Framing a set of non‐academic selection criteria for occupational therapy students: An Australian study

Abstract

Background/Aim: Demand for places in occupational therapy programs at Australian universities may place undue emphasis on academic attainment when selecting students … but how else might students be selected? This study investigated those attributes judged by occupational therapy practitioners to be most important. Methods: From a focus group of occupational therapy academics, a list of occupational therapy practice attributes was generated and used to develop a questionnaire completed by 175 Australian occupational therapy practitioners. Results: The most highly rated abilities were communication and problem-solving skills; the most highly rated qualities were respecting others, self-responsibility and ethical orientation. Conclusions: This research has identified abilities and personal qualities that could be added to current selection criteria to assist in identifying suitable candidates for entry into occupational therapy education.

Admission Requirements and Practices in Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Programs

“…With regard to non-cognitive admission factors, the results of both the survey (67%, n=30) and website review (52%, n=172) showed that the majority of programs use interviews as part of the admission process, despite the paucity of evidence to support the predictive value of an interview. Interviews are often cited as a means to measure non-cognitive variables, but this has not been supported through empirical data with allied health professions (Grapczynski & Beasley, 2013;Lyons et al, 2006). The prevalence of interviews and other non-cognitive factors within the admission process may demonstrate programs' desire to consider a more holistic view of a prospective student than P-GPA or GRE scores can provide.…”

“…Dahlin, Söderberg, Holm, Nilsson, and Farnebo (2012) found interviews to have minimal predictive value in identifying medical students at risk of poor communication skills, but failed to identify students' capacity for success in academic or clinical performance. Despite the evidence, interviews often have been cited as a method to measure non-cognitive variables, such as communication and interpersonal skills, in health professions literature (Dahlin et al, 2012;Eva, Rosenfeld, Reiter, & Norman, 2004;Goho & Blackman, 2006;Lyons, Mackenzie, Bore, & Powis, 2006).…”

What are the attributes of excellence in an acute practice occupational therapist?

“…Critical thinking or parts of it, was generally ranked well by other researchers. A study by Lyons looking at non‐academic selection criteria for occupational therapy students ranked ‘problem‐solving skills’ as the second most important ‘element’ and the theme of ‘problem‐solving/critical thinking’ was deemed to be significant (Lyons et al ., ). Orlick () reported the ability to ‘use feedback and to act on lessons learned’ as important for personal excellence and Lambe and Bristow () similarly placed the ‘ability to cope with ambiguity, complexity and uncertainty’ as the sixth most important attribute (out of a possible 20) required for good doctors.…”

“…The importance of communication is supported by most of the authors who studied variations of ‘excellence’ in different professions. The results of Lyons’ study looking at non‐academic selection criteria for occupational therapy students, rated verbal communication skills as the most important (Lyons, Mackenzie, Bore & Powis, ). Similarly, Lambe and Bristow's () study looking at the attributes of good doctors ranked verbal communication third in importance, and Smith et al .…”

Using Personal Qualities Assessment to Measure the Moral Orientation and Personal Qualities of Medical Students in a Non-Western Culture

“…This instrument has been used to assess the noncognitive traits of applicants in medicine, occupational therapy, social work, and other areas (Gibbons, Bore, Munro, & Powis, 2007;James et al, 2009;Lumsden et al, 2005;Lyons, Mackenzie, Bore, & Powis, 2006;. It has been shown to have good reliability and construct validity in studies involving medical school applicants, medical students, and psychology students in Australia, Israel, Fiji, New Zealand, Scotland, and England (Bore et al, 2005a;Bore, Munro, Kerridge, & Powis, 2005b;Munro et al, 2005).…”