Supporting the Professional Reasoning of Students from Fieldwork to Practice

Abstract

The Occupation-Centered Intervention Assessment (OCIA) was created to assist occupational therapy practitioners and students to apply knowledge of the core theoretical constructs of occupation from didactic education to clinical practice. This study investigated how the OCIA influenced students’ professional reasoning and supported students’ transition from academic education to clinical practice during fieldwork. Using an inductive qualitative approach, researchers analyzed master’s level students’ (n=61) reflection on using the OCIA to analyze an intervention they had reported providing during fieldwork. Collaborative data analysis produced 48 initial codes. Ongoing peer briefing led to grouping of coded data into three themes and 15 subthemes, and subsequently into four subthemes. Trustworthiness was established through use of multiple researchers, reflexivity, an audit trail, thick description, and peer briefing. Three major themes emerged: (1) promotion of reflection on practice; (2) support of the student’s developing professional identity; and (3) ease of use of the OCIA. The OCIA serves as a tool to facilitate development of students’ professional reasoning while promoting occupation-centered practice.

Keywords

• fieldwork
• professional reasoning
• patient-centered care
• occupation-centered practice
• reflection