Occupational Therapy Professional Analysis
Professional Behavior
Background: Every Profession is based on certain values. Professionalism refers to one’s ability to apply these values and demonstrate the same to others. For an individual to develop into a professional, it is necessary that the professional values are integrated into his personal value system. This usually happens in healthcare, through the experiences, interactions, work environment, challenges and dilemmas faced during one’s student life or clinical practice. These values are important for a professional, as they govern his decision and judgment while practicing. A profession is recognized by the public, for the values it represents or stands for. At the core of all professional values, lies the mutual trust and interest of the general public. When mutual trust between the professional and the client is breached, the profession loses its self-regulations and slowly the clarity in its values becomes dim. Professionalism is expressed in a person’s behavior and attitude. Thus, efforts to develop and sustain professionalism must work on these two attributes (Aguilar et. al., 2012). The perception of professional behavior often varies with the context in which it is applied. Nevertheless, researchers identified three important contexts to define professionalism: practice skill, client –professional relationship, and professional presentation. Collecting the individuals perceptive on these behaviors would help study the area that exists among professionals on this topic. A validated Delphi protocol that was developed by Hasson, Keeney and McKenna, are used to study the perception on the individual’s behavior (Hasson, Keeney and McKenna, 2000). Professional attitude matters as much as professional behavior. Attitude is a mental inclination of a person, and it governs his way of living and thinking. A positive mental attitude in medical professionals is perceived as the ability to engage in lifelong learning; being skilled in the current technology, possessing self-management skill; participating in activities related to professional development and contribution to the profession (Murray and Lawry, 2011).
In this study, I intend to measure professional behavior and attitude using well validated tools among occupational therapists. The study will explore perceptions in these two domains and arrive at an understanding of the extent of professionalism that presently exists among the therapists.
An understanding about the level of professionalism is important to implementing programs that will take into consideration the prevailing deficiencies, and enable developing strategies that will enhance professionalism. This study is important as legal and ethical obligations are associated with professionalism. Professionals are defined by their behavior and attitude. There is a growing demand for professional accountability in all fields of public service and medical profession is not exempt from this. The study will also help identify factors that hinder professional development.
It is said that Occupational Therapists have a well- define role in work-related practice. The literatures presented have a theme on establishing a clear-cut version on the Professional behavior that should have been emitted by Occupational Therapists in relation to their work satisfaction and work related knowledge in this case it is the skills that is put much weight on. A number of literatures have not established on the proper criteria in which these should be interplayed in a multi-disciplinary approach. Notably, in one of the journal student responses were recorded and further analyzed as the results shows that students perceive the “ why” of occupational therapy as getting back to “everyday activities as some student-participants stressed on returning to “ normal” activities of life (Turpin et al., 2012). This is notwithstanding to results in how the students perception of the profession as having to work with people with an “injury” or disability” (Turpin et al., 2012). The same findings have been mentioned in one of the study conducted mentioning that the “Meta-synthesis determined in the key attributes required in the profession would reckoned in their work related practice were the knowledge of injury prevention behaviors of self-reflection and evaluation (Adam et al., 2013). This statement confirm that the students perception on their profession is limited and lacks the proper characteristics of a therapist in which would also be effected in the number of students who have low-performance in assessing themselves in their work.
Given this problem in their perspective in relation to their “ would-be” profession, calls into an intervention program to remediate these limited scopes that is given to the students. This also heightens the call for the faculty members who are in practice of the said profession to inhibit further un-constituted ideology regarding the profession. In so much that is a reflection on how this profession is progressing in developing the knowledge to its students and future graduates. As mentioned in the study of recent research demonstrates on the incapacity of the practitioners of the profession to be taken to application level as to have a well-defined values inclines to the profession (Aguilar, Stupans et al., 2013). This further aggravates the situation in dislodging on the professional values and ethics that an Occupational Therapist student should exhibit once he is in the practicum level of this student years. Supervisors in this level should also be made aware on the proper display of values as to be modeled upon of future therapist once they start on their professional career as it is said in one of study “How a profession portrays itself to others is important” (Di & Wilding, 2014). Equally important in defining the professional behavior, is the capacity of the individual to further study and develop its own knowledge skills as enhance on the personal development of the individual in the profession that she is undertaken.
