Description of the factors that determine the choice of clinical practices of unfergraduation occupattional therapy students

Abstract

Introduction: Carrying out internships within a real work context is one of the key aspects for the organisation, development and evaluation of university programmes such as the Degree in Occupational Therapy. In addition, it allows acquiring personal and professional skills, favouring this way the integration between theory and practice as well as the sense of a professional identity. Method: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. 164 students of 2nd, 3rd and 4th year of the Degree in Occupational Therapy of the University of Castilla-La Mancha were assessed by an online questionnaire after the process of allocation of resources. We explored the importance that students of the Occupational Therapy Degree attribute to their learning in practice resources and identified the factors that determine the choice of devices in which they will carry out their practical training. The selection of students was made during the 2017-2018 academic year and all of them participated voluntarily. Results: Statistically significant differences were obtained depending on the academic year (2nd, 3rd and 4th) among the dependent variables linked to the assessment of the internship in the academic curriculum: It helps to solve practical problems (p = 0.007) and teach interpersonal skills (p = 0.025). More than half of the sample of students surveyed (51.2%) pointed out the proximity of the internship centre to their family home as the most important factor when selecting the device in which place where they would carry out their practical training. Conclusions: This work helps to understand the impact of decision making as well as to facilitate the improvement of this process for students, promoting experiences in practical resources that are successful as well as a satisfactory future professional development.