Análisis intertextual

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS Background

Six occupational therapy practitioners participated in this study. All of the participants actively engaged in accepting clinical students from multiple community

colleges and universities. Each indicated the desire to continue in student supervision. Four occupational therapists (OTs) and two occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) were

interviewed and completed self-assessment and self-reflection documents. All of the

participants were given pseudonyms to protect their identities. In addition, names of clinical sites and academic institutions have been omitted.

Two of the OTs (Sharon and John) were initially prepared in Master of Occupational Therapy programs. Both had been in practice as clinicians for 20 years. Both had been supervising students for 19 years. Both were employed in midsize rehabilitation hospitals in the Midwest. Both had the additional supervisory duties within their respective departments.

Two of the OTs (Linda and Laura) had been previously educated as OTAs and, after practicing at the assistant level, chose to go back to school to earn a degree in occupational therapy. Each of them completed bachelor’s-degree programs in occupational therapy.

Laura had 35 years of experience in practice. She worked at a midsize acute-care center in the Midwest. She also had additional supervisory duties within her department. Linda had 25 years of experience and at the time of this study worked for contract companies in the long-term-care setting. She also lived and worked in the Midwest. Neither, Linda nor Laura could remember the exact year they started supervising students, but both stated they had been supervising students for more than 20 years.

The final two participants (Karen and Cathy) were educated in community colleges to be OTAs. They each completed an Associate of Applied Science degree. Karen had been in practice for 11 years and had been taking students for 10 years. She worked in a large research hospital in the Midwest. Cathy had been in practice for 6 years and had been taking students for over 4 years. At the time of this study, she worked in a small rural hospital.

Four of the interviews (Karen, John, Laura, and Cathy) were conducted at the place of employment of the interviewees. Two of the interviews (Linda and Sharon) were conducted in the individuals’ homes.

The interviews were conducted developmentally as the participants described their journey to the role of clinical educator of community college students. Therefore, the themes were drawn from participant comments related to every stage of that journey.

Phenomenological Analysis

Phenomenology is a descriptive, qualitative study of human experience. The goal is to conceptualize the processes and structures of an experience, that is, to examine a

meaningfully lived experience through the expressions of those who have lived it (Wertz et al., 2011). The participants in this study were asked to express their lived experience of being a clinical educator of community college students.

When using a phenomenological methodology, it is necessary to focus on the lived experiences of a specific population. Therefore, it was necessary for me to implement two procedures essential to carrying out this type of research. The practice of epoche or abstention from prior knowledge about the subject as well as abstention from the natural attitude was required (Wertz et al., 2011). While there is a large body of literature related to occupational therapy fieldwork education and supervision in general, there is a paucity of

literature in the area of fieldwork education from the clinician’s perspective, so it was not

difficult to abstain from acquiring that knowledge. However, I have personal experience with fieldwork supervision, so it was necessary for me to bracket that experience prior to conducting the interviews and while completing my analysis. While conducting this

research, I had to continually go back to the experiences themselves and abstain from adding to or detracting from the experiences as expressed by the participants through the interviews and the written documents. Wertz et al. (2011) stated,

The phenomenological attitude is reflective. It selectively turns from the existence of objects to the processes and meanings through which they are subjectively given. Although this attitudinal focus is called a “reduction,” the field of investigation is not narrowed but rather is opened up and expanded to encompass all the complexities and intricacies of psychological life that come into view. (p. 127)

The phenomenological method uses intentional and eidetic analysis. According to Wertz et al. (2011), intentional analysis is “how experiential processes proceed and what is

experienced through them” (p. 128). The clinical educators in this study were asked to describe how they became clinical educators and how they conducted clinical education. In addition, they were asked to reflect on and describe clinical education as an experience. Each participant’s experience was examined as a whole to determine how that clinical

educator made meaning of the experience. Then, through the process of eidetic analysis, the participants’ descriptions were compared and examined for themes that were present in all of their described experiences. According to Wertz et al., “Eidetic analysis does not diminish or

simplify its subject matter but opens up and highlights its vast richness and complexity” (p. 129). The resulting themes from my phenomenological analysis are described in this chapter.

Themes and Analysis Interview Analysis

The digitally audio-recorded interviews were initially replayed with key words or phrases identified. The recordings were then transcribed by a professional transcription service. The transcription of each participant interview was then studied for meaning as a whole. Next, line-by-line analysis of the transcripts produced meaning units for each interview. The meaning units from each interview were then grouped together. A list of possible themes was generated with similar meaning units from each interview. The meaning units were initially obtained for each area of clinical educator development, from student to practitioner to clinical educator. However, as the themes began to materialize, it became evident that meaning units from each of the developmental stages reemerged in all areas of the developmental process. Therefore, the themes were identified across the developmental process. Consequently, participant quotes supporting each theme may have been identified from practitioner experiences as students or clinical fieldwork educators. Finally, four key themes emerged: Theme I: Clinical educators are relationship centered and student focused, Theme II: Clinical educators are devoted to teaching and learning, Theme III: Clinical educators have a high degree of self-efficacy, and Theme IV: Clinical educators are strong advocates for the profession.

Theme I: Clinical educators are relationship centered and student focused. This