Ongoing projects
In the project LOTS-A (Learning Occupational Therapy Skills – Assessment) we investigate how occupational therapy students develop an understanding of assessment situations in various contexts and in relation to different types of patient groups. The goal is to improve and develop educational activities tailored to the needs placed on professional occupational therapists.As an occupational therapist, it is cruicial to assess and evaluate the patient’s occupational performance and overall capacity. This assessment is a central part of the work and forms the basis for planning and evaluating various interventions. As occupational therapists deal with a diverse range of patients of different ages, disabilities and everyday challenges, an in-depth knowledge of how to conduct assessment in varied situations is required. Assessments can be carried out on behalf of or in collaboration with other professional groups and can take place in various environments such as hospitals, institutions, or in the individual’s own home. It is therefore crucial for occupational therapy students to develop the competence to adapt assessments to the specific situation and the individual needs and circumstances of the patient.
Educational plans and national examination goals determine what should be included in the education of occupational therapists. At the same time, clinical workplaces impose their own specific requirements and expectations on the competence of occupational therapists. Within higher education for aspiring occupational therapists, instruction on the work process and the implementation of assessment of patient’s functioning and abilities is an essential part. To best design the education and prepare students for their future professional practice, it is necessary to understand both the general goals of the education and the specific requirements of clinical settings.
In LOTS-A, we will study:
1. How students, teachers, and supervisors in occupational therapy fieldwork placements understand the assessment of patients’ functions and abilities.
2. How educational components can be organized to support students learning of assessment within occupational therapy.
The project is affiliated with the Research school in Medical Education at Linköping University, funded by the Swedish Research Council.
