ACOTUP - Newsletter - Issue 25 - 2015

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Join Occupational Therapists from across the globe
at these upcoming events or explore their websites:
Rio de Janeiro
XIV Brazilian Conference of Occupational Therapy
Theme: Citizenship and Human Rights: From Financing to Practice
October 12-15, 2015
Birmingham, UK
Occupational Therapy Show 2015
November 25-26
Hall 9, NEC, Birmingham, B40 1NT
Singapore
Singapore Association of Occupational Therapists
National Occupational Therapy Conference 2015
October 9-10
RELC International Hotel
Plan a TriP!
In plenary sessions, topics of MScOT curriculum philosophy
& overview, introduction to occupation, introduction to gradu-
ate-level writing, fieldwork orientation, and professionalismwere
covered. Students were also divided into smaller groups for in-
teractive, practical sessions on therapeutic use of self & inter-
viewing skills, safe client handling skills & therapeutic touch, and
a thorough orientation to the UofA Libraries & RefWorks©. ‘Oc-
cupation’ through self-care, productivity and leisure was intro-
duced on the first day and students completed a photography
activity to capture images of ‘occupation’ which were profiled
in a slide show at the end of the week. To build relationships
amongst the students and between the students and staff, vari-
ous lunches, a wrap-up BBQ and other student-led social activ-
ities were scheduled throughout the week. A hugely successful
‘Meet Your Professors’ mini-conference was organized on one
of the afternoons that gave students the opportunity to interact
directly with staff and learn about the research interests of spe-
cific faculty members.
To gauge the success of this new initiative, a survey was
completed by the students one month post Foundation Week.
The survey included open-ended questions as well as 5-point
Likert Scales to elicit student perspectives regarding the rele-
vance of the various activities. Therapeutic use of self, client
handling skills, curriculum philosophy & overview, introduction
to occupation and the mini conference were rated as very or
highly relevant. Overall, students indicated that Foundation
Week was a valuable experience (Edmonton 93%, Calgary
81%). Emerging themes from the survey were that the week:
helped ease transition into the program, helped students to un-
derstand what to expect, and was a good opportunity to get to
know classmates and professors. The latter point was particu-
larly relevant as students in Edmonton and Calgary had a chance
to get to know each other and the Calgary students had the
chance to meet the professors face-to-face prior to any lecturing
via the video-conferencing system.
Informal feedback from the faculty reported an increased
familiarity with students early in the program, which enhanced
communication and eased issues re: professionalism. Faculty
also observed increased student awareness of core content and
curricular themes throughout year one of the program. Despite
the positive student response, faculty noted that it was too early
in the program to introduce client handling skills. For the com-
ing year, an interactive, introductory session on clinical reason-
ing and reflective practice will be introduced in its place.
Yes - it is planned to continue Orientation & Foundation
Week, as the pilot was successful and the objectives were
achieved. We look forward to greeting our next cohort of
MScOT students at both our campuses in September 2015!
Jutta Hinrichs is the Calgary & Southern Alberta Clinical Ed-
ucation Coordinator and an instructor at the University of Alberta
Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, Department of Occupational
Therapy satellite campus in Calgary, Alberta.
Cori Schmitz is the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Educa-
tion of the MScOT program and an Assistant Professor at the Uni-
versity of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, Department
of Occupational Therapy in Edmonton, Alberta.
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