Experiential learning in occupational therapy education: engaging persons with disabilities to develop competencies in students

Abstract

The use of experiential learning in occupational therapy (OT) education has been found to be effective in inculcating a more holistic understanding of disability and empathy towards persons with disabilities (PWDs). A community partnership project that involved engaging PWDs as mentors for first-year OT student has been successfully implemented in Queen’s University, Canada over 15 years. Students spent time with PWDs in their natural environment, observing how PWDs live in the community and overcome challenges in their daily living despite their disabilities. Outcome reports showed that both students and PWDs benefited from this community partnership. The OT students gained a much wider perspective about disability and PWDs reported a sense of satisfaction from taking a unique role of educating therapy students about their abilities and needs.

This community partnership project at Queen’s University will be translated and extended to the Singapore context. It aligns with the Singapore Institute of Technology’s approach of applied learning and collaboration with industry. The proposed project includes two phases.

Independent PWDs (without cognitive impairments) will be recruited as specialist trainers to enhance experiential learning in two areas. The aim of Phase One in this project is to implement the experiential learning experience where students can learn from PWDs within the community. The goal is to help in developing empathy and more positive attitudes towards disability amongst students, which are important graduate attributes for the profession. In the first year of the degree course, groups of three students will partner with a PWD for three community visits, to learn how PWDs perform their activities of daily living in the community. For example, they will observe how a PWD uses public transport in wheelchair, purchases meals in a busy food court, and engages in leisure activities.

The aim of the Phase Two of this project is to train and engage selected PWDs as standardised patients for practicum sessions. In the second year of the degree programme, a select group of PWDs will be trained as standardised patients to work with the students to practice communication and clinical skills and techniques, such as transfer techniques or techniques of getting dressed. This group of trained PWDs will also assist in assessing OT students with regard to their communication skills.

The project will be evaluated on changes in students’ score in “Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Towards Persons with Disabilities”, and using pattern matching methods on the students’ reflective journals to determine whether the learning outcomes have been achieved. Focus groups with students and PWDs will be conducted and analysed using thematic analysis. Students’ communication skills will be evaluated pre and post working with PWDs using the Global Rating Scale for Communication and Attitudes. A survey will be conducted to seek feedback from working with standardised patients who have disability and from the standardised patients on the teaching experience. Comparison of learning outcomes may be made between Singaporean and Canadian students on the learning experiences of going on community visits. There is potential in scaling the project to the education of other health professionals such as doctors and physiotherapists.