Approaching New Roles of Occupational Therapists

The role of being an occupational therapist (OT) has changed over the last decades and has led to new possible working fields for OTs (Bossers et al., 1997; Banks & Head, 2004). Acknowledging this, it is important for OT... [ view full abstract ]

The role of being an occupational therapist (OT) has changed over the last decades and has led to new possible working fields for OTs (Bossers et al., 1997; Banks & Head, 2004). Acknowledging this, it is important for OT education to prepare students for this new role, working fields, and expectations towards them (Fisher & Savin-Baden, 2002). As a result the Zurich University of Applied Science has developed an emerging placement program where students create, conduct and evaluate their own project in an emerging working field. Two students designed a project with people affected by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to empower them in finding occupations to structure their daily life and to support them living up to their expectations (White, Harris & Gibson, 2014). A meaningful occupation for the involved people was acknowledged to be running a half marathon. To reach their goal, the OT students asked the participants about their daily routines and about their expectations. A training for 3,5 months was planned collaboratively. During this process the goal of the OT students was not only to engage the participants in a meaningful activity, but also supporting them in finding strategies to pursue and reach their own goal and undergo a new experience.

The aim of this workshop is to enlighten students, practitioners and educators about new roles for OTs, share a project in an emerging placement in Switzerland and discuss experiences and other possible emerging placements.