Award Date

May 2023

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Occupational Therapy Doctorate

Department

Brain Health

First Committee Member

Donnamarie Krause

Second Committee Member

Jefferson Kinney

Number of Pages

85

Abstract

Occupational therapists (OT) have a wide range of specialties following graduation, one of which is hand therapy. This specialty requires a certain level of knowledge and clinical reasoning, especially concerning hand anatomy and physiology. It is hard to transition into hand therapy as a new occupational therapist due to extensive knowledge, additional patient-care hours, specialty certifications require, and lack of opportunity. A smoother transition into the workforce can be achieved through mentorship programs that allow for meetings with mentors to ask questions and get clarification on different treatments and diagnoses. This quality improvement project focused on gaining perspectives of hand therapy mentors and mentees during their mentorship meetings to develop templates and helpful aids.The quality improvement study used a convenience sampling method to gather information on Dignity Health hand therapists through pre- and post-test surveys. A multiple methods design and convenience sampling from Dignity Health hand therapists was informed through pre- and post-test surveys. Quantitative data was collected through a five-point Likert scale, while qualitative data was collected through observations, semi-structured interviews, and surveys. Qualitative data was analyzed through codes and thematic analysis, while a paired t-test was used to look for significant improvements in confidence and knowledge pre-and post-test. Results from the survey suggest the lesson plan template improves the competency of new hand therapists in patient care and increases confidence when treating upper extremity (UE) injuries for both mentors and mentees. The study suggests using a lesson plan template for Dignity Health hand therapy modules improved preparation, content, and efficiency for the monthly Zoom meetings and is recommended for hand therapy clinics and other OT settings.

Keywords

hand therapy; learning; mentee; mentor; mentorship; upper extremity

Disciplines

Educational Leadership | Occupational Therapy

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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