving to maintain business as usual during this second wave of COVID-19 .
The project has strengthened both our inter-professional and personal relationships . At a time when we are challenged in so many ways , stronger bonds between us are vital to our own wellbeing and consequently to the experiences of our patients .
Reference
England N ( 2020 ) NHS England . We are the NHS : People plan for 2020 / 2021 – action for us all . [ online ] Available at : www . england . nhs . uk / ournhspeople [ accessed 1 December 2020 ]
Jane Harrison-Paul , practice development occupational therapist , NUH Therapies . For more information contact project lead Clare Logan at : clare . logan2 @ nuh . nhs . uk
Last November , the occupational therapy staff from Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust ran a virtual work experience event for students interested in a career in occupational therapy .
Anita Bowser , head of occupational therapy for specialist services and a part-time lecturer at the University of Southampton , came up with the idea while supporting a virtual open day for prospective students at the university .
‘ Due to the pandemic students were struggling to find relevant work experience , which is a pre-requisite for the course ,’ she says . ‘ Working across SHFT and the university , I started to think about how I could support these students to get the work experience that they needed . I came up with the idea of hosting a half-day virtual work experience .’
She adds : ‘ Fifteen occupational therapy staff put together interviews with service users , virtual tours of the inpatient units and presentations on the work that they do . There was huge interest in the event and around 150 students attended ; some even attended together with their teacher and class .’
At the end of the session , students were asked to rate the event , with an average score of almost nine out of 10 being awarded , and an incredible 79 per cent of attendees said that they would now consider a career in occupational therapy .
‘ Since the event , we have started to see applications from students who attended and the event has helped them to develop a better understanding of the role of an occupational therapist ,’ Anita reflects .
‘ Overall , the event was a great success and it is definitely something that we would consider running again . There is a real potential to share our work much wider than before by using virtual platforms .’
One of the students who attended the virtual event reflects : ‘ During the virtual work experience , there was a session on activity analysis . We were given instructions on how to make a paper plane and whilst we were making it , we were asked to think about the skills we used to make it .
‘ I found this very illuminating , as I had never considered occupational therapy in this way . I was surprised by the amount of skills used and aspects to consider in order to carry out one task .
‘ We were shown how this is relevant in the work of an occupational therapist in giving a clear picture of how an individual is performing , providing information on how a task or the environment could be adapted and in making a clinical decision on what happens next in their care .
‘ I especially loved learning about the “ Garden-to-table group in mental health high care ”. This involves the growing of plants , encouraging smell , taste and touch , and as part of this , planting food from seed to share with others and give a sense of achievement .
‘ There was also a courtyard gardening project , giving patients access to the outdoors , helping to prevent vitamin D deficiency and encouraging exercise . Sensory plants like long grasses and bright flowers were grown , giving patients something to focus on when outside , encouraging mindfulness . It is thought that nurturing things can help to encourage self-care .
‘ It was very moving to hear a service-user , Sarah , talk about how interacting with an occupational therapist had changed her life for the better . She spoke about how she had been unable to get out of bed and wasn ’ t eating before her occupational therapist helped her to understand and communicate how certain changes in her life had had an impact on her .’
Anita Bowser , professional lead for occupational therapy – specialist services , Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust
OTnews February 2021 45