Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Sclinda Janssen L.

Keywords

Mindfulness; Occupational Therapy -- methods

Abstract

In recent years, healthcare service delivery has been influenced by one factor that has shown to considerably limit occupational therapy (OT) practitioners’ ability to be mindful in the work setting (Black, 2010). This influential factor involves increased productivity standards resulting in high burnout, empathic fatigue, job dissatisfaction, lack of mindful practice, and distress to the point of clinical effectiveness (Irving, Dobkin, & Park, 2009; Poulsen et al., 2014; Vadnais, 2014). In the midst of high productivity standards, a need surfaced for the production of a tool that assisted OT practitioners to overcome these standards as well as to incorporate a mindful approach in practice; thus, An Occupational Therapist’s Guide for Mindful Practice Under High Productivity Standards was created.

The methodology of this guide included an extensive process. First, the authors of the guide reflected upon personal values, interests, and areas that inspired further exploration in the field of OT. Once the topic of mindfulness was collaborated upon, the authors of the guide utilized literature to reveal the literature gap and justify the need of this scholarly project. Then, the authors of the guide synthesized all of the research information into a detailed literature review. The gap guided from the research illustrated that the topic of mindfulness needed to address how OT practitioners may utilize mindful techniques within their practice in order to face high productivity demands in fast-paced health care settings.

An Occupational Therapist’s Guide for Mindful Practice Under High Productivity Standards utilized the concepts of andragogy (Knowles, 1984) and the Person-Environment-Occupation model (Law et al., 1996) as organizational frameworks to match the learning needs of the intended readers. The guide included quotes, figures and tables, worksheets, case studies, and mindfulness techniques and strategies that may be incorporated into the workplace setting for OT practitioners. Specifically, the information outlined in the guide related to the OT process of evaluation, goal-setting, and intervention. Ultimately, the purpose of the guide was for the practitioners to experience a transformative process that enhanced their personal and professional wellbeing, their surroundings to promote efficiency and efficacy within their workplace environment, the quality of care they provided, and the satisfaction received from their role as an OT.

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