Workplace peer support for continuing professional development in occupational therapy: A grounded theory

Occupational therapists engage in continuing professional development (CPD) through various means, including workplace experiences. Workplace discussions between peers can promote reflection and foster learning. However, the specific contribution of peer support in occupational therapists' CPD remains underexplored. This study aimed to explore the role of peer support in clinical occupational therapists' CPD.

A constructivist grounded theory approach was employed to develop an explanatory, substantive theory of the peer support process among occupational therapists working in clinical settings. Participants were occupational therapists who had received or provided peer support within the past 2 years. Semi-structured interviews lasting approximately 60 minutes were conducted. Qualitative data were analysed using a constant comparative method involving initial, focussed, and theoretical coding.

There is no consumer or community involvement.

The 15 occupational therapists recruited had either only received (n = 4) or both offered and received (n = 11) peer support. Clinical reasoning, emotional support, professional growth, and career trajectories all acted as triggers for engaging in peer support. Analysis of participants' interview data informed the conceptualisation of peer support as an ongoing, non-linear process shaped by three interrelated sets of conditions: (1) mobilisation (timely access, being grounded in practice, and access to relevant peer expertise), (2) interaction (navigating hierarchy, feeling safe, and dialogical conditions), and (3) practice context (workplace culture and protected time). Engagement in peer support was associated with a range of CPD-related outcomes, including broadening perspective, embracing risk-taking and practice-based experimentation, building self-efficacy, and transferring professional knowledge.

The theory explains how the process of peer support contributes to multiple effects of CPD and fosters transformative learning at individual and organisational levels.