Piecing Together the Jigsaw: How do Practice Educators define Occupational Therapy Student Competence?

Abstract

This study addressed how practice educators define occupational therapy student competence. A qualitative approach was used to gain the beliefs and viewpoints of five occupational therapy practice educators working in neurological rehabilitation through semi-structured interviews and group discussion. Verified thematic analysis was used to structure and describe the information collected. The complexity of the concept of competence was highlighted by the participants, who felt that it was part of their professional responsibility to ascertain whether a student had achieved a sufficiently high level of competence to pass into the professional status. However, the participants found it difficult to articulate explicitly what it was that they searched for. Four main areas were highlighted - observable behaviour, clinical reasoning, continuing development and professional and personal attributes - but the importance of student self-awareness, risk assessment and reasoning skills over theoretical knowledge was identified as a major influencing factor on competence.