any influence on the development of professional identity? It was then answered in two parts, firstly, using a priori coding the data was themed to look for evidence of professional identity and this was then identified and discussed in relation to the known and accepted theories in occupational therapy. Secondly, a framework was used to look at how preceptorship had helped develop those areas. Wilcock’s (1999) framework of Doing Being and Becoming was used, as it is not only well known and respected in occupational therapy but the terminology is also well used in the literature about identity and identity development.
6.8.1 Key learning points.
Firstly the data is consonant with the literature that within the context of occupational therapy professional identity is socially constructed and changeable. There is a concept of a journey of development and that identity changes over time. The journey of
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development starts at a point in time where the profession of occupational therapy as a whole has a duty to promote itself. That is before people have signed up for the formal education, at that stage of preformed ideas. This implies that it is the responsibility of each individual occupational therapist to promote themselves and the profession whenever possible, as it would appear that by individuals endorsing occupational therapy as a career, others have been attracted into the profession. Within this journey, it is clear that as the identity of ‘occupational therapist’ becomes stronger the identity of ‘student’ must get weaker. The concepts of socialisation are woven throughout the data and are present at all points in the journey of becoming an occupational therapist. They are indicated in the codes and themes used in the data analysis. It includes that social learning is a key component in the learning of an identity and this includes role modelling and learning from peers.
It can be seen that preceptorship brings together a number of key concepts from identity development theory but they are underpinned by the concept of reflexivity. And it is the reflection and reflexion that make preceptorship unique in terms of how professional identity is formed. At no other time in a therapist’s career do they have the amount of dedicated time to focus on development. Whether occupational therapy has a positive identity is however still debatable, as the data implies, that this positive concept of occupational therapy from other staff is something that should not be expected, or is not the norm. The data shows a number of reasons for this, some historical (occupational therapists fiddling around with clay P2), some around understanding the role in different areas of healthcare and some about the language used. With regards to the language, I have suggested that it is Goffman’s (1959) work that gives us permission to be able to effectively talk to our patients in layman’s terms and use a professional script when conversing with our colleagues. I see this ability to be bilingual as a strength of the profession.
6.8.2 Recommendations based on analysis of findings
The socialisation role of preceptorship and its importance in developing professional identity could be formally acknowledged by the Trust, if not the wider NHS. For the Trust, this might include the reintroduction of formal preceptorship groups that are profession
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specific in order to allow social learning and role modelling within the bounds of the profession. From a professional perspective, as part of this recognition of the socialisation process, all members of the occupational therapy profession should take personal responsibility for selling the profession, as preformed ideas may play a significant role before occupational therapy is chosen as a career.
Occupational therapy as a whole profession also needs to consider what it means to have not only a strong professional identity but a positive one as well. This research indicates that newly qualified staff do have a professional identity, and that it does develop, and that although they as individuals were positive, they recognised that it was not always seen as positive from outside the profession. Part of this is linked to language and that as a profession we need to acknowledge and embrace the concept of being bi-lingual as a positive facet of our patient care and professionalism.
6.8.3 Conclusions
In conclusion we can see that the data presents a number of ways in which newly qualified staff consider their individual professional identity and that these areas are reflected in the theories around professional identity development and also in the literature around the subject. In can be seen that preceptorship contributes to the development of professional identity, as part of a continuum of development. Its contribution is unique in that it offers a structured time specifically to learn, and be reflexive about that learning, which does not happen in a formal way in the rest of an individual’s career.
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Conclusion.
7.0 IntroductionThe aim of this final chapter is to critique the research and consider its impact, as well as sum up the research findings and areas for further development. It will also outline plans for the dissemination of the findings. Finally, this chapter will consider what this research has added to the understanding of the subject and body of knowledge. Again I am mindful of Paley’s rhetoric trap (Paley 2005) and understand that any recommendations or findings are presented for debate and as discussion points, following the collection of data from a small group of participants.