Report on the Professional Issue Forum on
Entry-Level Education held in Calgary, May 2001
By CAOT Task Force on Education
October 2001
Introduction
The Professional Issues Forum on Entry-level Education took place at the Telus Centre in Calgary on Thursday May 24, 2001 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm.
There were approximately 60 participants in attendance. This number included the speakers and invited representatives of CAOT constituent and stakeholder groups, and other delegates to the CAOT conference.
Format
The Forum was organized in the following way:
Short presentations were made on current issues related to entry-level education
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Maureen Coulthard: Activities undertaken by CAOT to acknowledge the changing educational qualifications. This included the Position Statement on Entry Level Education and the project to revise and revalidate the “Profile of Occupational Therapy Practice in Canada” and findings of the report prepared for the Task Force in “Exploring market trends and their implication for educational requirements for occupational therapists in Canada”.
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Vivien Hollis: Actions taken by UK to address changing environments and educational qualifications.
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Barbara Kornblau: Actions taken by the US to address changing environments and educational qualifications.
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Helene Polatajko: Canadian trends in education of occupational therapists.
A 2-3 page “fact sheet” listing critical information was provided to participants at the forum.
Liz Mullan, Consultant, Carnaross Consulting facilitated the discussion.
Audio recording of the session was arranged. Due to a technical failure, the audio recording was not available for analysis.
Objectives of the forum were:
1. To examine a broad range of professional issues related to the changing educational programs and their impact on occupational therapy in Canada such as:
- The implications of different educational qualifications of graduates on the practice of occupational therapy Canada.
- The nature of the relationship of masters entry graduates with bachelor’s level graduates and existing practitioners
- Employment opportunities for new master’s entry graduates, new bachelor’s entry graduates, and existing practitioners.
- The nature of the relationship of master’s entry-level graduates and bachelor’s entry graduates with support personnel.
- Implications for universities with existing bachelor’s entry-level programs and bachelor’s entry level graduates
- Should a Master’s level be identified as the minimum standard for entry to the profession?
- The mechanisms for post-professional graduate education and continuing professional development.
2. To provide CAOT with information in order to anticipate trends and new developments in professional education and to develop proactive responses.
Summary of Discussion
While we were not able to produce a detailed analysis of the discussion because of the absence of the audiotape recording, we can draw the following general conclusions from the Forum:
1. It is evident that there are multiple entry points into the profession to meet the diversity of service and educational needs across Canada. At the same time, there was recognition of the new Master’s entry standard in the US, the developments of the higher level entry qualification in the United Kingdom and the recent transition of three of the five Ontario universities to the masters entry level programs. In addition the University of Alberta introduced the masters entry program in addition to its existing bachelors stream.
2. There was recognition for the emerging graduate level entry point that would eventually become the minimum standard. While the masters is the predominant graduate entry degree at this time, there was also interest in the development of applied doctoral entry programs.
3. At the Forum, members expressed concerns regarding the focus of practice between the masters and baccalaureate entry graduates. They also voiced concerns about ways to upgrade their academic qualification to the masters or equivalent level education. It is evident that the masters entry is being seen as increasingly essential for those seeking a competitive advantage within the profession. With respect to upgrading, many participants inquired about opportunities to acquire advanced standing based on prior professional experience and development activities.
4. Participants noted the growing pressure by public and private funders of occupational therapy services to draw on the services of support personnel. Furthermore, as occupational therapists increase the educational standard for entry to the profession, support personnel will also likely increase their demand for community college, continuing education, and higher education. For most participants, except those from Quebec, which has chosen not to have support personnel, there was recognition of the need for educational and practice standards for support personnel.
5. Members recognized that the shift to graduate entry programs would affect all levels of the educational system. With the likely growth in masters entry-level programs, we can anticipate increased demand for research and teachers educated at the doctoral level in occupational therapy. Doctoral programs in occupational therapy will meet some of the recruitment needs for educators. These programs will also stimulate the development of new knowledge in occupational therapy which is needed to inform education at the masters level. Presently there are no doctoral degree programs in occupational therapy in Canada. If a doctoral program is introduced, there will be a need for a more research-oriented masters program leading into research doctoral programs in occupational therapy.