" I used to dread ward rounds! " : the views and experiences of trainees and teachers at England's first school of occupational therapy (Dorset House) between 1956 and 1980 (original) (raw)
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An oral history of occupational therapy education in the Republic of Ireland
British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2018
Introduction: Historical research contributes to the critical perspectives called for in occupational therapy and occupational science. Despite this, research on the history of occupational therapy education is limited. The only occupational therapy programme in the Republic of Ireland from 1963-1986 was the Diploma at St. Joseph's College of Occupational Therapy, Dublin, which followed the curriculum first of the Association of Occupational Therapists and from 1974 the British Association of Occupational Therapists (BAOT). This study explores oral histories of pioneering students from that programme. Method: Oral history interviews were conducted with nineteen former students of the programme who studied between 1963 and 1970. Interviews were thematically analysed. Findings: Participants described a curriculum with two subject foci: academic and activitybased subjects. Despite a focus on activity-based subjects in the curriculum, participants were ambivalent about their use in practice. They described a need to manage tensions arising from working alongside craft workers designated as occupational therapists. Throughout the interviews, claims for the professional status of occupational therapy were identified. Conclusion: The oral histories reveal a multitude of professionalisation strategies used to establish the profession in 1960s and 1970s Ireland. These findings have relevance for present day debates about professionalisation, occupation-focused curricula and interprofessional practice and education.
Bridging Conflicting Ideologies: The Origins of American and British Occupational Therapy
American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 1994
Occupational therapy practice has bridged two contradictory value systems for more than 100 years. This article describes the origins of practice ideas in both the United States and Britain and demonstrates that founding members of the occupational therapy profession all shared a core of humanistic beliefs while embracing the emerging paradigm of scientific medicine. The result has been an intellectual tension between the biological and the psychosocial aspects of practice. For more than 75 years, occupational therapists struggled to balance the art and science of patient care; recent debates on modalities, practice domains, and research priorities indicate that the unifying core of the profession is occupation that considers a person’s mind and body.
Journal of Further and Higher Education
As one of the allied health professions, occupational therapy has adopted a primarily clinical focus on human occupation (or the process of daily life) and this is reflected in education, which has until recently tended to overlook contextual social factors such as poverty, marginalisation, exclusion, unemployment, incarceration and immigration. However, daily life is enabled, and potentially dis-abled, along the axes of several cultural and political constructs, such as gender, employment status and ethnicity. This article presents a critical commentary of the social responsibility of occupational therapy education. Furthermore, it discusses the need for educational practices that can enact an integration of personal and professional perspectives so as to lead to a more holistic understanding of occupation, incorporating not only clinical but also social and political factors. This article argues for the development of a political approach to occupational therapy education that can...
Creating Occupational Therapy: The Challenges to Defining a Profession
Occupational Therapy In Health Care, 2018
The creation of a new profession in the early 20th century, such as occupational therapy, required a commitment to certain ideas and a willingness to accept certain challenges. This study examines the commitment to the idea of therapeutic and health supporting occupation by the early leaders and proponents of the profession and the challenges they faced in gaining acceptance of occupational therapy as a profession capable of delivering a valued health care service to society. Six challenges are reviewed as they occurred in the history of the profession and as they continue to challenge the profession into the present era.
Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 2018
The Henry B. Favill School of Occupations, a pioneer program in the history of occupational therapy, was named for the visionary physician Henry Baird Favill, M.D. who practiced in Chicago, Illinois. The School had two types of classes or programs. One was a curative workshop for disabled clients in need of occupational training and the other was a teaching program designed to train people to work with clients. The curative workshop, called the Occupational Center, began in 1915 at the Illinois Society for Mental Hygiene under the guidance of Dr. Favill and the direction of Eleanor Clarke Slagle, a founder and leader in the profession of occupational therapy. The teaching program began in 1917 initially in cooperation with the American Red Cross, Chicago Chapter, and later with the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy and the Illinois Department of Public Welfare. This article traces the development and history of the workshop to treat clients and the training programs to educate teachers of occupation who would become known as occupational therapists.
The Philadelphia School of Occupational Therapy: A Centennial Lesson
Journal of Occupational Therapy Education
The Philadelphia School of Occupational Therapy (P.S.O.T.) was one of five founding occupational therapy academic programs in the United States. The program was led by two powerful occupational therapists, Helen S. Willard and Clare S. Spackman, for nearly a half century. After 60 years, P.S.O.T. was closed. This article provides a historical overview of the progression of occupational therapy education in the United States over the last century, using the story of P.S.O.T as a case study. The historical legacy and lesson from P.S.O.T. is that excellence in today's academy may not mean security. Historically relevant today, the interaction between education and societal demands is explored, starting from the founders of the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy in 1917, through the World Wars, and casting forward. Curricular expansion, the addition of accreditation requirements, financial concerns, and faculty research requirements are presented as influential to the history of occupational therapy education. Lessons for current occupational therapy educational programs are discussed.
2013
Changes in the economic and political landscape in the UK are leading to far reaching changes throughout the health and social care sectors and changing the established position and authority of health and social care professionals (Speed & Gabe, 2013). Professionals from the National Health Service and those traditionally delivering social care for Local Authorities are being asked to work more closely together to both commission and deliver services (Department of Health, 2007; HSMO, 2012). In addition, both sectors are feeling the strain of increased demand on services (Glendinning, Kirk, Guiffrida & Lawton, 2001) in conjunction with restriction on available budgets (Ferry & Eckersley, 2011). Against this backdrop, a review of a local children children’s equipment service was commissioned and undertaken by the author as part of a funded Master by research. The findings from an analysis of data generated at focus groups with professionals to discuss potential changes to the servic...
Evolution of Occupational Therapy Practice: Life History of Lela Llorens, Ph.D., OTR/Ret, FAOTA
2019
Objective: The objective of the overall study was to gain insight into Dr. Lela Llorens's life experiences and leadership throughout her time of work in the profession of occupational therapy. Method: This was a qualitative study done using a life history approach. The participant was selected from a list compiled through purposive sampling by the project directors. Data was gathered through a two-hour, semi-structured interview with Dr. Llorens via Zoom, and through her curriculum vitae. The two-hour interview was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Member checking was not used for the triangulation of the data. The data collapsed into three categories with three to four themes in each. Results: Data analysis was conducted, and the information was first coded, then placed into categories, themes, and an assertion. The categories that emerged were: Overcoming Challenges, Personal Factors, and Occupational Therapy. The themes that emerged through data analysis were: a strong belief in a positive mindset to help overcome any challenges, the value of serving others is apparent in all aspects of life, and occupational therapy being more than just a career, but a way of life. Conclusion: Dr. Llorens served as a pioneer for the occupational therapy profession. She was able to maintain success and optimism during a time that was discriminatory for her. Her family and desire to serve others was instrumental in her professional and personal life as they gave her actions meaning.