Merrolee Penman

Creating a Learning Community in Today's World: How Blogging Can Facilitate Continuing Professional Development and International Learning

Blogs are publicly accessible websites that are authored by one or several individuals (Boulos et al 2006). These individuals post regular entries and encourage comment on their work, thereby creating discussion and debate. Preliminary evidence suggests that blogging facilitates learning, assists personal and professional development, and provides an opportunity to reflect on issues raised by others from different cultural perspectives (Martin 2007). This opinion piece is based on the shared experiences of five occupational therapy bloggers from the United Kingdom, Aotearoa/New Zealand and the United States and suggests that blogging has a key role in demonstrating evidence of continuing professional development in a globalised community.

Interdisciplinary eHealth for the care of people living with traumatic brain injury: A systematic review

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify literature which discusses the barriers and enablers of eHealth technology and which evaluates its role in facilitating interdisciplinary team work for the care of people with a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design: Systematic review. Data sources: Studies were identified by searching CINAHL, Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science. Study selection: Studies included in the review were required to feature an eHealth intervention which assisted interdisciplinary care for people with TBI. Data extraction: Descriptive data for each study described the eHealth intervention, interdisciplinary team, outcomes, and barriers and facilitators in implementing eHealth interventions. Results: The search resulted in 1389 publications, of which 35 were retrieved and scanned in full. Six studies met all the inclusion criteria for the review. Four different eHealth interventions were identified: (i) an electronic goals systems, (ii) telerehabilitation, (iii) videoconferencing, and (iv) a point-of-care team-based information system. Various barriers and facilitators were identified in the use of eHealth. Conclusion: eHealth interventions have been reported to support interdisciplinary teams for the care of TBI. However, there is a substantial gap in existing literature regarding the barriers and enablers which characterize a successful interdisciplinary eHealth model for people with TBI.

Preparedness for eHealth: Health Sciences Students’ Knowledge, Skills, and Confidence

There is increasing recognition of the role eHealth will play in the effective and efficient delivery of healthcare. This research challenges the assumption that students enter university as digital natives, able to confidently and competently adapt their use of information and communication technology (ICT) to new contexts. This study explored health sciences students’ preparedness for working, and leading change, in eHealth-enabled environments. Using a cross-sectional study design, 420 undergraduate and postgraduate students participated in an online survey investigating their understanding of and attitude towards eHealth, frequency of online activities and software usage, confidence learning and using ICTs, and perceived learning needs. Although students reported that they regularly engaged with a wide range of online activities and software and were confident learning new ICT skills especially where they have sufficient time or support, their understanding of eHealth was uncertain or limited. Poor understanding of and difficulty translating skills learned in personal contexts to the professional context may impair graduates ability to confidently engage in the eHealth-enabled workplace. These results suggest educators need to scaffold the learning experience to ensure students build on their ICT knowledge to transfer this to their future workplaces.

World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) Standard For 1000 Hours of Practice Placement: Informed by Tradition or Evidence?

The 2016 World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) Minimum Standards for the Education of Occupational Therapists (World Federation of Occupational Therapists, 2016) state that all students are expected to complete a minimum of 1000 practice education hours. Reference to a minimum of 1000 hours has been consistent since the original WFOT document Establishing a Programme for the Education of Occupational Therapists, published in 1958, with almost no variation to this requirement in subsequent revisions of the standards. The current minimum standards justify the tradition of retaining 1000 hours, stating ‘it has been consistent since practice-related experience was part of the occupational therapy educational process and appears comparable to other health professional preparation programmes’ (World Federation of Occupational Therapists, 2016: 49). Despite significant revision of the minimum standards in every other way, the original 1000 hours standard (based on 35 hours per week for 30 weeks) remains unchanged 60 years later, with almost no evidence to support or deny its relevance and validity in the current context. The 1000 hours minimum standard was established at a time when practice education usually took place in large mental health institutions and hospitals providing rehabilitation in a wide range of occupation-based interventions. Occupational therapy departments comprised large craft-based workshops and farms, where clients spent extended periods of time engaging in diversional or remedial activities. In this context, students were expected to observe and carry out assessment and interventions, while developing their medical knowledge, personalities, verbal and written reporting and gaining an appreciation of the administration of an occupational therapy service focused primarily on the medical model (World Federation of Occupational Therapists, 1958: 54–55). In line with educational theories of this time, an apprenticeship model of training with one-to-one supervision by a qualified occupational therapist was

Prioritising practice education through collaborations

The critical importance of practice education in occupational therapy to graduate outcomes and preparedness for practice is well recognised (Doherty, Stagnitti, & Schoo, 2009; Gray et al., 2012; Holmes et al., 2010) being referred to as the bridge between academic education and occupational therapy practice (Roberts, Hooper, Wood, & King, 2015). It is also the foundation on which graduates make career choices and develop as professional occupational therapists. Recognition of the importance of practice education is evidenced through a growing international collection of published research into both innovative models and the pedagogy of practice education (Roberts et al., 2015).

Making connections and promoting the profession: Social media use by World Federation of Occupational Therapists member organisations

Background World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) member organisations comprise 77 national occupational therapy organisations across the world. Each national organisation interacts with its members and the public using diverse methods. Increasingly, national organisations are broadening their communication methods. Objective The objective of this study was to examine if and how occupational therapy organisations are using social media for communication, and if so, the types of concerns or barriers they experience and what role they anticipate social media might play in the near future. Methods An online survey was developed; 57 of 77 WFOT member organisations responded. Findings This study identified that WFOT national organisations are using social media, to varying degrees, with or without an individual formally assigned to manage social media. Respondents reported that they used social media to: communicate with members, promote the organisation and promote the profession. Commonly expressed needs included assistance with guidelines for ethical social media use, developing technical expertise, and recognition of limits of time and competing priorities. Recommendations arising from this research are at the global, national, local and individual levels and incorporate active dissemination and pure diffusion approaches. Taking steps to increase the use of social media could indirectly impact occupational therapy practice through enhancing organisations’ abilities to support practitioners to enhance their practice. Limitations and recommendations for further research Although 57% of WFOT member organisations returned usable responses, there may be some additional perspectives that were not captured. It would be helpful to contact non-responding organisations to explore their social media use and plans. Further research could examine how future initiatives put in place by WFOT impact social media use by member organisations.