being an ot in europe

Maria SkouroliakosPresident of COTEC

Being an OT in Europe!

Maria Skouroliakos, President of COTEC88th Annual AOTA Conference, Long Beach, 11 April 2008


The European Council in Brussels agreed in 1983

that “mutual recognition for diplomas was an

important step in creating satisfactory conditions for the exercise of a number

of professions” including Occupational

Therapists.


COTEC was established in 1986 to co-ordinate

the views of the National Associations of

Occupational Therapy of the ten Members

States of the European Communities.


Strasbourg 04. 25. 1986The words Occupational Therapy andErgotherapy would from now on described the name and title of the profession


The terms

Ergotherapy and Occupational Therapy

were the most frequently used terms.

Each delegate reported on potential confusion

with other workers.


ItalyTerapista della Reabilitazione “O.T.

means anindustrial worker in the psychiatric

field. Inpeople’s minds “ Rehabilitation

Therapist is, atthe moment (1986), the qualification

for:Occupational Therapist,

Physiotherapist, SpeechTherapist.


Netherlands

“Ergotherapeuten”.Translation of the words O.T. means

someone workingin an industrial workshop with a one year

training.

Germany

“Beschaffigungs/ Arbeits – therapeut”

But were trying to change to Ergotherapeut


U.K.“Occupational Therapist”In English Ergotherapist is not

understood, so itseems impossible to change OT intoErgotherapist.


Spain“Terapeuta Ocupacional”

Belgium

Officially Ergotherapeute“Ergotherapeute” for the French

speaking“Arbeitstherapeut” for the Dutch

speaking


France“Ergotherapeute” and “Ergotherapeute

in Psychiatry” This title has been given by

equivalence to about 300 psychiatric nurses.


The words Ergo and Occupation have similar

definitions but they are not directtranslations of each other.

The term Ergo is used as the term

most closely

related to the concept of Occupation.


Εργο [ancient εργον] –1. the TOTAL of actions and efforts to

accomplish something, to succeed, to get there

2. work, job, creation, lifelong work, labour, play, film, handiwork.

3. duty, obligation, mission. (Greek Dictionary,

1993)


Occupation1. holding, possession2. profession, job

(Oxford English-Greek Learner’s Dictionary,

1997)


The fact that the two words are notinterchangeable has added another

challenge for the European Occupational

Therapists who for 20 years now try to organize the

officialterminology of our profession.


Terms like occupational performance,occupational performance component,occupational performance areas,

occupationalhealth are hard or impossible to be

translated.Their actual translation has not the

same meaning or has no meaning.Many of those terms must be

paraphrased tobe used.


The difficulty of this situation was highlighted

during the Tuning process when thecompetencies had to be translated in

20languages.Many of them when being translated,

theywere hard to comprehend or explain to

otherpeople.


The Hellenic Association of Ergotherapists

published a monolingual dictionary of the most

used terms.

In the introduction of this booklet it is described

the methodology and it is also acknowledged

the fact that many of the terms are rather

inapt terms in Greek.


The terminology group of the European

Network of Occupational Therapists in Higher

Education (ENOTHE) has produced consensus

definitions of 11 terms.

These definitions were translated into 6

languages giving meaning to inapt terms.


In 24 countries the Occupational

Therapy

profession has a legal standing

In 20 countries there is an official job

description

In 15 countries Occupational

Therapists have a

recognized pay scale


In 7 European Countries their association has a

trade union status

13 European Countries use Ergotherapy as the

recognised job title.

The Tuning Project. Developing Competences for Occupational Therapy in Europe88th Annual AOTA Conference, Long Beach, 11 April 2008

The Tuning OT Project Group Represents:• The Council of Occupational

Therapists for the European Countries (COTEC)

and• The European Network of

Occupational Therapy in Higher Education (ENOTHE)


The Bologna Process 1999 – 2010• Degree System – 3 cycles of education• Quality Assurance• Recognition of Degrees and Study Periods

(e.g. ECTS and Diploma Supplement)• Life Long Learning• Joint Degrees

It is a process regarding the educational systems of the member countries


The Tuning Project was introduced by the The European University Association (EUA) in response to the Bologna process, with the support of the European Commission


Tuning = ‘tuned - in’, but not the same


The Tuning Project aims to describe the structure and content of educational programmes in line with the Bologna processTuning originally included all European countries and is now extended to Latin America Considering: Russia, China, India and Japan


The Tuning Project has developed a common methodology for all disciplines/ professions Cooperation is required between academics and professionals in the development of a description of contemporary practice and education


Five lines:1. Generic competences2. Subject-specific competences3. ECTS as an accumulation system 4. Approaches to learning, teaching, and

assessment 5. Quality enhancement


Two main documents:• Generic and subject specific competences• Professional profile (including discussion on all five lines)


