Occupational Therapy Literature Review Ot

Occupational Therapy Literature Review

OT Therapy Review

The two articles reviewed for the purpose of this paper are Occupational Therapy, Professional Development and Ethics by Morten Dige and Does Moral Judgement Improve in Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy Students Over the Course of Their Pre-Licensure Training? By E. Lynn Geddes, Penny Salvatori and Kevin W. Eva. Both articles discuss the professional of occupational therapy as it relates to morals and ethics. Although each article takes a different view of the topic, there are slight similarities which will be discussed. The authors give us their point-of-view on the role of ethics in occupational therapy, but have varying views on how a person's ethics are developed.

The main theme that both articles have in common is the notion of ethics and its importance in the field of occupational therapy. Both articles let the reader know their stance on the topic and that it is extremely important because the medical field is constantly growing and as such, those who have chosen to work in this field are expected to behave in a manner that is considered ethical. The way in which ethics is defined is where the authors differ. Dige places the burden of ethical training on the professional organizations related to occupational therapy and Geddes et al. place the burden of ethical teaching on the college and universities that have occupational therapy programs.

In his article, Dige infers that the defining of ethics is the responsibility of professional occupational therapy associations. He states that in the past these associations have failed at this task because the concept of ethics has been too vague because those in this profession have not looked closely at what defines the profession in itself. In order to develop ethics, Dige says that the job that occupational therapists actually and what their duties are comprise of is what defines how ethics in this profession should be determined (2008).

Geddes et al. state that the issue of ethics is something that should be learning in college curriculum before the student is actually licensed to become an occupational therapist. This is not just an opinion of the authors. They actually did a study called the Defining Issues Test (DIT) which measures ethical judgment. The (DIT) was given to over five hundred (500) college students upon entrance into an occupational therapy program and just prior to completion of the program. The study revealed a significant increase in ethical judgment scores as the students neared the end of their program (2008).

The information in both articles could prove to be beneficial to an occupational therapy student. Ethics should be taught in the classroom in this type of profession to give the student a strong foundation before he actually starts practicing therapy. Once the student is an actual occupational therapist, professional organizations will serve as an excellent source of information and networking for the professional. They can always use the standards of ethics set forth by these organization as a reference and a model of how they should conduct themselves in their profession, with their colleagues and with their patients.