In the same light, adequate depiction of work responsibilities should be advocated as this is in compliance to the legal requirements of the informed consent as this is key for health professionals to articulate what they can do for their clients as to understand the corresponding role between the clinician in their health care plans, unable to do this may forfeit the correspondence by fellow health workers and the community in general. Consequently, it may have been the reason on why new graduates of this disciple have a relatively poor expectation in themselves in relevance to the what do they practice in the said profession as a result these new graduates did not seek employment opportunities in settings that they perceive to under mind their profession. This phenomenon may be attributed that new graduates of this disciple have relatively low self esteem in him or herself in applying their profession as some would rather discontinue this or shift to another career.
There have been a numerous account and literature that would mention on this problem. Strategy would include: paying careful attention to language, use of word “occupation”, use of philosophy, and utilizing theory but still admittedly there is still and should be further research to aid this paradigm. In this perspective, we can suggest that for the professional behavior to be establish this should be the primary responsibility of the board of professionals in this disciple as to extract the essential behaviors needed to define the profession other than this the skills and the knowledge should be further depicted in the learning institutions to take a step up role in “beefing up” its faculty members to take further study to enchase the skills and test further the abilities as to have a sound basis to teach the students.
Therefore, it is a well –known fact that we are a reflection of our parents, in the same way; we are a reflection of our teachers, supervisors. As we dig deeper to this scenario one cannot help but to add on to the complexities of this disciple in the community level. One cannot teach if one is undone, and given this plate we can suggest several ways to cover up but in reality an individual cannot be successful if he is not prepared during his formative years that is where the faculty development program of this discipline should be initiated as for its future students to be well-articulated on their role in this profession, certainly like nurses they did not just came in to cure the sick but it progress to more that curing the sick, the attitudes included in this discipline should be given by the faculty and not just merely dwell on the conceptual and theoretical frameworks but as professionals in the profession they should also be seen in the proper work values that is expected with their students. The skills and knowledge should be projected also as part and parcel of the development program of the faculty as they further their knowledge as they utilized new and advance knowledge not on in their line of specialization but also in the manipulative that they use as part of the teaching methods and strategies that would be most effective to the students. The application or practicum stage should more on so emphasized the students capability to apply the said theories in practice and this should also include on what their profession is about the basic articulation of job functions in a health service level wherein the student will be immersed in the level of professionals. Lastly, as the study progress in this literature it is the dire suggestion that more literature be available for the consumption of the students in relevance of their professional development.
In this exploration of Occupational therapy the specifics of patient relation will be explored. The perspective of this analysis relates to discrimination within psychology and the field of interactions that practitioners utilize. One of the greatest indicators of this phenomenon is the patient satisfaction that is expressed during and after treatment. The validity of this measure is discussed in terms of its application to treatment and exposure of patients to positive Occupational therapist interactions. The context of this measure is further valid based on the integration of standards towards a communicable and effective impression of discrimination within care environments. The overall implications of personality and the precise activities that determine discrimination can vary. Regardless there are themes of investigation that promote meaningful conclusions about therapist and patient contact that can benefit the process on a whole.
Occupational therapy involves the practice of rehabilitative medicine towards integrative healing for patients. The overall situation that patients find themselves in is conducive to the length of interaction with a practitioner as well as the quality of conversation and analysis. There are numerous ways that patient interactions can be gauged in terms of the discrimination that they perceive and face throughout a clinical environment. This delves into the value of a psychological perspective that underlies the use and strategy of clinical theory within the patient relations process on a whole.
Occupational therapists are able to create value within the inpatient setting through positive rehabilitation and maintaining standards of ethical treatment of patients. This is relevant within the discharge of spinal cord injury (SCI) in particular and is notable in the way that patients were able to rate their care and satisfaction with practice (Teeter et al., 2012). This demonstrates just one aspect of the care paradigm that can patients can experience detrimental discrimination or perceived stress through.