Tuning web presents Tuning documents on:Business, Chemistry, Earth Science, Education,

European Studies, History, Mathematics, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physics The following are being prepared:

Agriculture, Architecture, Arts, Biotechnology, Computing science, Engineering, Food studies, Geography, Languages, Law, Medicine, Radiography, Social Work and more


‘Competences represent a dynamic combination of cognitive and metacognitive skills, knowledge and understanding, interpersonal, intellectual and practical skills, and ethical values’


Competences do NOT describe a specific level Competences are on a continuum and can be developed throughout a persons professional lifeCycle Level Descriptors describe the expected learning outcomes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd cycle education, and are developed from the competences


‘Level descriptor is a statement (learning outcome) that provides an indication of the depth and extent of learning expected at a specific stage in a programme/ professional study’


Generic Competences• Are transferable skills common to all

university programmes• Are particularly important for future

employability and citizenship• Defined for Europe by central Tuning

Group


OT Subject specific competences • refer to the performance of the

occupational therapy practitioner and are the competences that guide the whole educational programme in occupational therapy.

• For this reason the competences were developed through a close collaboration between educators (ENOTHE) and professionals (COTEC).


The development of the Subject Specific competences was based on the critical study of earlier work completed by:

– WFOT (Hocking & Ness, 2002), – College of OT’s in the UK (Turner, 2004),– Australian Association of OT’s (Ford & Tonkin,

1994), – Canadian Association for OT’s (CAOT, 1998) – European Curriculum Guidelines (Howard &

Lancee, 2000)– Standards of Practice (COTEC, 1996)


…and: • Existing curricula of Masters in OT (second

cycle) • Existing doctoral programmes in OT (third

cycle)

…but especially:• Dublin Descriptors (Joint Quality Initiative

Group, 2004), which indicate outcome levels for the three cycles


OT competences are described in 6 categories:

• Knowledge of occupational therapy (5)• OT process and professional reasoning (9)• Professional relationships and partnerships

(5)• Professional autonomy and accountability

(5)• Research and development in OT/science

(6)• Management and promotion of OT (5)


Competences within ‘Knowledge of Occupational Therapy’

• Explain the theoretical concepts underpinning occupational therapy, specifically the occupational nature of human beings and their performance of occupations

• Explain the relationship between occupational performance, health and well-being

• Synthesise and apply relevant knowledge from biological, medical, human, psychological, social, technological and occupational sciences, together with theories of occupation and participation

• Analyse the complexities of applying theories and research evidence related to occupation in the context of a changing society


Professional Relationships and Partnerships• Work according to the principles of client centred practice.• Build a therapeutic relationship/partnership as the

foundation of the occupational therapy process• Establish and maintain collaborative partnerships, consult

and advise with clients, carers, team members and other stakeholders on enabling occupation and participation in a wide range of contexts

• Collaborate with clients to advocate for the right to have their occupational needs met

• Appreciate and respect diversity, individual differences, cultural beliefs, customs and their influence on occupation and participation


Occupational Therapy Process and Professional Reasoning

• Work in partnership with individuals and groups, using occupation in prevention, rehabilitation, and treatment in order to promote participation, health and well-being

• Select, modify and apply appropriate theories, models of practice and methods to meet the occupational and health needs of individuals/populations

• Use professional and ethical reasoning effectively throughout the occupational therapy process.

• Utilise the therapeutic potential of occupation through the use of activity and occupational analysis and synthesis

• Adapt and apply the occupational therapy process in close collaboration with individuals/ populations

• Work to facilitate accessible and adaptable environments and to promote occupational justice


Professional Autonomy and Accountability• Prepare, maintain and review documentation of the

occupational therapy process• Comply with local/regional/national/European policies and

procedures, professional standards and employers’ regulations

• Demonstrate continuing lifelong learning to enhance occupational therapy

• Practice in an ethical manner, respecting clients and taking account of professional codes of conduct for occupational therapists

• Demonstrate confidence in self-management, self-awareness and knowledge of own limitations as an occupational therapist


Research and Development in OccupationalTherapy/Science• Identify the need for research on issues related to

occupation, occupational therapy and/or occupational science and formulate relevant research questions.

