OT Education During a Pandemic

Whether we’re students, educators, or clinicians working on the frontlines of care, we all have a stake in the world of occupational therapy (OT) education.

The changes in clinical education this year are so large that even those working in academia have struggled to keep up.

This 1-hour episode will ask you to reflect on trends in higher education prior to 2020, and assess how COVID-19 has impacted higher education. It will also lead you to consider how OT education may forever be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our goal is to encourage educators and program directors to continue thinking outside the box, find ways to increase program flexibility, harness long-term use of technology, and creatively support occupational therapy students.

The course will reference current research on trends in higher education both pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic with OT Program Director, Melissa Kimmerling. We look at what we’ve learned during the pandemic, what will stay after the pandemic abates, and how you can support students both in the classroom and in the field.

1. You will be able to recall trends in higher education prior to COVID-19.

2. You will be able to recognize how the COVID pandemic has impacted the climate of higher education.

3. You will be able to identify three ways to support students and faculty in the evolving academic environment.

• Intro

• Discussion on practical implications for OTs (with guest Melissa Kimmerling)

  1. Trends pre-COVID-19

     a. Students’ socioeconomic status impacts educational access and subsequent educational performance

     b. Need for students to have electronic devices

     c. Need for faculty to have competency in the online environment

     d. Student engagement’s impact on student success

     e. Student support services

  2. How has COVID-19 impacted those trends? 

     a. Students from certain types of background or SES may not only have decreased access to education in the first place, they may also be from populations that are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic

     b. The Chronicle of Higher Education recently discussed National Student Clearinghouse data that reported 21.7 percent fewer students went to college right out of high school than in 2019. This was nearly 8 times higher than the drop experienced between 2018 and 2019, and the data from the National Student Clearinghouse further breaks down the numbers to show the statistics by income, poverty levels, rural/suburban dwelling, and minority vs. non-minority students

     c. Education is a social determinant of health

  3. Student devices

     a. Further highlighted that higher education REQUIRES a reliable device, and—especially now—a reliable internet connection outside of the college/ university

  4. Faculty knowledge and skills

     a. Prior to the pandemic, instructors who were not as comfortable online probably didn’t teach online

  5. Importance of student engagement

     a. More challenging in an online environment, but more important than ever

     b. Building relationships between students, between students, and faculty

  6. Importance of student support services (SSS)

     a. Increased mental health needs during the pandemic

     b. Whether SSS are available outside of typical working hours

     c. Whether students are aware of how to contact SSS, and whether they feel comfortable doing so

  7. What did COVID-19 bring to the table that surprised us? 

     a. Student resiliency overall

     b. Flexible methods to achieve learning outcomes

     c. Move to online labs didn’t appear to impact fieldwork performance. Increased need to address faculty well-being

  8. What’s next, and what are we wondering about for the future?

     a. Creative delivery models

     b. Flexibility in systems to support students and programs

     c. Long-term solutions for flexible work arrangements

• Disruption of academic occupations during COVID-19: impact on mental health and the role of occupational therapy in tertiary education

• Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Life of Higher Education Students: A Global Perspective

• Covid-19 Has Worsened the Student Mental-Health Crisis. Can Resilience Training Fix It?

• High School Benchmarks  With a COVID-19 Special Analysis

• How the Coronavirus Will Change Faculty Life Forever

• Mapping research in student engagement and educational technology in higher education: a systematic evidence map

• Global Education Monitoring Report

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

OT Potential pays guest speakers an honorarium for their participation, either directly or to an institution of the speaker's choosing at their request. We invite guests whose expertise often comes from practices, programs, or building products in their field. Where a speaker has a financial interest in the subject of a course, we disclose it below so you can weigh it for yourself.

OT Potential's interest in this topic: We have no financial stake in this topic.

Speaker interests: Melissa Kimmerling has no financial interest in this topic to disclose.

Lauren Sheehan, who hosted this episode, is Field Clinical Manager for NeuroLutions, a stroke rehabilitation device company.