Inpatient rehabilitation amongst Occupational therapists and patients suffering from spinal chord injury creates different results regarding patient satisfaction and overall interest. Within this care setting there are more activities that demonstrate the way that a patient will evaluate their therapist. As with most inpatient settings the tasks of self-care and dressings as well as regular interactions will be judged with more scrutiny because of the dependency that patients feel regarding motor complexities and the particular attention received through therapist interaction (Ozelie et al., 2012).
Patient satisfaction is one indicator of the how outpatient Occupational therapy can yield results that are valuable in terms of treatment and emotional acceptance amongst patients. Environmental indicators such as time spent waiting for a therapist, the type of equipment used and correlations to the overall satisfaction of care are pertinent to the way that patients experience discrimination within a clinical environment. Satisfaction is a good indicator of this overall.
Despite changes to the current healthcare environment there are prominent challenges that Occupational therapists face within the marketplace. The goals and pressures associated with Occupational therapy can change the way that it is practiced within the clinical setting. Nevertheless, the best patient relationships are provided when care is continued and the healthcare practitioner is able to adhere to a particular plan. Through self-reported indications it is possible for multidimensional and relevant variables.
There are many aspects towards this that can be seen commonly including competence of the practitioner as well as personality and overall communication style. Other more macroscopic implications such as the location, accessibility of services and the continuity of care also play a part in the relationship that Occupational therapists and patients can build. Ultimately the discrimination that aOccupational therapist shows their patients is viewed through patient satisfaction measurements and inquiry. For example, a patient who did not perceive this attribute from their practitioner would be more likely to recommend services and promote the quality of care in different regards (Beattie et al., 2002).
Another aspect of discrimination that comes into play within the patient relation context is that differences experienced by practitioners with regards to the patients they interact with. Some discrimination is necessary in implementing effective care from the perspective of the Occupational therapist because there are diverse types of reactions they may encounter from patients themselves. For example, many Occupational therapists and students have experienced inappropriate sexual behavior or encounters with patients. In these events Occupational therapists must provide care and changes to their modalities of understanding in order to achieve results that are beneficial towards the practice and discriminatory towards their interactions (McComas, 1993).
There are several consequences towards this type of interaction. The greatest of these are that Occupational therapists must experience a certain level of discrimination towards their patients. Since interactions with patients can lead to differences in behavior it is necessary that rehabilitation theory address discrimination and enable practitioners to create effective standards for change and patient response (McComas, 1993). This is a difficult area of investigation because it promotes the validity of Occupational therapists maintaining boundaries and providing a positive relation with patients while discriminating against ineffective behavior that is misplaced.
There are implications further regarding the influence of therapist and patient relationships throughout the treatment process that provide evidence of the best practices for situational management and discrimination amongst practice. This partially is attributed to the collaborative bond that is formed between the practitioner and the patient. Ultimately the relationship that is presented between a practitioner and the patient is highly valuable and variegated towards the healing process. This is seen as an alliance and derives the nature and progress of therapeutic situations as necessary. When a patient is treated with warmth, support and a sense of informed consent there are highly meaningful attributes towards the success of the patients’ experience. Overall discrimination can be used positively in order to facilitate the best responses from patients as well as the most meaningful interactions between clinical parties and the patients directly (Hall et al., 2010).
Patients have variegated diagnoses, yet musculoskeletal pain is frequently treated with Occupational therapy. This is contingent to the overall improvements to chronic pain that can result in diminished symptoms and the treatment of accompanying mental conditions. Alliances between the patient and the practitioner within a rehabilitative setting allow for the maximum efficacy in treatment as well as limited psychological strain. However these are based on the timing of intervention as well as the overall treatment plan that each patient has determined. The most meaningful demonstration of having positive patient relations within Occupational therapy can be seen with an association of valuable alliances and meaningful outcomes for the patients and related disabilities (Hall et al., 2010).
