Evidence-Based Practice Behaviours: A Comparison amongst Occupational Therapy Students and Clinicians

2012 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliki Thomas ◽  
Alenoush Saroyan ◽  
Laurie M. Snider

Background. Occupational therapy graduates are expected to demonstrate entry-level competencies in evidence-based practice. To support students during the course of professional education in developing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for integrating scientific findings into clinical practice, educators must identify the process by which these competencies are developed. Purpose. To identify the differences in evidence-based practice decisions amongst occupational therapy students and experienced clinicians. Methods. Using a vignette depicting an older client with a history of falls, participants' evidence-based practice decisions were compared to a reference model. Results. In the initial steps of the process, knowledge of evidence-based practice concepts appeared to be dependent upon formal instruction, whereas expert-like behaviours in the integration of evidence for decision-making seemed to be a function of clinical experience. Implications. Academic and clinical educators can use identified gaps in knowledge and synthesis of concepts to update the evidence-based practice content in occupational therapy curricula and fieldwork.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Johnson ◽  
Else Britt Bruset ◽  
Kari Margrete Hjelle ◽  
Malin Mongs ◽  
Unni Sveen

Abstract Background: Healthcare professionals and students are expected to work according to evidence-based practice (EBP). The EBP work file, an online learning tool that covers all steps in the EBP process, is an approach to teaching and learning EBP. The aim of this study was to examine possible differences in occupational therapy students’ self-reported attitude, skills, use and implementation of EBP during their second-year clinical placement by comparing students who applied the EBP work file with students who did not use it.Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional comparative study was conducted. The sample comprised three cohorts (1, 2 and 3) of second-year occupational therapy students from Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and two cohorts (4 and 5) from Oslo Metropolitan University. Five cohorts in total took part in the study (n = 126 students). The students answered two questionnaires (“EBP Beliefs Scale” and “EBP Implementation Scale”) after completing their second-year clinical placement. The analysis was based on descriptive statistics and calculation of the frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations of all participating students’ scores on the two questionnaires. ANOVA with Bonferroni correction was conducted to analyse differences between the mean totals of the questionnaires. Results: The response rate was 57.3%. The average scores were 56.8 on the EBP Beliefs Scale and 15.8 on the EBP Implementation Scale. Students from cohort 5 (who had extra instruction and assignments via the EBP work file) had statistically lower scores than students form cohort 1 on the Implementation Scale. These students believed that EBP results in the best clinical care for patients, but they lacked confidence in their ability to use EBP. Conclusions: Additional EBP work-file assignments were insufficient to support students in the implementation of EBP during clinical placements. It is important to teach students EBP skills and to demonstrate how they can use this competency in their work with patients. Including clinical instructors in EBP teaching and learning seems essential.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Johnson ◽  
Else Britt Bruset ◽  
Kari Margrete Hjelle ◽  
Malin Mongs ◽  
Unni Sveen

Abstract Background Healthcare professionals and students are expected to work according to evidence-based practice (EBP). The EBP work file, an online learning tool that covers all steps in the EBP process, is an approach to teaching and learning EBP. The aim of this study was to examine possible differences in occupational therapy students’ self-reported attitude, skills, use and implementation of EBP during their second-year clinical placement by comparing students who applied the EBP work file with students who did not use it. Methods A descriptive, cross-sectional comparative study was conducted. The sample comprised three cohorts (1, 2 and 3) of second-year occupational therapy students from Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and two cohorts (4 and 5) from Oslo Metropolitan University. Five cohorts in total took part in the study (n = 126 students). The students answered two questionnaires (“EBP Beliefs Scale” and “EBP Implementation Scale”) after completing their second-year clinical placement. The analysis was based on descriptive statistics and calculation of the frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations of all participating students’ scores on the two questionnaires. ANOVA with Bonferroni correction was conducted to analyse differences between the mean totals of the questionnaires. Results The response rate was 57.3%. The average scores were 56.8 on the EBP Beliefs Scale and 15.8 on the EBP Implementation Scale. Students from cohort 5 (who had extra instruction and assignments via the EBP work file) had statistically lower scores than students form cohort 1 on the Implementation Scale. These students believed that EBP results in the best clinical care for patients, but they lacked confidence in their ability to use EBP. Conclusions Additional EBP work-file assignments were insufficient to support students in the implementation of EBP during clinical placements. It is important to teach students EBP skills and to demonstrate how they can use this competency in their work with patients. Including clinical instructors in EBP teaching and learning seems essential.


Author(s):  
Jodi Schreiber ◽  
Anthony Goreczny ◽  
Melissa Bednarek ◽  
Susan Hawkins ◽  
Mark Hertweck ◽  
...  

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of a single interprofessional education (IPE) seminar on student attitudes toward interprofessional education (IPE) at a small northeastern university that housed an entry-level Master in Occupational Therapy (MOT) program. Method: Investigators used the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) to determine attitudes of thirty-six MOT students after attending an interprofessional seminar.Results: Participant response rate of MOT students was 88.9% percent. The analysis of data revealed no significant differences between MOT student attitudes toward IPE pre and post IPE seminar. Conclusion: Several factors are discussed that may have contributed to the lack of statistical differences. Growing interest in IPE related to clinical care warrants explorations into various issues raised by this study regarding implications for health care professional education, training, and patient care.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Johnson ◽  
Else Britt Bruset ◽  
Kari Margrete Hjelle ◽  
Malin Mongs ◽  
Unni Sveen

Abstract Background: Bachelor students of occupational therapy are expected to work in accordance with evidence-based practice (EBP). The EBP work file, a learning tool in a Word document format, covering all steps in the EBP process, is an approach to teaching and learning EBP. The aim of this study was to examine the attitudes and behaviours of occupational therapy students’ in relation to applying evidence-based practice during their second-year clinical placement. We compared cohorts who received training in EBP work files with those who did not receive such training.Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional comparative study was conducted. Five cohorts of second-year occupational therapy students took part in the study. The students answered two questionnaires, the EBP Beliefs Scale and the EBP Implementation Scale, after completing their second-year clinical placement. The analysis was based on descriptive statistics and calculation of the frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviations of all participating students’ scores across both questionnaires. ANOVA with Bonferroni correction was conducted to analyse the differences between the mean totals of the questionnaires. Results: In this study, 126 occupational therapy students participated (response rate = 57.3%). The students reacted positively to EBP, although few were practicing EBP. The students believed that EBP resulted in the best clinical care for patients, but they lacked confidence in their own ability to apply EBP. The students in Cohort 5, who received extra instruction and assignments via the EBP work file, rated their EBP behaviour statistically lower than the students in Cohort 1, who did not receive extra training on the EBP work file. Conclusions: Additional EBP work file assignments were insufficient in terms of supporting students in the implementation of EBP during clinical placements. It is, therefore, important to facilitate the learning strategies of EBP skills and demonstrate how students can practise this competency during clinical placements. Including clinical instructors in EBP teaching and learning seems essential.


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