Dr. Marc Willey
Assistant Professor, Occupational Therapy
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Summary of the Original Proposal
This project proposed to develop a survey instrument to gain feedback on how the MSU Public Affairs Mission is embedding within the occupational therapy curriculum. The survey was proposed to be administered to the first occupational therapy graduating class of 2017. In May of 2017, the occupational therapy faculty met in May of 2017 to discuss and establish an exit survey based on accreditation standards of the program. Survey questions were discussed and outlined by occupational faculty members Dr. Sapna Chakraborty, Dr. Marc Willey, Dr. Ashlea Cardin, Dr. Tara Boehne and Ms. Garrison based on both accreditation standards and specifically to address how successful the OT curriculum utilizes the tenets of the public affairs mission within the program. In October of 2017, the survey was written and approved by the faculty. The 15-question survey utilized Lickert type questions that were rated on a 1-6 scale. The following is an example of one of the questions directly related to address the mission goal-Ethical leadership.
Mission Goal 1- Ethical leadership
Goal: Students will articulate their value systems, act ethically within the context of a democratic society, and demonstrate engaged and principled leadership. Missouri State is fueling their students by helping them understand the ethical dimensions of leadership, taking what they learn in the classrooms, and using that to help solve problems and bring about change. The following is an example of the survey format:
- Reflecting on the OT curriculum, do you feel that your course of study in occupational
therapy has prepared you to be an ethical leader as a future occupational therapist?
Outcomes of the Work
The 15 question survey was written utilizing Qualtrics software and emailed to the 21 OT graduating students in Nov/Dec of 2017. All students were given an incentive of a $10.00 gift card (funded through this grant) to successfully complete the survey. Of the 21 students eligible, 12 successfully completed the survey, which is a return rate of 57 percent. The survey incorporated the 3 mission goals of the Public Affairs mission.
The students were instructed to rate the following on a 1- 6 scale. The results for each
question were as follows:
Reflecting on the OT curriculum,…
- Do you feel that your course of study in occupational therapy has prepared you to be an ethical leader as a future occupational therapist? 5.75/6.0
- Do you feel that occupational therapy ethical leadership was emphasized effectively within the academic (classroom) portion of your training? 5.58/6.0
- Do you feel that ethical leadership was modeled by the faculty within the academic (classroom)portion of your training? 5.75/6.0
- Do you feel that occupational therapy ethics was modeled by your fieldwork supervisors effectively within the fieldwork portion of your training? 5.50/6.0
- Do you feel that your course of study in occupational therapy has prepared you to recognize and respect cultural competence as a future occupational therapist? 5.67/6.0
- Do you feel that your course of study in occupational therapy has prepared you to recognize and respect cultural competence as a future occupational therapist? 5.58/6.0
- Do you feel that cultural competence was emphasized effectively within the academic (classroom) portion of your training? 5.67/6.0
- Do you feel that cultural competence was modeled by the faculty within the academic (classroom) portion of your training? 5.67/6.0
- Do you feel that cultural competence was emphasized effectively within the fieldwork portion of your training? 5.50/6.0
- Do you feel that cultural competence was modeled by your fieldwork supervisors effectively within the fieldwork portion of your training? 5.50/6.0
- Do you feel that your course of study in occupational therapy has prepared you to value the importance of contributing knowledge and service to the community as a future occupational therapist? 5.75/6.0
- Do you feel that community engagement was emphasized effectively within the
academic (classroom) portion of your training? 5.67/6.0 - Do you feel that community engagement was modeled by the faculty within the academic (classroom) portion of your training? 5.67/6.0
- Do you feel that community engagement was emphasized effectively within the
fieldwork portion of your training? 5.42/6.0 - Do you feel that community engagement was modeled by your fieldwork supervisors effectively within the fieldwork portion of your training? 5.38/6.0
Describe how your project moves goals of the grant forward
A major goal of our curriculum is that our students will reflect the Public Affairs
mission as a practicing occupational therapist and as a citizen of our country. The results of this survey validates that we are meeting our goal of embedding the Public Affairs within our curriculum. The OT faculty plans to further discuss the results of this survey within the curriculum by writing specific objectives to clarify and strengthen assignments that promote
the Public Affairs mission in our summer retreat in August of 2018.
Next steps and Plans for dissemination
The results of this survey will be summarized in an abstract and will be sent for peer review for acceptance as a poster or presentation at the Missouri State Occupational Therapy Convention held in Columbia in the October of 2018.