Title: Increasing Hospitalists’ Understanding of Occupational Therapy Services in Acute Care: An Initial Continuing Education Workshop 

Author:
Colleen Craven, OTD, OTR/L
Jessica D. Asiello, OTD, OTR/L

JACOT Volume 5, Issue 2

Abstract

Background
There is a paucity of continuing medical education (CME) on collaboration with occupational therapy (OT) in the hospital setting, which could contribute to patient readmissions and suboptimal functional outcomes. Authors developed and evaluated a CME workshop aimed to increase hospitalist knowledge on the role of OT to improve the appropriate use of OT services.
Methods
A one-hour virtual workshop used a train-the-trainer, Adult Learning Theory-based approach to educate hospitalists on the role of OT. Pre-/post-surveys evaluated physician knowledge of OT and perceived appropriateness of OT consults. An audit of the patient census assessed effects on consulting behavior.
Results
Eleven hospitalist participants in a large urban medical center demonstrated a directional, however not statistically significant, increase in knowledge of OT (p=0.18 and triangulated with qualitative content analysis of open-ended survey responses). Fifty-eight percent reported they would increase consults for OT services. The number of patients on the OT census did not demonstrate change (p = 1.0). Twelve OTs reported a 5% increase in appropriateness of consults following the workshop (p = 0.26).
Discussion
This workshop was an innovative approach to CME with aim to increase hospitalist knowledge on the role of OT. Hospitalists were engaged in the workshop process and interested in a top-down approach for education. Results suggest that a CME workshop was an appropriate education approach to sharing knowledge of OT services and provide an opportunity for post-professional interprofessional collaboration and learning.