Comparing Occupational Therapy Students’ and Occupational Therapy Assistant Students’ Perceptions of an Intraprofessional Class Session

Intraprofessional education between occupational therapy (OT) and occupational therapy assistant (OTA) students can be a valuable component of the entry-level curriculum. Comparisons of OT vs. OTA students’ perceptions are sparse, yet this information may yield important insights about intraprofessional learning needs. This mixed methods study explored student perceptions of a three-hour joint OT/OTA class session conducted via video conferencing. Learning activities were grounded in shared leadership and two-way feedback and included collaboration on a client case. A total of 172 anonymous post-class feedback surveys were received from 121 OT students and 57 OTA students over three academic years. The study results indicate that OT students were significantly more welcoming of future intraprofessional collaborations (p=.024) and more likely to recommend providing the intraprofessional class session for future students (p=.010) than OTA students. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data yielded four themes: (a) enjoyment and emotional safety, (b) hands-on introduction to future practice, (c) the importance of collaboration and communication, and (d) OTAs are valuable. The theme “OTAs are valuable” emerged differently between OT and OTA students, with OTA students affirming their valuable contributions to the collaboration and OT students discovering the value of OTAs. The findings suggest that the intraprofessional class session was particularly impactful and eye-opening for the OT students, while OTA students may benefit from learning experiences designed to affirm the value of OTAs. Overall, this single three-hour video conferencing experience provided students with an accessible opportunity to engage in collaborative learning, likely transforming their beliefs about intraprofessional partnerships.