Exploring ways to improve descriptions of occupational therapy

An exploratory study using qualitative methods was undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of teaching final year students strategies that were designed to improve their descriptions of occupational therapy. Prior to their last fieldwork experience, four strategies were discussed with eight participating students. The participants tested the approaches during their fieldwork and reported incidences of using them to the researcher. Three strategies were found to be helpful and they contributed to participants' feelings of increased confidence when explaining occupational therapy to others. Specifically teaching techniques for articulating occupational therapy may assist students to be more self-assured. Supervisors can support or hinder this process.