Marketing the Profession: The Influence of Non-Traditional Psychosocial Fieldwork on Perceptions of Occupational Therapy

Abstract

Current literature examines nontraditional occupational therapy (OT) fieldwork experiences from the students’ perspective while investigating the professional identity within these settings. There is a lack of research from the perspective of other professionals working with students in these settings. This qualitative study identified six themes from interviews with non-OT professionals working in psychosocial settings: OT is a holistic/client-centered profession, individual professional growth, common skills of an OT, benefits of OT, student preparation, and sustainability of services. Results indicate that nontraditional fieldwork heightened awareness of the OT profession and marketed its value in community-based psychosocial settings.

Keywords:

• Fieldwork
• occupational therapy
• professional perceptions
• nontraditional fieldwork

Disclosure statement

We wish to confirm that there are no known conflicts of interest associated with this publication and there has been no significant financial support for this work that could have influenced its outcome.