Browsing by Subject "Occupational Therapy Education"

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    Exploring Faculty Attitudes Toward the Use of Virtual Reality within an Occupational Therapy Doctoral Program
    (2024-04-25) Morehead, Samuel; Breeden, Lori; Breeden, Lori; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Bednarski, Julie
    Virtual Reality (VR) is an emerging evidence-based practice within the world of rehabilitation, with a significant body of research demonstrating the efficacy of VR as an intervention tool for occupational therapy (OT) practitioners in treating a variety of diagnoses. Researchers suggest VR as an effective tool to facilitate healthcare student education, including use in OT graduate programs. Despite this body of evidence, VR content can remain underutilized in OT student education. This capstone project sought to explore faculty perceptions toward VR classroom integration and facilitate its use in an OTD curriculum. Following a review of current literature, the capstone student created an educational intervention for faculty which consisted of written materials examining the evidence for the use of VR in the OT profession as well as hands-on VR experiences for the faculty to engage with. Various outcomes, including attitudes toward and confidence in using VR, were measured via a mixed-methods approach consisting of a pre-intervention and post-intervention interview and survey. Results indicated that the educational interventions increased faculty confidence in their knowledge of VR in higher education, comfort in integrating VR content into coursework, and anticipated integration of VR content into future coursework. These project results have implications for future attempts at integrating VR content as an evidence-based practice into educational opportunities for OT students and practitioners.
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    Utilizing Student Consultation to Promote Incorporation of Occupational Therapy in a Pediatric Behavioral Health Unit Occupational Therapy in a Pediatric Behavioral Health Unit
    (Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 2020) Wilburn, Victoria G.; Stoll, Hannah B.; Fodstad, Jill C.; Chase, Anthony; Douglas, Christina M.
    This advanced graduate elective was designed for second year Master of Occupational Therapy students to provide opportunities for students to act as consultants of the profession and collaborators within the community utilizing community engaged learning methods. This elective helped to detail components of evidence-based practice, primary needs of integration, and future opportunities within an urban pediatric behavioral health unit. The practice area of mental health was chosen specifically as the collaborating site due to the decline of occupational therapist recognition as qualified mental and behavioral health providers. This lack of recognition may limit reimbursement and funding, and decrease employment opportunities, both detriments to practice. However, within the last decade there has been a resurgence in establishing the profession’s roots within mental and behavioral health practice. Several key pieces of federal legislation have recognized occupational therapists' expertise and have cited the profession in several mental and behavioral health initiatives. Many states are seeking recognition of occupational therapists as qualified behavioral health providers (QBHP) or qualified mental health providers (QMHP) and this elective provided the opportunity for didactic instruction to intersect with advocacy and education while producing a rich learning experiences for all involved.