Preparing Advanced Clinicians and Practitioners: A Model for Mentorship in Occupational Therapy Practice.
Sarah A Schoen, Bryan M Gee, Mim Ochsenbein
PMID 35024016WHAT IT FOUND
Pediatric OTs rated a week-long sensory integration mentorship highly, citing better clinical reasoning and networking.
Most wanted more time for specific topics and smaller groups. The study reports satisfaction with the course format, not evidence that the mentorship improved patient care or clinical skills.
Key findings
01The majority of participants reported the program met or exceeded expectations, with 95.83% providing positive feedback.
02Participants highlighted improvements in clinical reasoning, theory-to-practice translation, and networking as key benefits.
03Criticism focused on the program being too expensive and requests for more time on specific content areas and smaller groups.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study relies entirely on self-reported satisfaction from anonymous course evaluations, not on objective measures of clinical skill or patient outcomes. No demographic data (age, years of experience, location) was collected, so it is unclear if results differ for novice versus experienced clinicians. The survey tool was designed for quality assurance, not research, so it may not have captured all relevant aspects of mentorship impact. There was no follow-up to see if the learning was actually implemented in the clinicians' daily practice. The response rate was not tracked, so it is unknown if the 240 respondents represent all attendees or just the most satisfied ones.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the high satisfaction rates as evidence that this mentorship program improves clinical outcomes or patient care. The study measures how much clinicians liked the course and felt it helped their confidence, not whether they became better therapists or if their patients improved.