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Background: Investigating the development of competent occupational therapists through an academic programme and fieldwork placement is an emerging field in South African occupational therapy research. It is an essential aspect of educational research, as new graduates are often required to work autonomously during their community service. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of the final year University of KwaZulu-Natal occupational therapy students and their clinical supervisors’ regarding their undergraduate education and preparedness for independent clinical practice. Methods: Seventeen final year students and seven clinical supervisors participated in focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Document analysis was used to explore the Health Professions Council of South Africa evaluation report of the undergraduate programme and methods used to assess the final year students. The conceptual framework was based on the World Federation of Occupational therapist Minimum Standards for Training Occupational therapists and deductive reasoning was used to analyse the data. Findings: Most final year students and clinical supervisors felt that students were partially prepared for clinical practice and lacked confidence. The students’ level of confidence was linked to the areas of occupation therapy that they enjoyed and their positive experiences during fieldwork placements. Curriculum design and content were some of the areas highlighted as needing review. Conclusion: The overall perception of both the clinical supervisors and the students was that the new graduates would be able to cope with basic clinical practice. However, there were aspects of the curriculum that could be improved to ensure that the new clinicians have more confidence and are equipped to deliver an occupational therapy service that specifically meets the need for diverse African healthcare settings. / Thesis (M.O.T.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2013.

This study investigated the impact of Bliss based computer augmented communication (CAC) on the daily communication and daily activities of severely disabled speech impaired children from a Finnish school for disabled children from the point of view of the children, their discussion partners and therapists; it also investigated the value and meaning of the CAC devices for them. The school staff had considerable experience in the use of computers with disabled children, but only a few had any experience of CAC. In order to gain a rich understanding of the subject matter, a qualitative multiple case study approach was adopted. The longitudinal study investigated CAC in the real life environments of six severely disabled speech impaired children, aged 7 to 15 years, their parents, helpers, teachers, speech therapists and occupational therapists. All of the speech impaired children had cerebral palsy and their main mode of communication was Blissymbolics, used with the aid of a communication folder. The multiple methods of data collection used in the study included interviews, videotaped observations, the Assessment of Communication Skills Questionnaire, essays and data logs. The data gathering started before the participants received their CAC devices and continued 3,6 and 12 months after they received the devices: it involved studying participants in three different communicative environments. The data analysis was conducted by a narrative analysis of each individual case, which was followed up with a cross-case analysis. The process of CAC was highly individual and context dependent. During the study all the speech impaired participants learned to operate their CAC devices. Their initial enthusiasm begant o decreaseth ree to six months after the participants received their devices.A t the end of the study year, one of the participants used his CAC device nearly daily in two of his communicative environments, two of them used their devices regularly a couple of times a week, two of them hardly at all, and one not at all. The CAC devices were hardly used for face-to-face communication, they were mainly used for educational purposes, written communication, play and leisure. The children and their discussion partners perceived that the main reasons for not using CAC devices were the poor usability of devices, such as slow speed of CAC and insufficient vocabularies, and insufficient related services. During the CAC process the motivation to communicate of four participants increased, the communication folder use of three participants increased and vocalisations of two participants increased. V Despite of the perceived limitations of CAC, the speech impaired children considered the CAC devices important for them and helpful primarily in school work and play. Participants' discussion partners assessed that CAC enriched the children's communication and increased dialogue between themselves and the children. Discussion partners also considered as particularly important the participants' independence in being able to operate the CAC devices themselves and their possibility to use voice output. New opportunities provided by CAC devices were especially meaningful to the participants' parents. The study showed that CAC requires substantial highly specialised services and a number of recommendations were made on the basis of the study. CAC interventions should focus on not only the operative and communication skills of the users. Professionals conducting CAC interventions should evaluate more carefully what users need and subsequently evaluate whether the CAC devices meet these needs. They should also understand and support the motivational processes and psychosocial aspects of developing the use of CAC. The findings suggest that CAC devices should be introduced to severely disabled speech impaired children as an additional mode of communication for face-to-face and indirect communicative purposes and within the context of meaningful activities. This study has shown that CAC is an extremely complex phenomenon with a mixture of interrelated elements that affect the daily communication and daily activities of severely disabled speech impaired children.

Psychotherapists experience a variety of stressors, and many report mental health problems and burnout. However, most psychologists are satisfied with their careers. Therapists-in-training experience similar challenges, and must also survive the demands of graduate school, yet the number of applicants to Canadian psychology programs continues to rise. What attracts these individuals to practice psychology in spite of the negative effects of therapy work? How do they overcome challenges and remain healthy during training? My aim in this study was to gain insight into the experiences of novice therapists. I wanted to explore their perceptions of health, and identify influences that contributed to and hindered their well-being. Interviews with six trainees were conducted, and what resulted was an ethnographic thesis focused on the experiences of novices in the context of training. Participants provided deep, detailed descriptions of how their beliefs, expectations, and well-being were impacted by the culture of training programs. / Counselling Psychology

Thesis (MPhysio)--University of South Australia, 1998

Thesis (MPhysio)--University of South Australia, 1998

Physiotherapists in New Zealand are increasingly learning and practicing Western acupuncture. Western acupuncture as a new and different tool is enhancing and yet challenging physiotherapists practice. This study explores the meaning behind Western acupuncture practice to further understand the implications of its development and possible future direction.Hermeneutic methodology was used because it facilitates the exploration between that which is familiar and that which is unfamiliar. Seven New Zealand physiotherapists qualified to practise Western acupuncture were interviewed about their practice experiences. The data in relation to the phenomenon of inquiry was analysed thematically.The findings revealed a complex array of tensions within physiotherapy because of the differences Western acupuncture brings to physiotherapists' practice. Western acupuncture is a new and useful tool in the physiotherapists 'toolbox'. It is congruent with other physiotherapy practices in that it shares the same scientific neurophysiological foundation. However, the association of Western acupuncture with traditional Chinese acupuncture causes it to be viewed as a complementary medical practice and thus, not completely legitimate as a part of physiotherapy. These tensions are further confounded because the technical rationalist paradigm, upon which physiotherapy is based, values evidence-based practices. The best evidence is perceived to be that gained from the randomised controlled trial. I argue that the randomised controlled trial is poorly suited to the evaluation of complex practices such as Western acupuncture. Such insights also challenge physiotherapy, as a whole, because the available 'evidence' does not acknowledge the complexities of practice involving individual practitioners, their colleagues, the profession, other healthcare professions, patients and the public.The tensions encountered in physiotherapy and Western acupuncture practice have led to a number of recommendations in education, practice, research and legislation. Overall, they suggest a need to develop a more inclusive model of practice development. Western acupuncture is a potentially valuable tool. In order to maximise use of this tool physiotherapy practice understandings need to be extended. This in turn, will assist development of the profession as a whole.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2007. / Title from title screen (site viewed Oct. 10, 2007). PDF text: iii, 135 p. : ill. ; 2 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3258739. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Ruth Childs.