Occupation

Abstracts
Posters
participants able to withdraw at any time without impact on
their studies or work.
Results: The workbook originally focussed on supplementing
students’ knowledge of occupational therapy theory. This was
insufficient for supporting placement practice. Instead, students
valued guidance for enacting their practice, such as undertaking
assessments and documenting results. Thus, focus of the
workbook shifted to the application of theory to school-based
practice and utilised educational theory to inform its design and
content.
Conclusion: The workbook was received positively by students
and supervisors. Applying educational theory to its development
enabled the identification of key features which supported
students’ learning.
Implications for occupational therapy: The workbook has the
potential to support students’ integrate theory with practice and
offer guidance to placements beyond school-based practice.
References
Clarke C, Martin M, de-Visser R and Sadlo G (2015) The
development of an authentic professional identity on roleemerging
placements. British Journal of Occupational Therapy
77(5): 222–229.
Keywords
Students, Research, Education and learning, Education
Contact E-mail Addresses
karina.dancza@canterbury.ac.uk
Author Biographies
Karina Dancza’s professional background is as an occupational
therapist working with children. Her current roles include Senior
Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at Canterbury Christ Church
University and Professional Advisor for Children and Young
People at The College of Occupational Therapists. This research
formed part of her PhD studies conducted through the University
of Queensland. The focus was on the occupational therapy
student learning experiences during role-emerging placements
in school settings. Her interests include professional identity,
contemporary occupational therapy theory and practice and
promoting the value and role of the profession.
P170
Importance assigned to cultural awareness,
openness and responsiveness in occupational
therapy education
Boes C, Cardiff University
Contemporary health care in the UK takes place in increasingly
diverse and multicultural environments and occupational
therapists are likely to encounter and work with individuals
from a multitude of backgrounds. Issues of culture are widely
regarded as relevant for occupational therapy (OT) practice and
education (cf. Chiang & Carlson, 2003 Castro et al., 2014).
No unified definition of culture exits, but it can be described
as a system of learned patterns of behaviour … shared by
members of a group … providing the individual and the group
with effective mechanisms for interacting both with others and
with the surrounding environment (Krefting, 1991, in Chiang
& Carlson, 2003, p. 559). One of the key features of culture is
an, often subconscious, understanding and reliance on shared
cultural cues and variables. Without direct experiences of
cultural dislocation often encountered by immigrants or ethnic
minorities, OTs can be ignorant of the ways their cultural cues
differs from and affects their patients and colleagues (Chiang
& Carlson, 2003). In addition, like any other profession OT
holds some basic, and to an extent Eurocentric, assumption
that are rarely questions or challenged (Townsend & Polatajko,
2007). However, to fulfil OTs’ aim for client centred and holistic
practice, cultural differences, assumptions and power hierarchies
inherent in these, have to be open to debate. Therefore, and
cognisant of the philosophical basis of OT, this research aims
to explore the importance of culture in current OT education,
beyond the rhetorical status assigned to it in theoretical models
of practice and the current HCPC (2013) Standard of Proficiency
for Occupational Therapists. The specific research methodology
is a phenomenological case study (Henry et al., 2008) aiming to
learn about individuals’ experiences and how these experiences
are translated into social actions and interactions. Utilising
semi-structured interviews with staff and focus groups with
current OT students, the research evaluates how participants
experience and make sense of culture and multiculturalism in
their education and practice.
References
Castro, D., Dahlin-Ivanoff, S. & Martenssons, L. 2014.
‘Occupational therapy and culture: a literature review’.
Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy. 21: 401–414.
Chiang, M. & Carlson, G. 2003. ‘Occupational therapy in
multicultural contexts: issues and strategies’.British Journal of
Occupational Therapy, 66(12): 559–567.
HCPC. 2013.Standards of Proficiency: Occupational Therapists.
London: HCPC.
Henry, A., Casserly, A., Coady, M. & Marshall, H. 2008.A
phenomenological case study exploring different perspectives on
inclusion within one post-primary school in the North West of
Ireland. Sligo: College of National University of Ireland (NUIG).
Townsend, E. & Polatajko, H. 2007.Enabling Occupation II:
Advancing an Occupational Therapy Vision for Health, Wellbeing
& Justice through Occupation. Ottawa: CAOT Publications
ACE.
Keywords
Students, Research, Occupational science, Professionalism,
Practice – present and future, Education
Contact E-mail Addresses
boesc@cardiff.ac.uk
Author Biographies
Claudia Boes has worked as an independent academic
consultant and research for 15 years and is about to complete
her degree in Occupational Therapy at Cardiff University. She
holds a MSc in International Politics and is particularly interested
in the way sociological, psychological, political and cultural
factors impact on occupational participation and social justice.
P171
Reflections on doing, being and becoming the
#OTalk student digital leader intern
Murray K 1 , Stanley K 2 , University of Cumbria 1 , Poole
Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 2
OTalk is an ever-growing community of practitioners, students
and academics/researchers who engage in weekly chats over
the social media platform of Twitter. Discussion topics are of
relevance to occupational therapists and occupational scientists
(OTalk 2014).
Prior to accepting a place on a pre-reg course in occupational
therapy, OTalk enabled me to develop awareness of current,
relevant topics impacting the profession I wanted to enter. As
a student it has given me further opportunities to understand
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