Occupations Snapshots

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Occupations Snapshots
Introducing new student occupational therapists
to the complexities of Occupation
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Developing the Programme in 2000/2001

Our aim was and still is to develop a programme
of occupational therapy education that is
grounded in occupation and encourages the study
of the occupational nature of people
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So the team decided to

• Use contributions from occupational science for
  example Elizabeth Yerxa, USC Ann Wilcock
• Use some of the developments from occupational
  therapy theorists such as Mary Rielly,
  Kielhofner
• Examine the history of occupational therapy in UK
  and world-wide
• Check out current practice of occupational
  therapy in UK

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Programme Themes

• Level 1 Occupation
• Level 2 Challenges to Occupations
• Level 3 Enabling Occupation

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Introducing new students to occupation and its
complexities

• Programme team felt it was vital to emphasise
  occupation right at the start of the programme
• As part of recruitment process, applicants were
  required to submit a written summary of
  Occupation for Health by Ann Wilcock (1998)
• Issued successful students with occupational
  snapshots to be completed before starting the
  programme

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Occupations Snapshot
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Findings from Cohort 2001 in the early part of
the programme (Collected informally during class)

• Some students were surprised at how meaningful
  were certain of their occupations
• Defining occupation was very much an individual
  thing
• Occupations change with the demands on the
  individual
• Students start exploration of how occupation
  supports well-being health

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Findings from Cohort 2001 at the end of their
first year(collected informally in class)

• Students had started to define boundaries between
  self-care, productivity leisure occupations
• Maintaining these boundaries made it easier to
  check for balance between occupations
• Students identified that they were spending much
  more time in productivity occupations relating to
  their student role and less on leisure activities
• Knowledge of the need to maintain a balance of
  occupations has helped students through certain
  stressful times

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Findings from Cohort 2002 in early part of their
programme(collected informally in class)

• Again students were surprised at how meaningful
  certain occupations were
• Identifying which were productivity, leisure and
  self-care occupations were very much individually
  defined
• Students expressed curiosity in the relationship
  between occupation, health well-being

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Findings from Cohort 2002 at the end of their
first year(collected informally in class)

• Leisure occupations are identified as having a
  new intensity and are enjoyed more
• Productivity occupations have changed drastically
  within this first year of studying occupational
  therapy
• Productivity does not seem to have increased much
  - this was a surprise

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Findings from Cohort 2003 in first 2 weeks of
their programme

• They were asked to classify their occupations as
  Productivity/Leisure/Self-care
• List what these occupations were
• Identify the importance of their occupations

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PRODUCTIVITY

• PURPOSEFUL
• END RESULT
• MEASURABLE OUTCOME
• NECESSARY TO SUPPORT SELF, FAMILY AND SOCIETY
• TASK RELATED
• COMMITMENT
• THINGS YOU NEED TO DO
• FOR SELF-WORTH

PAID WORK, TRAVEL COMMUTING, SHOPPING, DIY,
GARDENING, COOKING, IRONING, CLEANING
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LEISURE

• SATISFACTION
• YOUR CHOICE
• MEANINGFUL
• ESSENTIAL TO SELF CONCEPT/ESTEEM
• PROMOTE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL BEING
• NO NECESSARY OUTCOME
• ENJOYMENT
• FULFILLMENT
• REFRESH/REVILATISE

WALKING DOG, WATCHING TV, HORSE RIDING, GYM,
SWIMMING, EMAIL FRIENDS, FAMILY TIME,
PUB,SOCIALISING, READING, BROWSING IN SHOPS,
MUSIC, DOING NOTHING, EATING/MEALS OUT, MEDITATING
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SELF CARE

• BASIC NEED
• MENTAL NEED
• EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL WELL BEING
• INSTINCTIVE
• SELF PRESERVATION
• NECESSARY FOR HEALTH AND SURVIVAL
• PERSONAL MAINTENANCE
• EXERCISE

SLEEP, WASH, DRESS, GROOMING, PERSONAL HYGIENE,
EATING, DRINKING, FOOD SHOPPING, PREPARING FOOD,
CHILD CARE, CARE OF PARENTS, TIME WITH LOVED
ONES, AVOIDING DANGER
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Summary of Findings 1

• Occupations are defined by the individual and
  change with demands on the individual
• Occupations within the leisure classification are
  the least identified but have a new intensity and
  pleasure aspect
• Students have made boundaries between occupations
  to enable more balance in their lives
• The amount of productivity has not changed much,
  but the occupations within this classification
  have altered

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Summary of Findings 2
5. Knowledge of the tension between
productivity, self-care and leisure appears to
maintain balance in stressful times 6. Level 1
students appear to have a basic understanding of
the importance of occupation in supporting health
and well-being
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Future funded studies hope to investigate-

• The influence that the occupation of studying has
  on the range occupations of occupational therapy
  students
• How recognising the need to maintain a balance of
  occupations, can help students to deal with
  stressful periods within their programme
• Evaluating how completing the Occupations
  Snapshots enables understanding of occupation

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Fiona M DouglasProgramme LeaderBSc(Hons)
Occupational TherapyUniversity of the West of
EnglandSchool of Allied Health
ProfessionsGlenside CampusBristolBS16 1DD117
328 8787Fiona.Douglas_at_uwe.ac.uk