Promoting academic-practice partnerships through students' practice placement

Abstract

Introduction: The notion of a gap between the academic and the practice segments of the occupational therapy profession is commonplace. The Scholarship of Practice is one of the collaboration models that have been introduced as possible means for bridging this gap, but so far, research based on this model has not extensively addressed the potential of students' clinical placement. Aim: With a view to possible remedies for the academic-practice gap, the purpose of this paper is to outline and discuss possible advantages from a collaborative project concerning the usefulness of the Assessment of Communication and Interaction Skills (ACIS) that was carried out between students, fieldwork educators, and university faculty. Outline of the project: Six occupational therapy students and their fieldwork educators collaborated in an exploration of the clinical usefulness of the ACIS during the students' second year mental health clinical placement. Experiences from the project were put into context with previous developments aimed at improving academic-practice partnerships. Discussion: The Scholarship of Practice model provides guidelines for reducing the research-practice gap in the occupational therapy profession. It is argued that the presented project adhered to the principles of practitioner-centredness and developing partnerships, whereas the creation of synergies was somewhat less realised. The organising of joint projects during practice placements, involving students, fieldwork educators, and university faculty, appears to be one method of increasing and improving relationships between the parties involved.

Clinical Placements in Mental Health: A Literature Review

“…Quality clinical placements can have multiple benefits for students and organisations, including reducing staff turnover rates, stabilising healthcare workforces, and creating cultures in which learning and supervision are highly valued. Placements may also contribute to narrowing the gap between research and practice (Bonsaksen, Celo, Myraunet, Granå, & Ellingham, 2013).…”

Involvement in Research and Development Projects Among Community-working Occupational Therapists in Norway

“…However, both forms of acquiring competence are valuable starting points for research and development projects. In fact, collaboration between academics and practitioners on concrete projects has in several countries been viewed as particularly valuable for developing partnerships between different segments of the profession, and for reducing the research-practice gap (Bonsaksen, Celo, Myraunet, Granå, & Ellingham, 2013;Brown, 1994;Crist & Kielhofner, 2005;Crist, Muñoz, Hansen, Benson, & Provident, 2005;Kielhofner, 2005a;Kielhofner, 2005b;Pranger & Brown, 1990). Thus, the detected associations between further education, more work experience, and project involvement seem logical.…”

Better together: a day hospital's move towards integrated care

“…The PDU process and working with an academic facilitator provided a structure for the transformation of the culture of the unit, leading to a unit that was much more critically reflexive with a drive towards service improvement. Thus bridging the frequently referred to divide between theory and practice (Bonsaksen et al 2013;McQueen 2014). Not only did it provide staff with the confidence to share their work in the wider health field (Board et al 2016) it also enabled them to have a voice within their own organisation presenting the service to the board and having confidence in engaging with other local health and social care providers.…”