A Survey of How Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Influences Future Professional Preference

Objective/Background

Although fieldwork experience plays an important role in an occupational therapy (OT) student's choice of future area of practice, studies on the influences of fieldwork on the preference of practice areas remain limited. The goal of the study was to further understand how OT students choose their future areas of practice.

Methods

A questionnaire, “The preferred future practice areas of occupational therapy students”, was created by systematic review of the relevant literature and collection of opinions from occupational therapists, students, and faculty. In total, 152 OT students undergoing their Level II fieldwork participated in the survey. Reliability tests, factor analysis tests, and discrimination analysis were carried out.

Results

The questionnaire demonstrated good to moderate reliability and validity. The factorial analysis indicated that the most influential factors for the preference of future practice areas of senior occupational therapy students are as follows: fieldwork experiences with clinical supervisors, fieldwork experiences with peers, social factors, college courses, and pressure from future work. The discrimination analysis revealed that social factors and college courses are the best factors for discriminating the variable “Choosing physical dysfunction, paediatric, or psychiatric OT as the most preferred future practice area.”

Conclusion

The choice of future area of practice is proved to be influenced by the experience in fieldwork for OT students. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire used in this study are supported, and it is recommended for use in future studies.