Professionalism as a Predictor of Fieldwork Performance in Undergraduate Occupational Therapy Students: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between professionalism factors and undergraduate occupational therapy students’ fieldwork performance as measured by the Student Practice Education Form–Revised Edition (SPEF-R). 135 undergraduate occupational therapy students (86% 20-24 years old; 87% female) completed the Penn State College of Medicine Professionalism Questionnaire (PSCOPQ). Student fieldwork performance was measured using the Student Practice Evaluation Form–Revised Edition (SPEF-R). Multi-linear regression with bootstrapping was completed on the midway and final SPEF-R scores. Regression analysis demonstrated a range of professionalism variables to be significant predictors of fieldwork performance at the midway assessment of their fieldwork placement: Equity was a significant predictor of Self-management Skills; Enrichment and Altruism were significant predictors of Coworker Communication; and Altruism was a strong predictor of Communication Skills. No PSCOPQ variable was found to be a significant predictor of final SPEF-R performance. The findings reflect the dynamic and complex nature of professionalism in occupational therapy fieldwork settings.

Keywords:

• Fieldwork performance
• occupational therapy education
• practice education
• professionalism

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the undergraduate occupational therapy students from Monash University – Peninsula Campus for volunteering their time to complete the survey. Their input and contributions were invaluable.

Declaration of Interest

There are no conflicts of interest related to this article.

Ethics approval

Ethics approval for the project was obtained from the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (Project Number: 15205).

Additional information

Funding

The study was funded through a grant received from the Monash Education Academy – Learning and Teaching 2018 Small Grants Scheme, Monash University University – Peninsula Campus, Victoria, Australia. The funding received covered the salary costs of a research assistant who helped with the data collection and data entry.

Notes on contributors

Ted Brown

Dr. Ted Brown designed the study, and performed the statistical analyses. All four authors assisted with the data collection, the interpretation of the data findings, and drafting the manuscript. All authors approved the final submitted manuscript.