OTs base their work on the best evidence from research, best practices, and experiential knowledge. OTs incorporate critique, reflection, and quality improvement in everyday practice and lifelong learning.
Scholarly Practitioner
My Experience...
During both clinical experiences I ensured that within my CBFE, I would include a goal that encompassed developing my skills to be a scholarly practitioner. Weekly, I would find articles that would support assessments and interventions with the appropriate population that I was working with. In my second fieldwork experience while I was developing interventions, I would find at least two articles on the effectiveness of the intervention in general, as well as two articles that supported the interventions with the specific population. I felt that this was particularly important due to the placement being role emerging and not having the constant support of an OT. This taught me the importance of ensuring that I had evidence and clinical reasoning behind the decisions that I was making behind the interventions that were going to be implemented. Being a scholarly practitioner provided me with the confidence that the actions that I was taking were indeed supported by evidence and proven to be effective. What I also did during both placements that became habitual, was to keep a journal that I would reflect in daily. This journal enabled me to critically think about the decisions that I made with each client, the strengths that I had in that engagement, and the areas that I needed to grow upon. This was crucial to becoming a scholarly practitioner through critiquing, reflecting, and looking for areas of personal improvement to incorporate into my practice.
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In my first fieldwork experience, I participated in many workshops and conferences that facilitated my continuous learning. These conferences included the following: a high risk foot clinic workshop, a webinar on communicating with patients with aphasia, complicated issues in rehab (pediatrics), and a webinar about pain in children with cerebral palsy, to facilitate my continued learning to best suit the needs of the placement and their clients.
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Due to being in the health profession, I understand and take pride in the fact that I must be a continuous learner. To ensure this, I will make sure that I will take opportunities to continue my learning and knowledge through engaging in conferences and workshops that are appropriate to the population that I am working with. This will ensure that I remain up-to-date in relevant information to support my clients.