Dr Samantha Ashby

© 2016 Occupational Therapy AustraliaBackground/aim: The successful development and maintenance of professional identity is associated with professional development and retention in the health workforce. This paper explores students' perspectives on the ways pre-entry experiences and curricula content shape professional identity. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was sent to students enrolled in the final year of entry-level programmes in five countries. Descriptive statistical analyses of data were completed. Results: The results reflect the perceptions of 319 respondents from five countries. Respondents identified professional education (98%) and professional socialisation during placement (92%) as curricula components with the greatest influence on professional identity formation. Discipline-specific knowledge such as, occupation-focussed models and occupational science were ranked lower than these aspects of practice. The students' length of programme and level of entry-level programme did not impact on these results. Conclusion: When designing curricula educators need to be mindful that students perceive practice education and professional socialisation have the greatest affect on professional identity formation. The findings reinforce the need for curricula to provide students with a range of practice experiences, which allow the observation and application of occupation-based practices. It highlights a need for educators to provide university-based curricula activities, which better prepare students for a potential dissonance between explicit occupation-based curricula and observed practice education experiences. The study indicates the need for further research into the role curricula content, and in particular practice education, plays in the multidimensional formation of professional development within entry-level programmes.

© 2014 Dietitians Association of Australia.Aim: The aim of this analysis is to establish if dietitians have the knowledge, skills and attitude to provide support to other health professional (HP) groups in the provision of weight management advice to overweight/obese patients. Methods: A secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional survey of HPs was undertaken to perform a gap analysis with regard to practices, knowledge, confidence and attitudes in the provision of weight management advice. Survey responses and additional measures (practice, knowledge, confidence and attitude scores) were compared between dietitians and other HPs. Descriptive statistics were undertaken, and differences between group ¿² tests were performed for nominal data and the Wilcoxon rank sum test for ordinal and non-parametric data. Results: About 100% of dietitians had received initial weight management training and 85% had participated in professional development training, compared with 18 and 19% of HPs, respectively, although 70% believed it was within their scope of practice to provide evidence-based advice. Dietitian respondents achieved a higher median score (maximum 10) in the following areas (practice = 6.5, knowledge = 8.0, confidence = 8.3) when compared with HP respondents (practice = 4.2, knowledge = 7.0, confidence = 5.4). The median attitude score for both groups was 6.0. Conclusions: HPs are receptive to providing evidence-based weight loss messages to overweight/obese clients in their current practice. However, weight management training is required to enhance HPs' knowledge and skills in order to increase confidence and improve practice skills. Dietitians can assist HPs to ensure that clear, consistent, evidence-based messages are delivered to overweight clients throughout the health-care system.

© 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a regional area in Australia to measure nurses' perceptions, practices, and knowledge in regard to providing healthy lifestyle advice to people who are overweight or obese. Responses were compared between geographic regions. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. Of the 79 nurse participants, 68% considered that provision of healthy lifestyle advice was within their scope of practice. Only 28% reported frequently estimating body mass index in the practice setting. Nurses often recommended increasing activity levels (44%), but recommended reducing daily caloric intake less often (25%). Nurses' knowledge about weight management was variable and the proportion of correct answers to knowledge items ranged from 33-99%. Nurses have many opportunities to deliver healthy lifestyle advice in a range of practice settings. The variation in practices and knowledge of nurses indicates a need for improved healthy lifestyle education for undergraduate and practicing nurses.

© 2014 Occupational Therapy Australia.Background/aim: Practice education is a compulsory component of all entry-level programmes in the health professions. It is used as a teaching strategy to connect theoretical knowledge, such as occupation-focussed models with practice. The study aimed to explore students' perceptions about the influence of practice educators on their understanding of the use of occupation-focussed models in practice. Methods: Using a phenomenological approach, semi-structured interviews gained an understanding of six participants' experiences of their practice education. Interview transcripts were analysed thematically. Findings: Three themes emerged from participants' experiences of practice education. 'Explaining the theory-practice nexus' referred to participants' difficulties in distinguishing between different forms of theoretical knowledge, it described educators struggle to fulfil the dual roles of educator and practitioner' when articulating the theoretical knowledge underpinning practice. This often led participants taking an active role in their own learning. 'Experiencing dissonance between university-based studies and the real-world' described the difference between the importance university studies placed on theory in comparison to practice. 'Creating a positive mindset for the use of theoretical knowledge in practice for future practice' illustrated strategies used by some practice educators to articulate the use of theoretical knowledge. Conclusions: The study highlighted practice educators role in shaping students' perceptions of theoretical knowledge use in professional reasoning. The increased recognition of practice educators on the implicit curricula creates an onus on the university sector to provide discussion and information exchanges to increase educators' opportunities to develop, update and increase their skills in describing and using theoretical knowledge to underpin practice.

Background/aim: Obesity affects more than half the Australian population and has become epidemic throughout the world. Little is known regarding occupational therapy interventions with clients who are overweight or obese. This study aimed to identify occupational therapy practice in relation to the provision of weight management. This was part of a larger study investigating health professional practice. Methods: A cross-sectional study design using a self-administered, purpose-designed survey was employed to identify the current practices of occupational therapists working in a regional area of New South Wales, Australia. Participants were recruited via email or mail as publically available. Results: Fifty-one occupational therapists anonymously completed the survey. Results revealed that 53% (n = 26) of respondents did not consider weight management to be within their scope of practice or their workplace role description. The most common intervention was the provision of physical activity advice (65.2%; n = 30). Dietary advice was provided by 20.8% (n = 10), while 77% (n = 32) referred onto dietitian services. During entry-level occupational therapy education, only 7.8% (n = 4) had received weight management advice education. Completion of postgraduate professional development training in this area was reported by 14% (n = 7) of respondents. Conclusion: This study provides insight into the current practices of Australian occupational therapists in relation to the provision of weight management advice. This research displays a need to acknowledge both a generic and a discipline-specific role for the provision of healthy lifestyle interventions. This may be achieved through better access to education during entry-level programmes and in the workplace. © 2013 Occupational Therapy Australia.