Mrs Brigitte Lynch1, Ms Ellen Goh1
1Monash Health, Melbourne, Australia
Abstract:
Issue:
In a large metropolitan health network, the complex skill of muscle-overactivity management has traditionally been acquired through on-the-job training and one-on-one clinical supervision. A local critical service gap impacting patient care arose as a result of limited occupational therapists (OTs) with competency in this area and the lack of a formal educational program.
Purpose:
To develop and implement a comprehensive, multipronged education strategy to upskill the OT workforce in muscle-overactivity management.
Nature and scope:
Eight OTs from various clinical settings were selected, based on their clinical caseloads and workforce planning needs. They participated in a 10-part online tutorial program, developed and facilitated by experienced OTs. Following this, bi-monthly group supervision sessions were run to discuss clinical cases and clinical reasoning. Concurrent to the tutorials and supervision sessions, an experienced OT conducted one-on-one bedside clinical teaching across a range of clinical settings to support individual learning needs and knowledge application.
Outcome and conclusion:
The implementation of the muscle-overactivity education strategy resulted in increased OT competency. Pre- and post-tutorial program questionnaires indicated increased confidence in the learning objectives for each session. Group supervision was positively rated using a 5-point Likert scale by all participants. The overall success of the program is reflected in the five-fold increase in the number of competent OTs over 2 years.
This multi-pronged education strategy successfully developed workforce competency in a complex skill, ensuring optimal patient care and supporting professional growth. These outcomes demonstrate potential for this strategy to be adopted by other allied health disciplines.