Capstone Project

My capstone project shifted significantly over the course of my experience, and I would not have wished it to progress any other way. As I begin the process of reflecting – something that I had originally set as an almost daily objective in my first drafts of the professional learning plan, but rather is a process each of my mentors encouraged me to see as an exercise that requires time, that reflection is no box to check off – I recognize that it was vital for me to be flexible, listen, and adjust to the priorities of my mentors and site, and adapt my capstone and project accordingly.

It is precisely through these adjustments that I stuck to my intended purpose - to facilitate our understanding of occupational therapy on an international front – to put our perceptions of OT culture as American occupational therapists into perspective, as our field is growing across the globe and within our own country and its diverse contexts. This is to say, if I had not adapted to the values and opinions of my site mentors, their colleagues, clients, and students, I would not have achieved my purpose. Nor would I have experienced first-hand what my needs assessments and literature review spoke of. The former, my tendency to be self-critical and a perfectionist, which went head-to-head with the pace of things in Spain. The latter, the role culture, language, and power relations have a daily impact on our role as occupational therapists.

Given my whole-person and life-long learning approach, I find that this capstone’s Learning Activities, Evidence of Learning, Project, and Dissemination are intertwined. I began, and am continuing to work on, a four-tiered project:

1. I presented to interested therapy staff at Polibea on the 4 case studies I completed, which focused on individuals with significant communication deficits who maintain a relatively high level of independence. Due to a few factors, a) the small audience consisted of 3 OTs, as many therapists were on vacation or covering for those who were b) the familiarity between audience members and the presenter, c) the familiarity of the majority of audience members with the case study clients, and d) the Socratic seminar style adopted by the center when sharing team projects, the presentation was more of a conversation than a formal affair. (See Note 1 below for detail on continuation of this tier)

2. I aided in preparing and translating a research article completed by my secondary mentor, Dr. Elisabet Huertas-Hoyas, and her research team. Through contacting the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), the publisher of open access journals, submitting to Nutrients, to then be rejected, and then to Healthcare, where it was accepted – I got a glimpse into what the publication process is like. Further, I witnessed the power dynamics unfold between researchers, educators, universities, and publishers. (See Note 2 below for detail on continuation of this tier)

3. I interviewed and/or held informal discussions with representatives with multiple perspectives on the role and scope of healthcare, neurorehabilitation, and occupational therapy within Spain. I am now beginning to write up and reflect upon these discussions. These included, but were not limited to:

   1. The history of OT in Spain and how that continues to have an impact on the profession’s presence (or lack thereof) within each of its autonomous states (Interviewees/Discussion groups: Dr. Elisabet Huertas-Hoyas, Dr. Miguel Brea-Rivero, Polibea OT staff, 3rd-year OT students)

   2. How the historically public, with a relatively recent growth of private, healthcare system impacts practice, particularly that of neurorehabilitation (Interviewees/Discussion groups: Dr. Elisabet Huertas-Hoyas, Polibea OT staff, Polibea social worker, Polibea clientele & family, Lu Vives, 3rd-year OT students)

   3. How the education system impacts what is emphasized in the OT curriculum (Interviewees/Discussion groups: Dr. Elisabet Huertas-Hoyas, Dr. Miguel Brea-Rivero)

   4. How the profession’s base in the United States and other English-speaking countries both aids and limits the profession within Spain, throughout Europe, and on a global scale (Interviewees/Discussion groups: URJC interprofessional staff, Polibea interprofessional staff)

4. I presented on the role and scope of occupational therapy in the United States, detailing the process to graduating occupational therapy students at URJC as well as to the staff present. In the follow up discussion group I hosted, I relayed this information to a younger cohort of OT students, and remain as their point of contact for any questions they may have. I also engaged in informal discussion with both of my mentors, Dr. Miguel Brea-Rivero, and interested therapy staff at Polibea on occupational therapy practice and education in the United States.