Developing a Capstone Focus Area Selection Tool for Entry Level Doctor of Occupational Therapy Students
Event Type
Presentation
Start Date
12-1-2021 9:00 AM
End Date
12-1-2021 12:00 PM
Description
Importance: Entry-level Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) students need to choose up to two capstone focus areas aimed at expanding upon skills for entry-level OT. The eight focus areas are Education (ED), Research Skills (RS), Clinical Practice Skills (CP), Theory Development (TD), Leadership (L), Administration (ADM), Program and Policy Development (PPD), and Advocacy (ADV).
Objective: To design a tool to assist students in identifying individual primary capstone focus areas by providing their top three areas based on results.
Design: This mixed methods study contained an 80-item online survey requiring responses based on a four-item Likert rating scale. Qualitative feedback results allowed for greater insight into the tool’s effectiveness as reported by participants.
Participants: Participants (N = 62) enrolled in Nova Southeastern University’s Entry-Level OTD program cohorts of 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Results: Results indicated CP (28.8%), L (26.20%), and ADV (13.90%) had the highest frequencies. The lowest frequencies were found among RS (2.67%), TD (4.28%), and PPD (4.81%). The Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient was conducted. The strongest correlation was between PPD and TD, r(60) = 0.72, p < 0.01. CP and RS were the weakest correlation, r(60)= 0.14, p > 0.05. The feedback survey was completed by 28 participants. Over 88% selected agree/strongly agree when asked if the tool was beneficial in selecting a capstone focus area.
Conclusion: This study was considered significant to the population it intends to serve. Future research could involve retrospective study design to examine the validity and reliability of the survey tool. What This Article Adds: Significant gaps in the literature were found surrounding the available resources for OTD students and capstone focus area selections. This tool will aid in the selection process of preferred capstone focus area(s) that best align with current and future students’ interests and goals as future occupational therapy practitioners.
Recommended Citation
Decker, T., Cobos, K., Noche, I., Ellithorpe, L., Blose, T., King, M., & Massillon, E. (2021), Developing a Capstone Focus Area Selection Tool for Entry Level Doctor of Occupational Therapy Students, Presentation, Eighth Annual Research Colloquium, https://nsuworks.nova.edu/ot_colloquium/eighth/events/5
Developing a Capstone Focus Area Selection Tool for Entry Level Doctor of Occupational Therapy Students
Importance: Entry-level Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) students need to choose up to two capstone focus areas aimed at expanding upon skills for entry-level OT. The eight focus areas are Education (ED), Research Skills (RS), Clinical Practice Skills (CP), Theory Development (TD), Leadership (L), Administration (ADM), Program and Policy Development (PPD), and Advocacy (ADV).
Objective: To design a tool to assist students in identifying individual primary capstone focus areas by providing their top three areas based on results.
Design: This mixed methods study contained an 80-item online survey requiring responses based on a four-item Likert rating scale. Qualitative feedback results allowed for greater insight into the tool’s effectiveness as reported by participants.
Participants: Participants (N = 62) enrolled in Nova Southeastern University’s Entry-Level OTD program cohorts of 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Results: Results indicated CP (28.8%), L (26.20%), and ADV (13.90%) had the highest frequencies. The lowest frequencies were found among RS (2.67%), TD (4.28%), and PPD (4.81%). The Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient was conducted. The strongest correlation was between PPD and TD, r(60) = 0.72, p < 0.01. CP and RS were the weakest correlation, r(60)= 0.14, p > 0.05. The feedback survey was completed by 28 participants. Over 88% selected agree/strongly agree when asked if the tool was beneficial in selecting a capstone focus area.
Conclusion: This study was considered significant to the population it intends to serve. Future research could involve retrospective study design to examine the validity and reliability of the survey tool. What This Article Adds: Significant gaps in the literature were found surrounding the available resources for OTD students and capstone focus area selections. This tool will aid in the selection process of preferred capstone focus area(s) that best align with current and future students’ interests and goals as future occupational therapy practitioners.