What occupational therapists' say about their competencies' enactment, maintenance and development in practice? A two-phase mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND: Understanding how professional competencies are actually enacted in clinical practice can help university programs better prepare their graduates. The study aimed to describe 1) the perceived competency level of occupational therapists holding an entry-to-practice master's degree 2) the factors perceived as impacting the enactment of competencies; and 3) the strategies used to maintain and further develop level of competency in the seven practice roles: expert in enabling occupation, communicator, collaborator, practice manager, change agent, scholarly practitioner and professional. METHODS: Descriptive two-phase mixed methods sequential design. The quantitative phase consisted of an online survey sent to all occupational therapists holding an entry-to-practice master's degree in Quebec, Canada (n = 1196), followed by focus group discussions with a subset of participants. Analysis used descriptive statistics and the Framework Approach for content analysis of focus group data. Competencies were theoretically anchored into the Profile of Occupational Therapist Practice in Canada (an equivalent to CanMEDS framework) and we used the Theoretical Domain Framework to collect and describe perceived factors and strategies. RESULTS: Response rate to Phase 1 was 26.5% (n = 317/1196). The communicator, collaborator and professional roles were perceived as highly solicited in practice, valued and were rated more frequently at a higher competency level as compared to the other four roles (expert, manager, change agent and scholar roles). Focus group participants (n = 16) mentioned that both individual and organisational factors influence enactment of competencies. Consulting colleagues was the preferred strategy to support the scholar role, often described as foundational for the development of expertise. CONCLUSION: This descriptive study provides valuable information as to how the seven roles are enacted in practice. Though the scholar role is highly valued by clinicians and organizations, insufficient time is allotted to searching for evidence and reflection in practice. Strategies emerging from the results are mainly directed toward this role with an emphasis on using of peers as a source of evidence. Future studies could explore how contextual factors influence the enactment of competencies across different professions as well as how these evolve over time.

Competency Framework for Podiatric Medicine Training: A Validation Report Based on an Adapted E-Delphi Across Canada.

OBJECTIVES: Competency-based medical education has been introduced into many health professional curricula. Based on CanMEDs, a framework has recently been developed for podiatric medicine education in Canada. This study aimed to validate the framework through a consensus of various podiatric medicine experts across Canada. METHODS: An adapted Delphi method was used for content validation. Two structured online questionnaires were used to gather expert opinions and agreement on the roles and core competencies described in the framework previously developed. The validation consensus threshold was set at a minimum of 80% agreement. The summary of comments and suggestions was used to reformulate certain items after the research team reached a consensus. RESULTS: Out of the 51 experts invited from the Canadian Podiatric Medicine Association, 19 completed the first-round questionnaire (mean podiatric experience = 24.5 years; standard deviation 17.6). After the first round, "Podiatric Expert", "Communicator" and "Scholar" roles have been modified. After these modifications, a consensus was obtained at the second round completed by 13 experts. Overall, 95% of the experts agreed that the competency framework was relevant even if some indicators would need to be adapted to suit the requirements of each province and territory. CONCLUSION: This validated framework supports the excellence and the quality of our podiatric educational program. It also promotes the adoption of a uniform education of podiatrists in Canada and worldwide.

Measuring Health Care Work-Related Contextual Factors: Development of the McGill Context Tool.

INTRODUCTION: Contextual factors can influence healthcare professionals' (HCPs) competencies, yet there is a scarcity of research on how to optimally measure these factors. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a comprehensive tool for HCPs to document the contextual factors likely to influence the maintenance, development, and deployment of professional competencies. METHODS: We used DeVellis' 8-step process for scale development and Messick's unified theory of validity to inform the development and validation of the context tool. Building on results from a scoping review, we generated an item pool of contextual factors articulated around five themes: Leadership and Agency, Values, Policies, Supports, and Demands. A first version of the tool was pilot tested with 127 HCPs and analyzed using the classical test theory. A second version was tested on a larger sample (n = 581) and analyzed using the Rasch rating scale model. RESULTS: First version of the tool: we piloted 117 items that were grouped as per the themes related to contextual factors and rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Cronbach alpha for the set of 12 retained items per scale ranged from 0.75 to 0.94. Second version of the tool included 60 items: Rasch analysis showed that four of the five scales (ie, Leadership and Agency, Values, Policies, Supports) can be used as unidimensional scales, whereas the fifth scale (Demands) had to be split into two unidimensional scales (Demands and Overdemands). DISCUSSION: Validity evidence documented for content and internal structure is encouraging and supports the use of the McGill context tool. Future research will provide additional validity evidence and cross-cultural translation.

