Effect of Occupational Therapy Clinical Training on Self-Efficacy and Clinical Reasoning of Students

The ultimate goal of medical universities is clinical efficacy in their students. Students’ evaluation of self-efficacy can be a good guide to predicting their clinical skills. Therefore, this research was designed to evaluate the effect of occupational therapy clinical training during one semester on self-efficacy and clinical reasoning in students and the relationship between these two factors.
This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted on 42 third and fourth year undergraduate students of occupational therapyý who were passing the clinical education course. The study was conducted in all occupational therapy clinical centers of Jundishapur ýUniversity of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran, through census sampling in 2014. The General Self-Efficacy Scale (10 questions) and Self-Assessment of Clinical Reflection and Reasoning (26 questions) were used in this study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and parametric tests such as paired t-test, independent t-test, and the Pearson correlation coefficient in SPSS software.
Results indicated a significant change (from 29.97 ± 3.87 in pre-test to 31.80 ± 4.04 in post-test) in student's self-efficacy during one semester (P = 0.009). However, the increase in mean scores of clinical reasoning and self-reflection at the end of the semester was not significant (P = 0.460). There was a weak correlation between the self-efficacy variable and clinical reasoning and self-reflection (P = 0.010, r = 0.39). Scores did not show statistically significant differences in either cases and between the two sexes
According to the results of this study, clinical training program in the field of occupational therapy led to the creation and promotion of self-efficacy in students, but does not increase clinical reasoning among them. Therefore, revision of clinical training of students and improvement of their clinical courses’ plans seems necessary.