Introduction
Nearly all professions subscribe to certain values that define them. Professionalism is the ability to apply these values and demonstrate them to others. People who exhibit professionalism are said to be professionals. One must integrate professional values into one’s personal value system to become a professional. In the healthcare sector, experiences gained in the learning and working environment provide opportunities for people to develop professionalism in their careers. The environment presents challenges and dilemma situations that enable people to gain insights into ways of solving problems. Professional values of any given profession determine the level of trust that the public can have on that profession. When members of a particular profession fail to uphold the values of that profession, they will misrepresent the profession. Besides, failure to uphold the professional values associated with a given profession leads to the loss of public trust in the profession. Since the process of developing professionalism entails applying and demonstrating these values to others, professionals are expected to exhibit certain attributes and attitudes while executing their professional duties. In other words, these professional values should guide them in their professional duties.
Since professionals are expected to behave in a particular way, they are guided by professional codes of conduct. Every professional is expected to follow them. People who fail to adopt the professional codes of conduct are said not to have gained professionalism. A person who fails to behave in a manner that reflects the professional codes of conduct of his/her career is not fit to practice the career. In general, for one to gain professionalism in a given career, one must change his behavior and attitude to conform to the professional codes of conduct of the career one is pursuing.
The Impact of Professional Behavior on the Profession
In nearly all professions, some values guide the behaviors of practitioners at least in their practices. However, some professions lack clearly defined professional values. In such professions, there is little understanding of the values that constitute professionalism among the practitioners. In Australia, occupational therapy profession still lacks collectively agreed-on values to guide the profession. The perceptions of various practitioners on behaviors that constitute professionalism in occupational therapy vary from one practitioner to another.
Various studies have attempted to explore the perceptions of occupational therapists on the behaviors they deem professional. For instance, in the study conducted by Aguilar, Stupans, Scutter, and King (2013), 61 professional values were found to be essential in the occupational therapy practice. The values identified were linked to contemporary practice, ethical practice, and foundational beliefs of the profession among others (Aguilar, Stupans, Scutter, & King, 2013). The study was aimed at obtaining consensus among the Australian occupational therapists concerning the professional values and behaviors that are essential for the practice (Aguilar, Stupans, Scutter, & King, 2013). In the study, the Delphi technique was used to obtain consensus on the professional values and behaviors deemed to be vital to the profession from various occupational practitioners in the country. Even though the perceptions of the practitioners that took part in this study varied widely on these values, most professionals shared similar perceptions on certain behaviors. For instance, nearly all the participating practitioners agreed that confidentiality is an essential professional value to the practice of occupational therapy (Aguilar, Stupans, Scutter, & King, 2013). Besides, client empowerment, competent practice, respect for people’s language and culture, and good communication among other values achieved high consensus among the practitioners who took part in the study. The study conducted by Murray and Lawry (2011) gave similar findings. Focus group discussions were carried out in the study to explore the perceptions of occupational therapy practitioners from South Australia on the role and meaning of professional currency. The study identified the following themes as some of the factors defining the professional currency of occupational therapy.
Many professionals in the occupational therapy in Australia are not aware of all the professional values essential in this career. This problem is partly attributed to the lack of recognition reported in the profession in Australia. According to the study conducted by Wilding (2011), occupational therapy is dominated over by other professions in the Australian healthcare sector. Besides, the study reports that many people in other professions have little understanding of many aspects of the occupational therapy. According to the study, the treatment of occupational therapy in the healthcare sector is partly attributed to the fact that many occupational therapists tend to be conformists. In this case, they have chosen to conform to the current hospital system. According to the study, occupational therapy is dominated by women. Women tend to be complacent, conformist, and reluctant defy the system. These attributes possibly explain why the situation has remained the same over the years.
Despite the lack of adequate information about the attributes required by the professionals in the occupational therapy profession for competent practice in the field, some studies have attempted to explore some of these attributes. For instance, according to a systematic review conducted by Adam, Peters, and Chipchase (2013), the following key attributes were identified to be essential in the practice of occupational therapy: communication skills, self-reflection, self-evaluation, and knowledge of injury prevention and management. This study identified self-evaluation and self-refection as the main professional values of the occupational therapy profession.