[Conceptualization of the role of expert in enabling occupation by occupational therapy fieldwork supervisors]. / Les représentations de l'expert en habilitation des occupations par des ergothérapeutes superviseurs de stage.

BACKGROUND: The use of occupation-focused language in clinical settings is essential to supervision of student occupational therapists since training is based, at least in part, on the competencies described in The Profile of Occupational Therapy Practice in Canada (Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, 2007). PURPOSE: This article describes how occupational therapists conceptualize the competencies related to the role of "expert in enabling occupation." METHODS: Qualitative data collected from 56 occupational therapists across eight focus groups were categorized using content analysis through a process of constant comparison. FINDINGS: Although the use of occupation-focused language is not widespread, the examples reported in the present study reflect occupation-focused client-centred practice. IMPLICATIONS. The use of occupation-focused language associated with the role of "expert in enabling occupation" can be fostered through discussion groups in the context of academic and clinical setting collaborations.

Competency Framework for Podiatric Medicine Training in Canada: An Adapted Delphi Study.

Purpose: Podiatrists are generally defined as professionals with high-level skills in the prevention and management of local foot conditions that are not systemic diseases. Across countries, different academic trainings are implemented due to the specific context and practice of podiatric medicine. It is thus essential to support country-specific podiatry education for the development of highly skilled podiatrists. Therefore, we report the development of a podiatric medicine competency framework to support training in Canada. Participants and Methods: A Delphi process was conducted by 12 stakeholders (including 8 podiatry experts) from the University of Québec at Trois-Rivières which is the only university offering the degree of Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) in Canada. The developed framework is (1) based on the seven key roles of the Canadian medical education directives of specialists (CanMEDs) and, (2) closely aligned with the requirement of the College of Podiatrists of Québec which sets the standards of entry to practice in Québec. Results: The developed framework represents the state of the development process and the consensus of the podiatry experts. It reflects the expected profile of the institution's DPM graduates based on seven key roles (podiatry expert, communicator, collaborator, health advocate, leader and manager, scholar, and professional). This developed framework is an arborescence of complex skills defined in tangible indicators that characterize each expected part of a core competency. Twenty-four core competencies have been determined and divided into 84 enabling competencies and 288 observable indicators. Conclusion: This competency framework has been designed to support high-quality education and to develop podiatry. Next steps include: (1) validation of this framework by external experts, (2) development of rigorous evaluation methods and, (3) concrete actions for its implementation and assessment. This framework would help to define the scope of practice and capabilities of podiatric medicine, both in Canada and internationally.

[Theoretical perspectives in health education and record keeping]. / Perspectives théoriques en éducation à la santé et tenue de dossiers.

BACKGROUND: Are occupational therapists involved in health education and promotion, as required by Quebec's Professional code? In practice, they do intervene in health education. However, their lack of theoretical referents makes it difficult to acknowledge that specific component of their profession. Therefore, concepts related to health education need to be clarified. Then again, are their interventions clearly reflected in their records? PURPOSE: The main goal is to clarify theoretical concepts about health education, in order to assist occupational therapists in recognizing interventions that come under health education and in integrating these interventions into their records. KEY ISSUES: The article outlines the evolution of the concept of health education and describes the challenges of the documentation process. IMPLICATIONS: It suggests methods of adequately recording interventions, while complying with the underlying epistemological stand.