This chat will be hosted by Sharon Hardman (@SharonOTUClan)
The global Coronavirus pandemic, starting March 2020, had significant impacts on pre-registration Occupational Therapy (OT) students. OT literature highlighted that occupational balance is an important concept in OT professional training. Despite this, there is a paucity of research exploring occupational balance in pre-registration OT students. As part of my research module I conducted primary research on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the occupational balance of MSc and BSc pre registration students in England. The purpose of this research was to address the gap in the literature by exploring the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the occupational balance of undergraduate and post graduate pre-registration OT students in England.
Key findings of this research were:
●Occupational Therapy students had mixed experience of occupational balance during the Covid-19 pandemic, with online learning improving occupational balance.
● Occupational deprivation experiences in Covid-19 Pandemic consolidated learning on occupational balance concepts and provided valuable insights in the ability to relate to clients for Occupational Therapy students.
● Occupational Therapy students recognised their identity was conjoined with occupations. Identity was classified as the same during the Covid- 19 Pandemic, even when Occupational Therapy students were not actively participating in meaningful occupations.
Fundamental connections between lived experience of the Covid-19 pandemic and skills as an OT were shown as the crucial missing piece of the puzzle in occupational balance concepts, not evident in the literature.
I wanted to create an #OTalk that disseminated my findings and promoted further discussion in this area.
The questions that I would like you to consider are:
- Despite the long history of occupational balance, Wagman et al. (2012) found it remains an abstract and evolving concept that can be misunderstood compared to more concrete and observable OT theories. What is your understanding of occupational balance?
- What matters to you in meaningful occupation?
- What was your experience of occupational balance during the Covid-19 pandemic?
- What strategies do you use to address occupational balance?
- How did being on placement/working during the Covid-19 pandemic influence your professional development?
Post Chat
Host: Sharon Hardman (@SharonOTUClan)
Support on OTalk Account: @PaulWilkinson94
Evidence your CPD. If you joined in this chat you can download the below transcript as evidence for your CPD, but remember the HCPC are interested in what you have learnt. So why not complete one of our reflection logs to evidence your learning?
HCPC Standards for CPD.
- Maintain a continuous, up-to-date and accurate record of their CPD activities.
- Demonstrate that their CPD activities are a mixture of learning activities relevant to current or future practice.
- Seek to ensure that their CPD has contributed to the quality of their practice and service delivery.
- Seek to ensure that their CPD benefits the service user.
- Upon request, present a written profile (which must be their own work and supported by evidence) explaining how they have met the Standards for CPD.
OTalk 