Occupational therapy graduates' perceptions of their work readiness over their first year of work

Employers expect occupational therapy graduates to be ready to work in a broad range of roles, settings, and work contexts. Expected 'work readiness' extends beyond discipline-specific skills and includes the attitudes and attributes essential for success in the workplace. This qualitative research study explored the understanding of work readiness among new graduate occupational therapists in public, private, hospital, and community settings. Further, this study extended on prior research by interviewing participants regarding their perceptions of work readiness over time and the impact of their final placement on their work readiness.

The participants were six occupational therapy graduates who had completed their final placement in an Australian University Department of Rural Health. This qualitative study, underpinned by pragmatism, used the critical incident technique with two interviews undertaken across the first year of employment. Framework analysis methodology was used to systematically analyse the data inductively and deductively.

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The participants' descriptions were consistent with the work readiness elements of social intelligence, organisational acumen, work competence, and personal characteristics. Overall, three themes for occupational therapy graduates' work readiness were identified: work readiness over time, the importance of relationships across all aspects of work, and the ability to work autonomously. The participants noted that the learning opportunities during a student-led placement developed their caseload management skills, fostered autonomy and interprofessional working, and enhanced self-reflection.

The participants in this study highlighted many similar and some new aspects of work readiness, perhaps because of the broad nature of occupational therapy work. As the first study to consider perceptions of work readiness over time, this research identified that graduates may emphasise different work readiness components at different points in their first year of employment. These findings and the graduates' attributions of work readiness to the placement model have implications for developing and supporting graduates' work readiness.