Occupational Therapy Education: Preparing Students for Future Practice

The Centennial Vision for our profession states, "We envision that occupational therapy is a powerful, widely recognized, science-driven, and evidence-based profession with a globally connected and diverse workforce meeting society's occupational needs (AOTA, 2008a)." The American Occupational Therapy Association's (AOTA) Centennial Vision is both ambitious and practicable. Many feasible methods exist to achieve this vision, and the one discussed in this text relates to educating occupational therapy practitioners. In relation to the Centennial Vision, Florence Clark (2006) states, "A new curriculum responsive to the emerging needs of society must be put in place, but it must be based on our time-honored curriculum and values." The question of how to make the connection with time-honored values while moving our profession forward to meet twenty-first-century healthcare needs has been discussed at length. This chapter extends that discussion. Paramount in this endeavor is the belief that the educational strategy presented here can help occupational therapy practitioners to advance and deliver on our Centennial Vision. As educators move toward the consideration and application of service-learning as a potent educational strategy, it is customary to contextualize the arena of discussion. Therefore, this chapter will review societal issues, the healthcare environment, and occupational therapy education, all of which require deliberation in order to craft a responsive curriculum. Service-learning will be described as a teaching strategy that espouses the underlying values and philosophy of occupational therapy. [author]