THE NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL-THERAPY PRACTICE ANALYSIS - FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR COMPETENCE

Objective. This article reports same of the findings from a national s tudy of occupational therapy practice conducted by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) as part of its fiduc iary responsibility to ensure that its entry-level certification exami nation is formulated on the basis of current practice. Method. The NBC OT developed a survey with input from approximately 200 occupational t herapy leaders and then used it to solicit information about current p ractice from 4,000 occupational therapists and 3,000 occupational ther apy assistants. The sample included geographical location, experience level, and practice area distributions. Results. Approximately 50% of the sample responded to the survey. Data indicate similarities and dif ferences in occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistant practice (e.g, occupational therapists spend more time conducting eval uations, planning interventions, and supervising, whereas occupational therapy assistants spend more time providing interventions), an incre ased emphasis on population-based services (e.g., serving a business o r industry rather than an individual worker), and an emphasis on occup ation as a core knowledge base for practice. From a continuing compete ncy perspective, the data can be useful to the profession; we can plan continuing education to address topics that practitioners have indica ted are critical to their practice. Conclusion. The findings will be u seful for revising the entry-level certification examination and may g uide thinking about the parameters of continuing competence because th e responses represent a cross-section of he profession.