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Exploring Occupational Therapists' Professional Identity: A Q-Method Study.

Ana-Isabel Souto-GómezMiguel-Ángel Talavera-ValverdeMaría-Del-Pilar García-de-la-TorreLuis-Javier Márquez-Álvarez
Published in: Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) (2023)
(1) Background: This study examines the nature of the rarely studied factors of the professional identity from an occupational therapist's perspective. (2) Methods: Q-methodology was applied to identify the different perspectives. Participants were selected through a non-probability sampling procedure in the whole Spanish territory. Different assessment tools were considered, in order to develop an ad hoc tool which had 40 statements classified into four categories. A factor analysis was performed by applying Ken-Q analysis v.1.0. (3) Results: Thirty-seven occupational therapists participated in the study. Their diverse approaches revealed different perspectives that influence the professional identity of occupational therapists: professional identity, due to referents, a grey field on professional identity, reaffirming a common professional identity, the role of education and mentors on professional identity and the outcome of ongoing training, in order to develop the abovementioned identity. (4) Conclusions: Once the different aspects of the professional identity have been understood, future educational initiatives can be designed to adapt curricula to the professional scene.
Keyphrases
  • healthcare
  • quality improvement
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