Abstract
Education-based settings became the lead employer of OT practitioners in 2022. This qualitative study sought to determine how prepared novice OT practitioners are to practice in a school-based setting.
Primary Author and Speaker: Leanne Rutt
Additional Authors and Speakers: Vita Roitman, Corryn Baker, Madeline Simonds, Elizabeth Kilby
The preparation of occupational therapy practitioners for school-based practice postgraduation has not been extensively researched. While Brandenburg-Shasby (2005) published a related mixed methods study, it is now 19 years old, and the percentage of occupational therapy practitioners working in school-based practice has increased significantly. The purpose of this study was to describe the perceived preparedness of novice (0-3 years experience) occupational therapy practitioners, the supports and barriers that have contributed toward their preparedness, and the knowledge and skills necessary to practice in a school-based setting. This study used a phenomenological qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews. After attaining IRB approval, convenience, purposive, and snowball sampling methods were used to recruit eight participants who met the inclusion criteria (seven occupational therapists and one occupational therapy assistant). After signing an informed consent, participants completed a demographic survey and scheduled a 1-hour interview session with one of the researchers. Each interview was recorded, transcribed and then sent to the participant to check for accuracy. The thematic analysis framework was used to code the data and identify themes. Key themes included a limited amount of course content related to school-based practice in their schooling, a need for mentorship and guidance post-graduation, and generally feeling underprepared as evidenced by the need to ‘learn as you go.’ Other themes included a need to communicate to many stakeholders of different ages (students) and a lack of knowledge and understanding from colleagues and administrators about the depth and breadth of the occupational therapy role in schools. Finally, participants recommended increased time in the curriculum devoted to school-based practice, as well as a need for affordable continuing education opportunities and mentorship and networking opportunities.
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