The education of the occupational therapists in Poland – in the opinion of students who completed the transformed OT programme

Abstract

ABSTRACTOccupational therapy has been receiving a great deal of worldwide attention. The available occupational therapy literature, however, lacks reference to Poland in Central Europe, with a population of 38 million people [Central Statistical Office of Poland. (2016). Demographic Yearbook of Poland 2016. Retrieved from http://stat.gov.pl/en/topics/statistical-yearbooks/statistical-yearbooks/demographic-yearbook-of-poland-2016.3.10.html]. Results of a survey of the first cohort Polish students, who completed BA studies, are presented in this paper. These programmes, fully aligned to ENOTHE standards and EU guidelines, are at the University of Physical Education in Krakow and the University of Physical Education in Wroclaw (where previously only post-graduate programmes were available). The research tool was a survey questionnaire designed by the author of this paper. The data were collected in June 2015 – the respondents were asked to fill out paper questionnaires at the universities in Krakow and Wroclaw. The collected data were subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. Students expressed their opinions on therapists' competency must possess and on their preferred future career plans. They assessed the current status of occupational therapists. In their responses, they proposed methods to promote the new understanding of occupational therapy in Poland and steps contributing to the professionalisation of the profession.