Helen M. Madill

Career patterns in two groups of Alberta occupational therapists.

Many factors contribute to job satisfaction and commitment to a particular career choice. Developmental approaches and those involving the self concept as outlined by Super are applicable to occupational therapy. This article presents the results of a career pattern study in two groups of Alberta occupational therapists (N = 119), Using the Life Roles Inventory, values, participation, commitment, and role value realization in five major life roles are described; similarities and differences between groups are outlined. Personal interviews were used to collect career pattern data from both groups; several themes were identified.

Values, Salience, and Job Satisfaction: Male and Female Occupational Therapists' Responses

A matched peer study of 55 male and 55 female respondents from a national survey of occupational therapists in Canada (N = 1,400) was completed in order to examine the level of value endorsement and job satisfaction. Respondents were matched according to position, educational level, years since graduation, marital status, and area of residence. Data from the Life Roles Inventory (LRI) was analyzed using discriminant analysis; results showed that males endorsed Risk and Advancement more strongly than their female cohorts, while females endorsed Social Relationships at a higher level than males. Males viewed studying as more important than females did in terms of participation, commitment, and role value. Data from the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) was analyzed using a t-test and results showed there was no difference between the two groups in relation to their level of job satisfaction.

Student Values and Preferences: What Do They Tell Us about Programme Selection?

Allied health professionals are thought to acquire their orientation through professional socialization and education, but it is likely that they share similar values before being admitted to any educational programme. The results of a study involving occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech pathology / audiology students (N=276) support this contention. The Life Roles Inventory, Vocational Preference Inventory and a student information sheet were the Instruments employed. Using discriminant analysis, the results demonstrate that although respondents endorse the same values, the level of that endorsement differs significantly between the three student groups. Similarly, the same Holland Code was generated for each group, but again the level of endorsement for the six primary scales varies in each case. The more allied health educators know about the values and preferences their students endorse, and how they seek to implement them, the better prepared educators should be to recruit, place, teach and counsel them.

High and low job satisfaction: some characteristics of two groups of occupational therapists.

From a sample of 1400 occupational therapy respondents, the characteristics of two groups, those scoring high on the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (N = 280) and those scoring low (N = 280) on this measure of job satisfaction, are compared on age, position, educational levels and the value and salience scales of the Life Roles Inventory. The implications of these findings for occupational therapy unit management and supervision are discussed and recommendations for continuing professional education are made.

The Pre-Admission Interview as a Predictor of Academic Grades and Fieldwork Performance

Data from 139 graduates, of the Bachelor of Science program in Occupational Therapy at the University, of Alberta were analyzed, to determine the relationship among pre-admission required courses, grads point average in each of four years, and clinical performance as measured by ratings, on the Report of Clinical Fieldwork from the Canadian, Association of Occupational, Therapy (CAOT Form) and by the Field, work Performance Report from, the American. Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA Form). Relationships between pre-admission interview ratings and both measures of clinical performance were lower, than relationships of the clinical measures with four of the eight academic measures in the case of the CAOT Form, and five of the eight academic measures in the case of the AOTA Form. Results are discussed in terms of admission criteria for occupational therapy programs in general and? the University of Alberta program in particular.

Implementing a Health Promotion Strategy in Occupational Therapy Education and Practice

In response to the growing emphasis on health promotion, this article addresses four major questions: 1) How is occupational therapys client-centred philosophy reflected in the principles outlined by the World Health Organization (1984)? 2) What are the roles of occupational therapy in health promotion? 3) How will occupational therapy education foster this development? 4) How will the practice of occupational therapy respond to the challenges and implement the strategies outlined in “Achieving Health for All: A Framework for Health Promotion”? Despite similarities between occupational therapys client-centred approach and the health promotion framework, the need for occupational therapy education to reflect the developments in health promotion and prevention is very evident. A four part model is proposed, and the implications for graduate education as well as continuing professional education are outlined. Recommendations for practice, education, research and development are discussed.

Occupational Therapy Career Patterns in Profile

From a career pattern study of two groups of Alberta occupational therapists (N= 119), five predominant patterns were identified. These are presented in the form of career profiles together with related literature. Recommendations for continuing education and implications for practice are discussed.

Disruption of Life Roles Following InjuryImpact on Women's Social Networks.

Clients with orthopedic and soft-tissue injuries (n = 53) who were settling insurance claims or currently in litigation were assessed using the Values Scales, Salience Inventory, measures of perceived exertion, physical capacity, and functional ability, and a structured interview, the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire. Participation in major life roles was compromised following injury. Role value scores for working and home/family roles also changed, but commitment to these roles did not. Women in this sample (n = 27) experienced disruptions in their social networks that were likely related to the compromise or loss of their working role.

Old themes, new directions--occupational therapy in the 21st century.

The paper begins with a brief look at direction for the future of occupational therapy as expressed in occupational therapy literature over the past six decades. The major contribution in the areas of practice, research and education, professional organization and therapy/knowledge base are highlighted. It then considers current social issues in Canadian society which have a bearing on occupational therapy and implications for its future development; population trends, health status and hospitalization, universal access to health and social services, unemployment, client expectations, multiculturism medical ethics, family breakdown and child abuse. It looks at the occupational therapy profession in relation to these social issues and concludes with a summary of implications for occupational therapy and predictions for its future into the 21st century based on the analysis of these trends.

What do they think we do? O.T. functions as perceived by administrators and allied health professionals.

Prior to preparing written material about the profession, hospital administrators in Alberta were surveyed by questionnaires in an attempt to ascertain the level of knowledge about occupational therapy roles and functions. Fifty-four respondents (administrators and other health professionals) replied to all sections of the questionnaire. Their responses have been analysed and compared to those of occupational therapists within the following areas: occupational therapists as prime agents in specific service areas, the occupational therapists role in tasks relating specifically to physical medicine, tasks relating primarily to evaluation and treatment, tasks relating to consultation and teaching and tasks relating to administrative aspects of program management. There appears to be a lack of knowledge about the entire occupational therapy process; treatment techniques and media can be identified but how the client is assessed, goals set and the evaluation of the clients progress is not understood. Findings indicate that it is not advisable to publish and distribute information without first surveying the level of existing knowledge of the intended reader.