Fitness for Purpose of Occupational Therapy Graduates: Two Different Perspectives

Abstract

A research study that looked at fitness for purpose of 312 occupational therapy and physiotherapy graduates was carried out between 1996 and 1999. The research was commissioned by the Department of Health and managed jointly by the Universities of East Anglia and Southampton. A particular emphasis of the research was the influence of joint undergraduate education on the performance of graduates in first post. A full report of the research can be found in Wiles et al (1999). Recommendations arising from the research report led to debate with service managers about the meaning of the results and thus the conclusions drawn. This paper was therefore prepared to explore the different perceptions of an educator and a service manager with regard to three themes arising from the research. These were the selection of students for occupational therapy education, the expectations of new graduates about their first post and the transition from student to therapist.