Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Anne Haskins

Second Advisor

Sarah Nielsen

Abstract

Title: Transitional Support Programming for First-Year Occupational Therapy Graduate Students

Background: The focus of the project represents the Scholarship of Application, which is the translation of existing research into practice. A student’s transition from undergraduate to graduate-level programs can be challenging due to the increased academic rigor inherent to graduate programs. This can lead to an imbalance in students' lives and an increase in stress, anxiety, and burnout. As the overall well-being of students decreases, the likelihood of students experiencing academic hardships increases. Students need diverse academic and professional skills to navigate graduate school successfully; however, many students lack those skills. To mitigate the difficulties traditionally associated with transitioning into graduate school, universities throughout the U.S. have implemented transitional support programs for a variety of healthcare programs. Transitional support programs are proactive support systems designed to improve student performance and wellness by targeting skills required to be successful in graduate school. The University of North Dakota’s (UND) Occupational Therapy (OT) Department and a third-year OT student collaborated to identify the needs of the Occupational Therapy Doctoral (OTD) Program related to the student population. The third-year OTD student conducted an in-depth literature review and ongoing formative needs assessment. This led to the creation of a transitional support program for the UND OT Department to utilize. The purpose of the program was to facilitate the acculturation of first-year students into the OTD program.

Project Description & Results: The project was designed to be implemented by UND’s OTD Program during the fall semester for first-year graduate students. It specifically targeted the academic and professional skills needed to succeed in the OTD program, using education and occupation-based models as a guide. The project consists of resources for faculty, a weekly schedule, session plans and materials, evaluation tools, and official recommendations for sustainability.

Discussion: The program's structure and learning objectives could be used as a guide for other higher education departments to utilize; however, the generalizability of the program is contained to the OTD program when using the specific materials created for content delivery. The program's anticipated outcome is that it will give students the support needed to transition into graduate school and foster academic and professional success.

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