Professional values play a significant role in promoting various professions. Indeed, when pursuing a career, one should strive to uphold the professional behaviors associated with the career to achieve success in the career. People who fail to uphold professional values of a career they are pursuing are less likely to be successful in their careers than their counterparts who uphold the professional values. Enforcing the professional behaviors in a given profession helps ensure that people in the given professions develop the right attitude for the professions.
Professional values and ethics in occupational therapy play a significant role in the success of practitioners in various ways. First, a good reputation is significantly necessary for success in occupational therapy just like in other professions. A good reputation is needed among the occupational therapists for success. Besides, a good reputation encourages people to seek services from occupational therapists. Indeed, other than the expertise acquired through training, reputation is the most significant asset any professional in the occupation therapy practice needs for success. In general, a good reputation is essential to both the care provider and the clients. A good reputation is acquired partly by adopting the professional values associated with the profession. Besides, one needs to apply these professional behaviors in practice to gain recognition among the clients. Demonstrating professional behaviors improve the level of trust on a professional among the clients.
Professional behaviors determine the kind of decisions that one can make. People that uphold professional behaviors are more likely to make the best possible decisions than those that do not. The outcome of services provided by people who support professional behaviors is usually positive. Occupational therapy, just like other health-related professions, put emphasis on positive patient outcomes. Positive patient outcome significantly depends on actions taken and decisions made by practitioners. Therefore, upholding professional values in occupational therapy is indispensable to the success of the career.
Failure to uphold professional values has significant ramifications on the profession of occupational therapy. First, it can damage the reputation of the professionals. This has a serious impact on practice. While building a reputation is a process that takes some time, destroying it can take place in a single moment. Besides, once a bad reputation has been set, correcting it would require many efforts. Besides, such efforts may not necessarily result in success. Rather, the bad reputation may not be corrected at all. Therefore, building a good reputation is significant for the success in a career. In addition to skills and expertise, professional values define a profession.
New Graduates and the Knowledge of Professional Behavior
New graduates in occupational therapy tend to lack adequate knowledge of professional values of the career. Various studies have shown that most graduates are not aware of all the professional values associated with occupational therapy. Besides, many new graduates who are aware of the professional values they are expected to uphold do not apply them adequately. Indeed, the level of knowledge of professional values of occupational therapy is low among the practitioners in this field. New graduates lack adequate experience to conduct evidence-based practice. Indeed, the work experience acquired after graduation provides more opportunities for new graduates to acquire more skills and practical knowledge. Besides, it provides them with the opportunity to develop professional values required to be successful in the profession.
Even though many new graduates are not aware of the professional values they are needed to uphold, they are still expected to promote these professional values as much as possible. Therefore, there is the need to put more emphasis on reinforcing the values into the education system so that the education process provides an opportunity for learners to integrate the professional behaviors into their value system. This will ensure that by the time one is graduating, one has already developed the required value systems.
Summary
Occupational therapy is a profession that is gaining relevance in the healthcare sector globally. However, the profession has not acquired a complete autonomy in the healthcare sector in Australia. Consequently, many practitioners are not aware of the various attributes and professional values required for it. Various practitioners in the profession have different perspectives on the expected professional behaviors for the profession. Most professionals agree that client empowerment, competent practice, confidentiality, respect for people’s language and culture, and good communication are essential values in practicing this profession. These values are shared across various professions especially in the health care sector. For instance, confidentiality is a significant professional value in the nursing profession.
Professional values constitute the professional codes of conduct in all professions. Every practitioner is expected to uphold the professional values for success. Therefore, there is the need to raise awareness of the professional values of occupational therapy among the practitioners in this field. Besides, there is the need to transform the education system to provide learners with the opportunity to integrate these professional values into their value systems.
References
Adam, K., Peters, S., & Chipchase, L. (2013). Knowledge, skills and professional behaviours required by occupational therapist and physiotherapist beginning practitioners in work‐related practice: A systematic review. Australian occupational therapy journal, 60(2), 76-84.
Aguilar, A., Stupans, I., Scutter, S., & King, S. (2013). Towards a definition of professionalism in Australian occupational therapy: Using the Delphi technique to obtain consensus on essential values and behaviours.Australian occupational therapy journal, 60(3), 206-216.
Murray, C., & Lawry, J. (2011). Maintenance of professional currency: Perceptions of occupational therapists. Australian occupational therapy journal, 58(4), 261-269.
Wilding, C. (2011). Raising awareness of hegemony in occupational therapy: The value of action research for improving practice. Australian occupational therapy journal, 58(4), 293-299.
