Improving clinical expertise in second year occupational therapy students through application of adult learning theories
What you will learn
Summarize the current literature on occupational therapy student’s confidence and critical thinking skills with occupational therapy material
Understand the importance of developing a stress management plan
Identify the importance of working with occupational therapy students to improve their critical thinking and confidence prior to entering fieldwork experiences
Recognize the characteristics of adult learning theories
Why take this course?
This course is an outline of the project I completed with Drake University’s Occupational Therapy department for my occupational therapy doctoral capstone experience. Students of Drake University’s Occupational Therapy program located in Des Moines, Iowa complete a three year doctorate program. Students who complete the three year program enter the work force with the skills and knowledge of an entry-level practitioner.
The goal for this project was to assist in second year occupational therapy students development of clinical expertise in the practice area of pediatrics and improve confidence in the students application of material. From my own experiences on level II fieldworks, I wanted to focus on reducing stress and anxiety and improving confidence and understanding of pediatric material in occupational therapy students prior to entering their level II fieldworks and capstone experiences.
Therefore, this presentation will review the needs assessment, literature review and critically appraised topic, capstone theory and goals, and the learning objectives and activities I completed while at Drake University. Following this presentation, we will review a brief knowledge check before concluding the presentation. My hope is that you will be able to take away an improved knowledge and understanding of improving clinical expertise within higher education students and the ability identify your own strategies to decrease stress and anxiety within a variety of settings.