• Search independently, critically examine and synthesise scientific literature and other information relevant to occupational therapy

• Understand, select and defend designs and methods appropriate to research in occupation and occupational therapy, considering ethical aspects


Management and Promotion of Occupational Therapy

• Determine and prioritise occupational therapy services• Understand and apply principles of management to

occupational therapy services, including cost-effectiveness, administration of resources and equipment, and establishing occupational therapy protocols

• Engage in a continuous process of evaluation and improvement of the quality of occupational therapy services, involve clients where appropriate and communicate the results to relevant stakeholders


MethodologyA process of consultation and validation was

undertaken with OT’s and stakeholders throughout Europe

• Focus groups with members of ENOTHE and COTEC

• Online Questionnaire for occupational therapy practitioners, academics and students (Tuning methodology)

• Open feedback process from COTEC and ENOTHE including ECOTROS

• Questionnaire to employers and client groups

• Validation meeting with stakeholders


Focus groups: • At COTEC meetings (2004 and 2005) and at

annual meetings of ENOTHE, representing 26 COTEC members and about 190 higher educational institutions

• Questions for the groups were prepared before meetings

• All participants were divided into smaller groups

• Tuning group members chaired and minuted the group meetings.


Online Questionnaire (2005)Respondents were asked to:• Rate the importance of each of the

• 30 generic competences • 54 subject specific competences for first cycle

education• 54 subject specific competences for second cycle

educationRating scale: from 1- 4 (1 = no importance, 2 = weak, 3 = considerable, 4 = strong importance)• To rank the 5 most important general and specific competences


Consultation following the questionnaire

• Focus groups (COTEC and ENOTHE), • Critical discussions in the Tuning OT Project

Group• Competences refined and reduced in number

from 54 to 35


Questionnaire to employers and client groups (2006) from 28 European countries •Asking if the 35 competences reflect the expectations they have of an occupational therapist. •Responses were received from 18 countries and demonstrated a clear recommendation supporting the competences.


The Profile of Occupational Therapy• Description of the subject area • The Tuning process in OT, development of subject

specific competences• Cycle Level Descriptors • Typical degrees and employment• Workload (ECTS)• Learning, teaching and assessment• Quality Enhancement• 2nd and 3rd cycle education• The implementation of competences in

professional practice• Challenges and trends for the future


Validation meeting in Brussels (June 2007)• EU Commission invited experts to give

feedback on The Profile of Occupational Therapy

• Meeting together with medical, nursing and physiotherapy professions

• Result: Strong support for the competences and professional profile with recommendations for improvements

OT Tuning publication planned for spring 2008 with the validation of the group of experts


Validation Group• Diederik Aarendonk Forum Coordinator, European Forum for Primary Care

(EFPC)• Dr. Jean-Marc Braichet Human Resource Officer, World Health Organisation

(WHO)• Anne Lawson-Porter Head of Education and Learning, College of

Occupational Therapists, UK• Karin M. Liabø Head of Department National Center for Assistive

Technology and National Center for Assistive Information Technology in the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Organisation (NAV)

• Kapka Panayotova Center for Independent Living, Sofia, Bulgaria• Eugénia Pereira Student of the European Master of Science in Occupational

Therapy (EMScOT)• Kathrin Reichel Coordinator of the Bachelor Programme in Physical and

Occupational Therapy, Alice-Salomon-Hochschule, Berlin• Dr. Gaynor Sadlo Head of the OT-programme, University of Brighton, UK• Marc Seale Chief Executive and Registrar, Health Professions Council (HPC),

UK • Anu Söderström Council of Occupational Therapists for the European

Countries (COTEC), delegate of the Finnish Association of Occupational Therapy

• Drs. Ruth Zinkstok Manager Bachelor Programme Occupational Therapy, Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Chair of the Validation Panel


Discussions during the processProactive • Should reflect current practice but also

provide a future direction for the profession.

Current practice trends • Move away from traditional models of

medical services to include community based and socially orientated practice.

Competences should provide a general, overall direction or framework, enabling incorporation of future changes and developments


Wide range of practice • Although the underlying philosophy and

theories of the profession are common, practice itself varies between countries.

Relevant for all countries• with established OT-education (some near

70 years) and for countries with newly emerging OT.

It was necessary to negotiate a middle way


Terminology • Underlying theoretical concepts were

discussed and analysed. Inevitable that specific terminology used and underlying theoretical foundations evident.

• At all times attempts to use as wide a theoretical base as possible without reference to, or reliance on one specific school of thought.


Implementation of competencesIn education:• A move from teacher-centered and subject-

centered education towards competence and student-centered

• Level descriptors for OT (Competences + Dublin Descriptors) ensure the programme fulfills European expectations of the cycle level, facilitating recognition of awards (degrees) and entry to the next level.


In practice:• Facilitate regulators in the evaluation

of OT’s seeking employment• Base for the new guidelines for the

Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of COTEC


http://tuning.unideusto.org

http://www.enothe.hva.nl


COTEC website : www.cotec-europe.org


Thank You!

being an ot in europe

Self Improvement

3rd cycle

occupational

occupational

tuning process

maria skouroliakos

occupational

occupational

occupational