Clare Wilding

Phenomenological Research: An Exploration of Conceptual, Theoretical, and Practical Issues

Phenomenological research has become increasingly popular in occupational therapy in recent years. However, phenomenological inquiry is one of the most philosophically and theoretically complex research traditions, many aspects of which remain poorly understood. This article is intended for individuals either interested in or about to conduct phenomenological research. It examines the conceptual foundations of phenomenology, particularly Heideggerian phenomenology, including an exploration of the concept of Being. A case example of how these concepts can be developed within an occupationally focused research project is presented. The article concludes with reflections on the value of phenomenological research in understanding complex, situated phenomena of interest to occupational therapists.

Quality allied health clinical supervision policy in Australia: A literature review

Clinical supervision is presented as a complex set of skills that may broadly apply to any and all allied health professions. However, it is also noted that a clear understanding of clinical supervision and how to implement it in allied health is currently lacking. It is argued that there is a need to reflect upon current approaches to clinical supervision amongst allied health professionals and to gain a shared understanding about what supervision involves, what effective supervision is, and what effective implementation of clinical supervision might look like. By gaining an understanding of what high quality clinical supervision is and how it is best put into practice, it is anticipated that this will form the first step in developing an understandable and useful universal supervision policy for all allied health professionals.

MentorLink: An Australian Example of Continuing Professional Development through Mentoring

Over the past 3 years, rural and metropolitan occupational therapists living and working in the state of Victoria, Australia, have been using a facilitated mentoring programme in order to support, empower and provide continuing professional development (CPD) for each other. OT AUSTRALIA Victoria, a state branch of the Australian Association of Occupational Therapists, conceptualised, implemented and now manages the programme, called MentorLink. This report provides a brief overview of how MentorLink is organised and comments on an evaluation of the programme, which showed that mentoring could be used by occupational therapists as a form of CPD. MentorLink is a facilitated mentoring programme which offers matching, training and support for occupational therapists who are engaged in mentoring partnerships. The programme began in 1998 following calls for more professional support and assistance from members of OT AUSTRALIA Victoria, who were feeling isolated and unsupported within a health care environment that had suffered major health funding cutbacks. The idea of occupational therapists mentoring occupational therapists was raised as a potential solution, thus setting the concept of MentorLink into motion. Initially, MentorLink was funded as a pilot project through two grants from the Rural Health Education Support and Training unit, which is part of the Australian Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care. The Telematics Course Development Fund provided further funding to develop training and support resources in 2000. Now several years into the programme, MentorLink is in full flight, employing a part-time mentoring project officer and including about 20% of OT AUSTRALIA Victoria members as participants within the programme. An evaluation of MentorLink revealed that there were many benefits for its members, including an increase in skills, increased professional support, increased links with other occupational therapists and a greater emphasis on developing the career paths of occupational therapists. Thus it may be claimed that mentoring is a valuable CPD activity. Australian occupational therapists have recognised this by including mentoring as an activity in which they may engage MentorLink: An Australian Example of Continuing Professional Development through Mentoring