For its entirety, the profession of occupational therapy's understanding of and approach to the development of professionalism in occupational therapy students (OTS) has remained relatively static and based largely on a White, Western, and male-dominated understanding of professionalism and how it manifests in academic environments. This…

Insight into students' views and understandings of what occupational therapy (OT) practitioners do and what a career will be like can shed light into how the profession is socially perceived. Additionally, this knowledge can be useful for recruitment, retention, and curriculum design, especially for addressing misunderstandings and inaccurate…

This discursive article explores the integration of digital storytelling into an occupational therapy gross anatomy course as a novel pedagogical approach to deepen students' understanding of the functional significance of hand anatomy. Digital storytelling utilizes technology to produce self-narrated meaningful stories and presentations that…

Occupational therapy education standards for teaching occupation are inconsistently applied and there is a lack of evidence to inform teaching practice in Australia. This qualitative study explored what teaching methods and approaches Australian occupational therapy educators used in their classroom, and why those methods were used. The research…

Engaging in play constitutes a fundamental theoretical concept and skill set emphasized in occupational therapy (OT) education. According to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), play is a key occupation and a core context for development and learning. However, there is a paucity of evidence about if and how entry-level OT programs…

Studying for exams forms a significant part of the occupational therapy graduate school experience. While successful completion of exams is a central focus for students, little time is devoted to explicitly teaching new graduate students how to most effectively study. Instead, when they enter their occupational therapy programs, students…

This study aimed to determine occupational therapy students' coping strategies and styles to manage stress. The final sample included 160 students, with 39 master of occupational therapy (MOT) students and 121 occupational therapy doctoral (OTD) students who were currently enrolled in an MOT or OTD program. This study used a cross-sectional,…

This study explores the development and implementation of a custom-designed simulated Electronic Medical Record (sEMR) system integrated into a simulation-based Level I occupational therapy fieldwork experience. The sEMR was collaboratively developed by the Occupational Therapy Department and the University Learning Design Team to provide…

Transfer of learning from an academic setting to clinical practice and vice versa represents a challenge. The aim of this study was therefore to identify, organize, and prioritize ideas on how to support the entangled relation between theory and practice in occupational therapy (OT) education. To gain broad perspectives on the topic, Group Concept…

Art-based education has been gaining the attention of healthcare educators as a means of promoting empathy, observation, and mindfulness in healthcare practitioners. This paper discusses using art-based education to encourage transformative learning and social justice in healthcare education. Specifically, we explore how this approach can…

The current study evaluated the effect of an eight-day elective course on preparedness for the acute care setting. The course was offered to Master of Science in occupational therapy students before their second Level II fieldwork experience and focused on developing necessary skills for success in acute care. Course content was based on feedback…

The United States has the highest number of people per capita in detention centers when compared to all other nations in the world. Stigma exists against people with justice system involvement, resulting in discrimination by healthcare providers and students and ultimately health inequities. This convergent mixed-methods study aimed to impact…

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a multi-method approach for ethics education. The investigators measured occupational therapy (OT) students' self-efficacy for ethical decision-making and explored their perception of what contributed to their confidence in understanding the American Occupational Therapy Association's…

This study investigated the impact of pairing 112 occupational therapy (OT) and 66 occupational therapy assistant (OTA) students in small groups over a 13-week clinical skills class. Students worked together in the weekly 2-hour class to practice various clinical skills and had the option to attend an additional weekly 2-hour open lab. A repeated…

Student success in anatomy courses is critical for entry-level occupational therapy doctorate (OTD) programs, yet many students struggle to master this foundational subject. Research on effective academic interventions to support anatomy learning in OTD programs is limited, leaving a gap in understanding the impact of supplemental resources. This…