Poster presenter "Evidencing graduating competency in occupational therapy: Resources and thresholds to evidence competence"

In 2010 Occupational Therapy Australia [OTA] published “The Australian Minimum Competency Standards for New Graduate Occupational Therapists”. These Standards have to be met by students to be eligible for National Registration which is being introduced in 2012, as they delineate educational outcomes. The Standards are extensive, with seven units and each unit having many elements and performance criteria. For example Unit 1: Professional Behavior has eight elements and 41 performance criteria.  In the same time period this project team gained an Australian Learning and Teaching Council [ALTC] Grant for developing a student-focused competence-based web-site.

This project aimed to investigate students’ and practice educators’ views from five Australian Universities on the contents and composition of the competency website.  Methods: Ten focus groups were conducted in the five Australian universities with students and practice educators. 

Students and educators identified that the competencies were difficult to evidence when related to practice and professional reasoning. Participants also requested specific examples of how to evidence these areas at different developmental levels.

The project team reconfigured the Competency Standards by using an Occupational Therapy Practice Process Framework and setting aspects of professional reasoning against each section. Three threshold levels of competence were identified: emerging, consolidating and competent at graduation. These levels gave cognizance to the knowledge, skills and abilities needed in contemporary practice. Resources will now be developed which will assist students to understand the different thresholds and evidence at different stages the integration of  these competencies in their developing professional practice.