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A critical shortage of occupational therapy fieldwork placements has led therapists to pose the question: how many hours of fieldwork are actually required in order for a student to acquire the breadth and depth of clinical competence required for entry level practice? In this study, student scores on the Performance Evaluation of Occupational Therapy Students, gathered over a four year period, were utilized to address this question. The level of competence expected of a new graduate on the CAOT Occupational Profile (Bridle, 1981) was used as the criterion against which student scores were judged. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the level of acquisition of occupational therapy skills and techniques, by item and by groups of items; to identify “core” and “specialty” items; and to determine whether 1200 hours of fieldwork is the optimal choice for students to be able to demonstrate clinical competence in the field. Results indicate that, while most students attain many of the skills and techniques pertinent to occupational therapy, competence is reached only on those core skills which are frequently encountered and which have actually been experienced by the student across a number of placements. Recommendations include a re-examination by the profession of the expectations which have been set for an entry-level graduate.

Fieldwork placement is a complicated and involved task. On the one hand, it requires insightful, professional judgement, but on the other hand, it includes numerous routine administrative and clerical tasks. To deal with fieldwork placement more efficiently and effectively it was decided to computerize the fieldwork placement system at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. This paper describes the system developed and the resultant data base. The potential applications of the data base and the implications for students, facilities, educational programs, professional governing bodies and research are discussed.

This article presents the historical development of a field placement evaluation manual based on the CAOT “Skills Profile”. The manual items are given and the scoring system described. Implications for students, clinicians, education programs and the CAOT are presented, should the manual be used generally in Canada.

Objective evaluation of clinical competence is always a difficult task. Many attempts have been made to design an instrument for such evaluation. and Performance Evaluation of Occupational Therapy Students (PEOTS) is such an instrument. It was designed as a criterion-referenced evaluation of performance in four broad areas of clinical competence: professional interaction, assessment, programming and treatment. This instrument has enjoyed fairly broad acceptance based on its face validity alone. The purpose of this study was to collect preliminary data on the content and construct validity of the instrument. A sample of 43 new graduates from Canadian occupational therapy programs were evaluated on the job within the first year of their practice using PEOTS. The data were collected over a two year period and came from facilities across the country. Analysis of the results showed that the instrument had overall good content and construct validity. However, some low frequency items need to be investigated further and some items need to have their criterion levels changed.

The Canadian Journal of Occupational therapy (CJOT) is the only Canadian refereed professional publication reflecting the views and professional development of occupational therapists in Canada. A study of all issues of CJOT published during three five-year periods was carried out to see if CJOT could be said to be improving in terms of reflecting professional trends. Some areas examined were quantity of articles, type of articles, references, authors and citations. It was found that although CJOT did reflect professional growth in many areas, there were a number of areas needing improvement before CJOT could be considered to be the primary professional publication for occupational therapists in Canada.

A comprehensive evaluation which includes a clinical assessment by occupational therapists and students, as well as patient users, along with a laboratory testing program has been conducted on six low-temperature thermoplastic splinting materials. After constructing a palmar working splint or palmar resting splint, the therapists and students completed questionnaires. The patients receiving those splints constructed by the therapists completed separate questionnaires after wearing the splint for one week and four weeks. The analysis of the responses revealed a series of 'desirable characteristics' for a preferred material. Although a satisfactory splint could be constructed from any of the materials, the concensus among the therapists and students showed that only two materials best satisfied the 'desirable characteristics' criteria. In general, the patient responses indicated very little difference among the materials, with very few reported problems of cracking, breaking, tearing, bending, discolouration or stretching. A series of laboratory tests that should provide a profile for a prospective or existing material, has also been selected.

The objectives of this study were: 1) to examine each of the 219 functions on the Occupational Therapy-Occupational Profile in an attempt to identify the functions that were domain-specific to physical dysfunction (PD) and mental health (MH) practice; 2) to demonstrate that occupational therapy practice is generic in nature if more than 25% of all occupational profile functions were not domain-specific; 3) to identify functions carried out by at least 75 % of all therapists as core (essential) functions, and 4) to relate the findings to the expressed shortage of fieldwork placements, particularly in the mental health domain. Chi Square analyses were used to examine the data from the evaluations of 100 therapists (76 PD and 24 MH) and 93 therapists (75 PD and 18 MH) on 122 functions and 97 functions respectively of the occupational profile. Findings with this sample suggest that: 1) 8 functions (3.7%) were domain-specific to MH practice and 18 functions (8%) were domain-specific to PD practice; 2) occupational therapy practice could be defined as generic in nature, and 3) of the 219 functions, 112 (51%) could be identified as core functions.

The importance of the review of literature, a component of any research study, has been relatively downgraded by occupational therapists because it is time-consuming. In order to encourage novice researchers and illustrate the importance of a comprehensive review of related literature, a review was carried out in the area of auditory feedback and the teaching of the use of myo-electrically controlled prostheses. This illustration of method in research includes initial ideas, assumptions and facts, the researchable question, the literature review and the conclusions drawn from the review which help guide the researcher in his potential study.

The methodology developed includes both the use of laboratory evaluation and clinical assessment in an area where there are no standard requirements, no specifications, nor any continuity of data available on the various thermoplastic splinting materials now on the market. A series of laboratory tests and clinical trials were devised such that these could be interpreted with regard to clinical considerations, cost analyses and serviceability factors relating to the materials. Laboratory testing covered possible effects on the chemical and mechanical properties of materials likely to be caused by various environmental, sterilization and working factors. The complementary clinical evaluation to highlight the behaviour of materials during the fabrication and wearing of splints consisted of specific information generated with the assistance of experienced occupational therapists, occupational therapy students and patients. Biocompatibility studies were also carried out. The data to be published will provide needed information to physicians, occupational therapists, physical therapists, orthotists, prosthetists, and administrators with regard to their making informed decisions on the selection, purchase and use of thermoplastic materials.