Background and Objective: Sudden transition to telerehabilitation during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was challenging for pediatric therapists, including physical therapists and occupational therapists, due to lack of prior experience and knowledge. The primary goal of the current study was to survey the pediatric therapists regarding the practice trends and specific challenges/strengths of delivering telerehabilitation during the pandemic. Materials and Methods: An electronic survey was developed by the research term and validated through cognitive interviews with three pediatric therapists. A total of 107 therapists completed the survey. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the trends for the survey questions. Results: The majority of therapists (92.5%) reported no prior experience with telerehabilitation. When comparing telerehabilitation with standard-of-care, the therapists reported similar session durations and frequencies, but greater caregiver-initiated cancellations of telerehabilitation sessions. Furthermore, a greater percentage of therapists modified the intervention activities compared with assessments, which impacted therapists' perceptions about quality of telerehabilitation as a greater percentage of therapists expressed confidence in treating children compared with assessing children virtually. One of the commonly reported telerehabilitation challenges was reduced virtual engagement of children, and strength was better assessment of home environment. Lastly, a greater percentage of therapists relied on consultations and fewer therapists used empirical evidence to guide their delivery of virtual care. Conclusions: Telerehabilitation is a cost-effective health care model that offers remote accessibility and flexible scheduling. However, several limitations in the current pediatric telerehabilitation model, including lack of teleassessments and empirical evidence, could limit post-COVID use of telerehabilitation.

No abstract

No abstract

(1) Background: With an increasing demand for telepractice services, the need for telepractice education is more important than ever. In addition to learning how to deliver these services, certain clinical and technological skills learned through telepractice apply more broadly to in-person care. Evaluating students’ abilities to master these skills is necessary to ensure clinical skill competence. (2) Methods: We utilized self-efficacy ratings and self-reflections to determine student growth after hands-on telepractice training among nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology students. (3) Results: Students across disciplines demonstrated growth in all measured skill areas and reported overall increased confidence. Students with less prior telepractice experience reported greater increased confidence in seven measured competency areas than students with more prior telepractice experience. The number of completed sessions at the end of student placements was correlated with increased confidence for one measured skill area. Regardless of whether or not students had prior experience when starting their placement, as the number of telepractice sessions completed increased, thus did students’ confidence levels. The results of this study support telepractice as a viable clinical education tool for student growth and the use of self-efficacy and self-reflection as valuable tools for monitoring the effectiveness of telepractice clinical learning activities.

BACKGROUND: Occupational therapy practitioners with the simultaneous working role of fieldwork educator support the growth of the profession by supervising students, but little is known about their reported burnout, compassion fatigue, and compassion satisfaction levels, and if specific work characteristics predict those levels. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research was to: 1) assess the current levels of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burnout in occupational therapy fieldwork educators through The Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL), and 2) to explore how professional characteristic variables correlate and predict the measured constructs of compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used, and participants were recruited from a convenience sample to complete the ProQOL and a work characteristic questionnaire. RESULTS: On the average, 117 fieldwork educators scored higher on the subscale of compassion satisfaction when compared to those of the normed group. Linear regression analyses revealed that a higher number of roles and greater years working predicted higher compassion satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes to understanding the experiences of fieldwork educators in multiple roles, their reported levels of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burnout, and the potential for development of personal, educational and organizational resources to support professional quality of life indicators within the role of fieldwork educator.