Philosophy Statement

The Philosophy of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Occupational Therapy Program

Strong link to AOTA Philosophy

The OT Program at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee fully embraces AOTA’s Philosophical Base of Occupational Therapy (AOTA, 2017). “Occupations are activities that bring meaning to the daily lives of individuals, families, communities, and populations and enable them to participate in society. All individuals have an innate need and right to engage in meaningful occupations throughout their lives. Participation in these occupations influences their development, health, and well-being across the lifespan. Thus, participation in meaningful occupations is a determinant of health and leads to adaptation” (AOTA, 2017).

“Occupations occur within diverse social, physical, cultural, personal, temporal, and virtual contexts. The quality of occupational performance and the experience of each occupation are unique in each situation because of the dynamic relationship among factors intrinsic to the individual, the environment and contexts in which the occupation occurs, and the characteristics of the occupation” (AOTA, 2017). Occupational participation is affected by environmental, social, developmental, psychological, learning, biological, and many other processes and factors. The occupational performance and the experience of each individual is unique, yet there are also commonalities in responses to interventions by occupational therapy practitioners.

Occupational therapy focuses on engagement in meaningful occupations that support their health, well-being and quality of life for all people, populations and communities. “Occupational therapy practitioners conceptualize occupations as both a means and an end in therapy. That is, there is therapeutic value in occupational engagement as a change agent, and engagement in occupations is also the ultimate goal of therapy” (AOTA, 2017).

“Occupational therapy is based on the belief — and increasingly, on evidence – that occupations are fundamental to health promotion and wellness, remediation or restoration, health maintenance, disease and injury prevention, and compensation and adaptation. The use of occupation to promote individual, family, community, and population health is the core of occupational therapy practice, education, research, and advocacy” (AOTA, 2017).

Our fundamental belief is that each individual has the potential to engage in occupations that promote maximum function, adaptation, and quality of life, as well as prevent and mediate dysfunction. Human engagement in occupations is a key mechanism for developing adaptive responses to an ever-changing environment. The environment, with its physical, social, and cultural characteristics, is both responsive to and facilitative of the performance of occupations. Engagement in occupation develops human worth, dignity, quality of life, and purpose across the lifespan. Individuals have the right to pursue a life they find satisfying, and achieve their highest level of function and autonomy. Engagement in meaningful daily occupations and the adaptations used to successfully complete them are key to achieving one’s highest potential.

Educational Preparation of Occupational Therapists

The education of occupational therapists at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee embraces students as occupational beings, as well as occupation, and its requisite performance skills, as the unifying core for the theories that drive occupational therapy practice. We firmly believe in the AOTA Philosophy of Occupational Therapy Education in that, “the learning context includes the curriculum and pedagogy and conveys a perspective and belief system that include a view of humans as occupational beings, occupation as a health determinant, and participation in occupations as a fundamental human right” (AOTA, 2018). Occupation is affected by numerous processes, including behavioral and psychological factors, variations in chosen or required tasks, the physical and social environment, biological and health factors, technology (including assistive, therapeutic, and occupational technology), society, and culture. Graduates of our program learn to develop effective solutions that facilitate inclusive participation in everyday living (AOTA, 2019). Hence, our graduates are prepared to function as inclusive client-centered scholarly practitioners with the skills necessary to identify best practices and make sound professional decisions in response to client and public need in future health care environments. Sound professional reasoning requires identification and integration of best published scientific research combined with practice experience and client values. Promoting the development and use of new evidence – that is, scientific research – is a necessary professional responsibility. We instill a belief that students should be lifelong learners who must continue to advocate “for the profession and society’s occupational needs” (AOTA 2018).

An understanding of how adults learn shapes the learning environment for students in the program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Students learn through collaborative and inclusive experiential, hands-on, active learning strategies incorporated into their coursework, service learning, fieldwork, advocacy, and leadership activities. These enriched approaches to learning when combined with reading, reflecting, discussing, and writing, create practice readiness to take on an active role in intra- and inter-professional teams. These learning tools provide the opportunity to understand, integrate, synthesize, apply the knowledge learned, and assimilate practice relevance. Role-playing, case studies, and application of the professional reasoning process reinforces reflection and summation of lessons learned. Activities to make real-world valued contributions to the community are encouraged. Students are assessed on how well they integrate novel ideas and insights generated through critical thinking into their existing analytical and interpretive frameworks through projects, reports, examinations, performance on fieldwork, and ultimately, their success as occupational therapists.

References

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2017). Philosophical base of occupational therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71(Suppl. 2), 7112410045. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2017.716S06  

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2019). AOTA board expands Vision 2025, American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 73, 7303420010. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2019.733002    

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2018). Philosophy of occupational therapy education. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 72(Suppl. 2), 7212410070. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2018.72S201