Australian occupational therapists' perspectives of consumers authentically contributing to student learning during practice placements: 'It just makes sense!' but 'we need a process'.
Thomas Bevitt, Stephen Isbel, Robert B Pereira and 1 others
PMID 36372902WHAT IT FOUND
Experienced Australian OT supervisors see consumer feedback as valuable but fear students lack the skill to process it safely.
They want a structured, educator-controlled process to manage the time burden and the shift in power away from the supervisor.
Key findings
01Supervisors worried students lack the feedback literacy to interpret consumer critiques, expecting defensive reactions similar to how they handle educator feedback.
02Respondents insisted on an educator-controlled process to manage time pressures and ensure safety, rather than allowing direct student-consumer feedback exchanges.
03Supervisors feared that shifting control to consumers could diminish their professional authority and create conflicting assessments of student performance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study did not include any consumers or students, so it reflects only the supervisors' assumptions about their capabilities. Participants were predominantly experienced supervisors from major cities, limiting generalisability to novice supervisors or rural contexts. The questionnaire was based on the older SPEF-R form, not the current SPEF-R2. The authors are academics who may share the same professional culture as the respondents.
Declared interests
One author is a member of the journal's editorial board. No other conflicts declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these findings as evidence that consumer feedback is unsafe or ineffective. The paper reports supervisors' perceptions and fears about the process, not actual outcomes of student learning or consumer experiences.