The word 'research' has begun to have a strange effect on my class: a slight groan, followed by a half eye-roll, culminating in a long, tired sigh. We've just begun working on our group research proposals, selecting a suitable topic, drawing up our first concept papers and scanning library bookshelves and the world wide web for any relevant literature. It seems a mammoth task to us at this stage, with so many big words and foreign concepts, but within the space of a year, our very first research dissertation (we hope and pray) will be complete.
A stressful day for the OT 4th years, Monday marked Research Day: a day to present a year's work of research to an audience of parents, students supervisors and adjudicators in the dignified space of the Senate Chamber. As third year students, we were present to assist with the smooth running of the day- which for many of us involved a lot of smiling and being generally helpful- as well as to get a glimpse of what we would be in for this time next year...
Glancing at the programme in the morning, I was surprised at the diversity of the research, from assistive devices and prosthesis use, right up to the lived experiences of teenage mothers. Within the single field of OT, the research focus varied from children to the elderly, from the higher socio-economic bracket of society to the lower and from institution-based to community based. The range of ideas and perspectives was a stark indication of the wide scope of Occupational Therapy, incorporating nearly every aspect of society.
"the therapeutic use of everyday life activities (occupations) with individuals or groups for the purpose of enhancing or enabling participation in roles, habits, and routines in home, school, workplace, community, and other settings."
(AOTA, 2014b)
Townsend and Polatajko describe occupational therapy as," the art and science of enabling engagement in everyday living, through occupation; of enabling people to perform the occupations that foster health and well-being; and of enabling a just and inclusive society so that all people may participate to their potential in the daily occupations of life"
(Townsend& Polatajko, 2013, p. 380).
Given that each person has unique roles, occupations, interests and contexts, it is not surprising that OTs are often referred to as the 'jack of all trades', having to master our understanding of each role or occupation that a person values, so that we can accurately rehabilitate our clients and return them to the occupations that have meaning to them. According to the Canadian Association of Occupational therapy,
"The essential elements of occupational therapy practice are:
- Presence of an occupational challenge
- Possibility of solutions that enable occupation
- Client–specific goals/challenges/solutions and client-centred enablement
- Multidisciplinary knowledge base
- A reasoning process that can deal with complexity"
In the South African context, occupational challenges are everywhere: the low socio-economic conditions faced by the majority of the population, high HIV rates, issues within the healthcare system and other contextual problems such as crime. Hence, occupational therapy has a huge role to play in our society, which we began to really appreciate after seeing the many diverse foci on Research Day.
The guest speaker made an interesting point in his opening presentation, highlighting the importance of OT in the healthcare system. He pointed out that OT is one of the few professions where the training extends beyond the course requirements and leads to personal growth as well as professional growth. I've seen this first-hand, watching my class, and myself, develop over the years.
People I've known since first year have matured in an amazing way, revealing deeper talents and complex worldviews that were hidden just a few years ago. Three years into the course, I find it difficult to meet people without automatically starting to analyse their life. I see a beggar on the roadside, and wonder what events have led up to him being there, and what other roles he holds in life. I go into someone's office and can't help looking for clues about their personality and interests beyond the work sphere. It fascinates me to ponder how complex we all are, shaped by our context and experiences.
I once met a student from Wits who asked 'What do they teach you guys in OT? You all have such a different way of looking at the world'. It's true: OT teaches us to see beyond face-value, converting our 2D, black and white perceptions of people into glorious 3D colour wheels.
Watching the fourth year students on Research Day, I could see the years of training emerge, as each group considered the various factors contributing to their participants' experiences, tying it all together succinctly. The use of narratives and personal quotes from participants highlighted the person-centred approach of our profession.
It was a bit intimidating to hear how they wielded heavy OT and statistical jargon and watch their creative presentation styles, considering that we would be in their shoes- and what beautiful heels some of them managed to manoeuvre in...- in just a year.
Research Day was a great opportunity to gain some inspiration for our own research. We noted down some wonderful ideas from the 4th's, such as the use of creative diagrams and flow charts to present our information in a more visually appealing manner , as well as the use of auditory input, in the form of voice recordings or quotations, to add to the richness of the presentation. Watching how the Person-Environment-Occupation model and the Model of Human Occupation were used to explain and interpret research findings was helpful, as it made us start thinking along better lines when planning our research design.
Research Day was a wonderful event. Not only did we get to see our colleagues at their most professional (there is hope for us!), we were reminded of the many opportunities for advancement within our field. In the unique dynamic that is South Africa, we have access to an amazingly diverse population, with a plethora of issues that come into play. This presents us with an unparalleled opportunity to add valuable input to the global body of Occupational Therapy knowledge, which is currently distinctly Western-centred.
Research Day presented us with a new challenge: to learn from our predecessors and return in a year to add our small bit to the volume of knowledge built up by those who came before us.
Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. (2012). Profile of occupational therapy practice in Canada. Ottawa, ON: CAOT.
Townsend, E.A. & Polatajko, H. J. (2013). Enabling occupation II: Advancing an occupational therapy vision for health, well-being & justice through occupation, 2nd Ed.. Ottawa, ON: CAOT.
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