Professionalism, Resilience and Reflective Thinking: How Do These Influence Occupational Therapy Student Fieldwork Outcomes?

Abstract

The relationship between entry-level, undergraduate occupational therapy students’ fieldwork performance and measures of professionalism, reflective thinking and resilience was examined. A group of 135 undergraduates (86% female) completed a self-report questionnaire containing the standardized instruments measuring professionalism, resilience and reflective thinking. The Australian Student Practice Evaluation Form–Revised (SPEF–R) measured fieldwork performance. Linear regression analyses identified Staying Healthy and Relationships with Others as significant predictors of students’ fieldwork performance in Professional Behaviors, Self-Management and Information Gathering. The findings highlight the importance of interpersonal skills and engagement in healthy lifestyles in key fieldwork performance areas.

Keywords:

• Fieldwork
• occupational therapy
• professionalism
• reflective thinking
• resilience
• students

Acknowledgments

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.

Credit author statement

Ted Brown: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, resources, writing – original draft and review & editing, supervision, project administration, funding acquisition. Alana Hewitt: conceptualization, methodology, investigation, resources, writing – review & editing, funding acquisition. Mong-Lin Yu: conceptualization, methodology, investigation, resources, writing – review & editing, funding acquisition. Robert Cousland: conceptualization, methodology, investigation, resources, writing – review & editing, funding acquisition. Jamie Etherington: formal analysis, resources, writing – original draft and review & editing, supervision, project administration.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval

Ethics approval for the project was obtained from Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (Project Number: 15025).

Additional information

Funding

The study was funded through a grant received from the Monash Education Academy – Learning and Teaching Monash Small Grants Scheme, Monash 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

Ted Brown is a Professor and Undergraduate Course Coordinator; Mong-Lin Yu is a Senior Lecturer and Practice Education Coordinator; Alana Hewitt is a Lecturer, and Jamie Etherington is a Research Assistant within the Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University - Peninsula, Frankston, Victoria, Australia; Robert Cousland is a member of the Student Academic Support Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Frankston, Victoria, Australia.