Personal presentation is a way of expressing one's identity. The appearance of the student or the occupational therapist in the workplace is part of his or her professional persona. Discomfort and debate can occur when an individual's appearance conflicts with role expectations. It is part of the occupational therapy educator's task to teach students the principles of professional behaviour and presentation.
Based on a lunchtime discussion between three occupational therapy lecturers and underpinned by theory, this opinion piece presents some of the arguments surrounding the presentation of the self and what is required in order to work most effectively alongside the service user.
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References
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