These outcomes are greatly tempered by the relationship between therapy, personality and the overall quality of interpersonal relationships. As developed through a client-centered framework it is possible to delineate key areas of practice and empathy that can facilitate the most meaningful relations between therapists and clients. These can yield the best patient satisfaction scores as well as related concepts that promote limited discrimination and support the value that patients can gain from entering the care setting and receiving their expected treatment protocols (Rogers et al., 1959).
In conclusion, there are a variety of indicators that can demonstrate how satisfied a patient is with their experience in Occupational therapy. This is the best modality of indicating the patient relationship within a care environment and in creating an effective evaluation method of discrimination. While this is a complex and multidimensional issue overall, there are significantly valuable strategies that create and sustain the fortitude of Occupational therapy and patient interactions. The differences of discrimination are evident in the way that inpatient and outpatient circumstances are evaluated. These are significant to the determination process of the patient’s psychological well being in addition to circumstantial gains.
References
Adam, K., Peters, S.,& Chipchase, L.(2013).Knowledge, skills and professional behavior required by Occupational therapist and Physiotherapist beginning practitioners in work-related practice: A systematic review. Australian occupational therapy journal, 60, 76-84.
Aguilar A., Stupans, I., Scutter, S., & King, S. (2013). Towards a definition of professionalism in Australian Occupational therapy: Using Delphi technique to obtain consensus on essential values and behaviors. Australian occupational therapy Journal. 60, 206-216.
Beattie, P. F., Pinto, M. B., Nelson, M. K., & Nelson, R. (2002). Patient satisfaction with outpatient Occupational therapy: instrument validation. Occupational Therapy, 82(6), 557-565.
Brown-Triolo, D. L., Roach, M. J., Nelson, K., & Triolo, R. J. (2002). Consumer perspectives on mobility: implications for neuroprosthesis design. Journal of rehabilitation research and development, 39(6), 659-670.
Di Tommaso, A., & Wilding, C. (2014). Exploring ways to improve descriptions of occupational therapy. New Zealand Journal of Occupational Therapy, 67(1), 27 – 33.
Hall, A. M., Ferreira, P. H., Maher, C. G., Latimer, J., & Ferreira, M. L. (2010). The influence of the therapist-patient relationship on treatment outcome in Occupational rehabilitation: a systematic review. Occupational therapy.
Hasson, F., Keeney, S., & McKenna, H. (2000). Research guidelines for the Delphi survey technique. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 32 (4), 1008-1015.
McComas, J., Hébert, C., Giacomin, C., Kaplan, D., & Dulberg, C. (1993). Experiences of student and practicing Occupational therapists with inappropriate patient sexual behavior. Occupational Therapy, 73(11), 762-769.
Ozelie, R., Gassaway, J., Buchman, E., Thimmaiah, D., Heisler, L., Cantoni, K., &Whiteneck, G. (2012). Relationship of occupational therapy inpatient rehabilitation interventions and patient characteristics to outcomes following spinal cord injury: The SCIRehab Project. The journal of spinal cord medicine, 35(6), 527-546.
Rogers, C. R. (1959). A theory of therapy, personality, and interpersonal relationships: As developed in the client-centered framework.
Teeter, L., Gassaway, J., Taylor, S., LaBarbera, J., McDowell, S., Backus, D., &Whiteneck, G. (2012). Relationship of Occupational therapy inpatient rehabilitation interventions and patient characteristics to outcomes following spinal cord injury: The SCIRehab project. The journal of spinal cord medicine,35(6), 503-526.
Turpin, M.J.,Rodger, S.,&Hall,A(2012). Occupational theraphy student’s perceptions of Occupational theraphy. Austalian Occupational Theraphy Journal, 59, 367-374.
Whiteneck, G. G., & Gassaway, J. (2013). SCIRehab uses practice-based evidence methodology to associate patient and treatment characteristics with outcomes. Archives of occupational medicine and rehabilitation, 94(4), S67-S74.
