Experiences of Occupational Balance Among Novice Occupational Therapists

PURPOSE: The health care system is known to be a highly stressful work environment. In a survey of Swedish occupational therapists, lack of time and high job demands were found to be the main stressors among practitioners (Wressle & Samuelsson, 2014). The first few years in occupational therapy practice are inherently demanding and can be detrimental to one’s health. For novice occupational therapists, experiencing occupational balance is difficult given that the final year of school and first year of practice have been found to entail “constant stress and professional development” (Tryssenaar & Perkins, 2011, p. 26). Research examining novice occupational therapists and their experiences is limited, and literature about occupational balance among this population is nonexistent. The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of novice occupational therapists in creating occupational balance while working in the health care system.

METHOD: Phenomenology methods were used to describe the lived experiences of new occupational therapists related to occupational balance. Participants for this study were recruited using purposive sampling through alumni records held by the fieldwork office at a regional university. The study included both male and female participants who were licensed in their respective state of practice and were novice occupational therapists (novice is defined as an occupational therapist in his or her first year of practice). Participants were employed full time (averaging at least 30 hr/wk or 130 hr/mo). Occupational therapists who were not licensed by their state occupational therapy board or were not considered novice (>12 mo practice experience beyond Level II fieldwork) were excluded from the study. Participants who had not worked in the past 2 mo or did not have a primarily clinical role were also excluded. This study was approved by an institutional review board at a regional university.

Informed consent was obtained verbally and in writing. The primary researcher conducted a phone or in-person interview at a time determined by each participant. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were coded by the primary researcher for significant statements. Initial codes were categorized followed by identification of common themes as they emerged from participants’ words. Peer review of data by the second author was implemented to ensure credibility of the data. Member checking was conducted with a portion of informants to ensure a complete and accurate understanding of participants’ subjective experiences.

RESULTS: Recruitment continued until data saturation was achieved with no new themes emerging. Emerging themes revealed difficulty with balancing the demands of life outside of work with the demands of working in the health care system, such as productivity and documentation requirements.

CONCLUSION: Through semistructured interviews, in-depth descriptions of novice occupational therapists’ experiences with balance were obtained. New therapists experience additional stress and difficulty maintaining balance while working in the health care system.

IMPACT STATEMENT: The implications of this research could be useful in providing better support for novice occupational therapists to promote health, quality of life, and occupational balance.

References

Tryssenaar, J., & Perkins, J. (2001). From student to therapist: Exploring the first year of practice. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 55, 19–27. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.55.1.19

Wressle, E., & Samuelsson, K. (2014). High job demands and lack of time: A future challenge in occupational therapy. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 21, 421–428. https://doi.org/10.3109/11038128.2014.941929