A catalyst for change
Iain Ballantine reflects on his clinical academic scholarship year and shares his motivations , experiences and activities undertaken as part of the trust-run programme , in the hope it prompts others to seek out similar opportunities for invaluable self-development
After proudly qualifying in the summer of 2016 , I was eager to immerse myself
in clinical work as a band five occupational therapist within a general medical team at a local acute hospital .
I opted to make the most of the rotations on offer within my trust ; spending time working in orthopaedics , acute stroke rehabilitation , a neurological rehabilitation unit and a gastroenterology ward .
Throughout these rotations , I had made it a priority to engage in research and evidence-based practice , which helped me work on service development projects at a junior level . As time went on , I found myself longing for dedicated time to reengage with research literature and the academic world as a whole .
A supervisor who was aware of my interests informed me of a new Clinical Improvement Scholarship ( CIS ) programme – a secondment post within my trust .
After researching the post further , I could not believe my luck . The programme was designed to allow non-medical allied health professionals to combine their clinical work with academic study , hoping to improve quality of care and bring research into their practice .
In order to achieve this objective , scholars were afforded two non-clinical days to work on a quality improvement project of their choosing , enhance their knowledge and use research and evidence-based practice .
I quickly prepared an application and following a successful interview was offered a place on the programme . This article reflects on some of the activities I have undertaken as part of the CIS and how it was been the catalyst for change I felt I needed .
The improvement project The first stage of the CIS required scholars to complete a literature search and review on their chosen topic of interest , critically review the findings and present them at a symposium in the winter .
I knew from my clinical experience that patients could often spend a majority of their time inactive and unoccupied , which was particularly troublesome given the fundamental beliefs of the profession ( RCOT 2014 ).
The # endpjparalysis campaign of previous years had sparked an interest in me and I was keen to explore the concept of hospital-associated deconditioning .
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34 OTnews January 2021