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Identifying educational priorities for occupational therapy students to prepare for mental health practice in Australia and New Zealand: opinions of practising occupational therapists
journal contribution
posted on 2015-10-01, 00:00 authored by J N Scanlan, Genevieve PepinGenevieve Pepin, K Haracz, P Ennals, J S Webster, P J Meredith, R Batten, S Bowman, M Bonassi, R BruceBACKGROUND: The effective preparation of occupational therapy students for mental health practice is critical to facilitate positive consumer outcomes, underpin optimal practice and support new graduates' professional identity. This project was established to determine a set of 'educational priorities' for occupational therapy students to prepare them for current (and future) entry-level practice in mental health, from the perspective of mental health occupational therapists in Australia and New Zealand. METHODS: The study included two phases. In Phase One, participants identified what they considered to be important educational priorities for occupational therapy students to prepare them for practice in mental health. For Phase Two, an 'expert panel' was assembled to review and rank these using a Policy Delphi approach. RESULTS: Eighty-five participants provided educational priorities in Phase One. These were grouped into a total of 149 educational themes. In Phase Two, the expert panel (consisting of 37 occupational therapists from diverse locations and practice settings) prioritised these themes across three Delphi rounds. A final priority list was generated dividing educational themes into three prioritised categories: 29 'Essential', 25 'Important' and 44 'Optional' priorities. Highest-ranked priorities were: clinical reasoning, client-centred practice, therapeutic use of self, functional implications of mental illness, therapeutic use of occupation and mental health fieldwork experience. CONCLUSION: The priority list developed as part of this project provides additional information to support the review of occupational therapy curricula across Australia and New Zealand to ensure that new graduates are optimally prepared for mental health practice.
History
Journal
Australian occupational therapy journalVolume
62Issue
5Season
Special issue : Mental health and occupational therapyPagination
286 - 298Publisher
WileyLocation
London, Eng.Publisher DOI
ISSN
0045-0766eISSN
1440-1630Language
engPublication classification
C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2015, Occupational Therapy AustraliaUsage metrics
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