‘Facing Uncharted Waters’: Challenges experienced by Occupational Therapy Students undertaking Role-emerging Placements

Abstract

Role-emerging placements, which take place in settings where there are no on-site occupational therapy educators, are increasingly being used within occupational therapy curricula internationally. Although literature on such placements is increasing, little has explored the early stages and demands of such placements. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to gain an understanding of how five MSc pre-registration occupational therapy students experienced and ascribed meaning to their role-emerging placements. Interviews were carried out with the students within one month of their role-emerging placement. This article explores one of the themes that emerged from the study, 'Thrown in', that reflected the challenges students faced in the early days of their placement. Key findings revealed that students found the early stages of placement cognitively, emotionally and ontologically demanding. They felt temporarily lost, anxious and overwhelmed by their experience, which impacted on their sense of self. Recommendation is made that consideration is given to students' ontological discomfort, or 'sense of being' on placement and pre-placement preparation.

From Trepidation to Transformation: Strategies Used by Occupational Therapy Students on Role-Emerging Placements

“…This article presents one of the main themes that arose as part of a larger PhD study exploring occupational therapy students' experiences of roleemerging placements and the way in which these influenced their professional identity (Clarke 2012). Other themes have been reported elsewhere , Clarke et al 2015.…”

“…sense of self) challenges in the early stages of their role-emerging placements. Although these findings are reported elsewhere (Clarke et al 2015), it is useful to provide the reader with a brief summary. Students spoke of feeling temporarily overwhelmed by their experiences and that this affected their sense of self.…”

“…These challenges were felt to be more profound than those on traditional placements due to the absence of an on-site occupational therapy educator who may previously have been able to guide them more quickly or deal with any conflict for them. However, it was being on their own and having to manage these challenges for themselves that led them to take ownership for their learning and which led to significant developments in their professional identity (Clarke et al 2015). To help them manage these challenges, the students utilised various strategies which were ultimately important in helping them move forward and which contributed to a positive placement outcome.…”

“…However, literature also highlights significant challenges for students undertaking such placements, such as initial anxiety, a lack of communication between on and off-site supervisors, staff attitudes towards occupational therapy, difficulties accessing support from part time supervisors, different expectations of students and staff, placement pace and managing emotions (Thew, Hargreaves, and Cronin-Davis 2008, Dancza et al 2013, Clarke et al 2015, Mattila and Dolhi 2016. Additional concerns raised by students include limited time with supervisor, short length of placement and lack of client contact (James andPrigg 2004, Prigg andMackenzie 2002).…”

“…Useful recommendations have been made to help address some of these issues, including placement tutors ensuring appropriate placement opportunities, identification of appropriate supervisors, provision of clear roles, responsibilities and expectations for all involved, preplacement preparation and induction days (Clarke et al 2015, Edwards and Thew 2011, Overton, Clarke, and Thomas 2009, Thomas and Rodger 2011. However, these recommendations mainly focus on provision of support to students but there is limited consideration of the ways in which students themselves take ownership of managing challenges.…”