#6: OT Education During a Pandemic with Melissa Kimmerling (CE Course)

[melissa9 (Melissa Kimmerling)]

Take the Quiz to get 1 CEU

Listen: Apple | Spotify | Google
Full Course Details: Public course page
Learn more about our guest: Melissa Kimmerling EdD, MOT, OTR/L

Supplemental Materials

Reflection-for-students.pdf (65.4 KB)
Reflection-for-clinicians.pdf (62.8 KB)
Reflection-for-educators.pdf (57.4 KB)

Course Description

Released January 4, 2021 from Aurora, NE

Whether we’re students, educators, or clinicians working on the frontlines of care, we all have a stake in the world of occupational therapy (OT) education.

The changes in clinical education this year are so large that even those working in academia have struggled to keep up.

This 1-hour episode will ask you to reflect on trends in higher education prior to 2020, and assess how COVID-19 has impacted higher education. It will also lead you to consider how OT education may forever be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our goal is to encourage educators and program directors to continue thinking outside the box, find ways to increase program flexibility, harness long-term use of technology, and creatively support occupational therapy students.

The course will reference current research on trends in higher education both pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic with OT Program Director, Melissa Kimmerling, EdD, MOT, OTR/L. We look at what we’ve learned during the pandemic, what will stay after the pandemic abates, and how you can support students both in the classroom and in the field.

Learning Objectives

1. You will be able to recall trends in higher education prior to COVID-19.
2. You will be able to recognize how the COVID pandemic has impacted the climate of higher education.
3. You will be able to identify three ways to support students and faculty in the evolving academic environment.

Resources

Disruption of academic occupations during COVID-19: impact on mental health and the role of occupational therapy in tertiary education (2020). World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin.

Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Life of Higher Education Students: A Global Perspective (2020). Sustainability.

Covid-19 Has Worsened the Student Mental-Health Crisis. Can Resilience Training Fix It? (2020). The Chronicle.

High School Benchmarks With a COVID-19 Special Analysis (2020). National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

How the Coronavirus Will Change Faculty Life Forever (2020). The Chronicle.

Mapping research in student engagement and educational technology in higher education: a systematic evidence map (2020). International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education.

Global Education Monitoring Report (2020). UNESCO.

Agenda

Intro (5 minutes)

Discussion on practical implications for OTs (with guest Melissa Kimmerling) (55 minutes)

1. Trends pre-COVID-19
   a. Students’ socioeconomic status impacts educational access and subsequent educational performance
   b. Need for students to have electronic devices
   c. Need for faculty to have competency in the online environment
   d. Student engagement’s impact on student success
   e. Student support services
2. How has COVID-19 impacted those trends?
   a. Students from certain types of background or SES may not only have decreased access to education in the first place, they may also be from populations that are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic
   b. The Chronicle of Higher Education recently discussed National Student Clearinghouse data that reported 21.7 percent fewer students went to college right out of high school than in 2019. This was nearly 8 times higher than the drop experienced between 2018 and 2019, and the data from the National Student Clearinghouse further breaks down the numbers to show the statistics by income, poverty levels, rural/suburban dwelling, and minority vs. non-minority students
   c. Education is a social determinant of health
3. Student devices
   a. Further highlighted that higher education REQUIRES a reliable device, and—especially now—a reliable internet connection outside of the college/ university
4. Faculty knowledge and skills
   a. Prior to the pandemic, instructors who were not as comfortable online probably didn’t teach online
5. Importance of student engagement
   a. More challenging in an online environment, but more important than ever
   b. Building relationships between students, between students, and faculty
6. Importance of student support services (SSS)
   a. Increased mental health needs during the pandemic
   b. Whether SSS are available outside of typical working hours
   c. Whether students are aware of how to contact SSS, and whether they feel comfortable doing so
7. What did COVID-19 bring to the table that surprised us?
   a. Student resiliency overall
   b. Flexible methods to achieve learning outcomes
   c. Move to online labs didn’t appear to impact fieldwork performance
   d. Increased need to address faculty well-being
8. What’s next, and what are we wondering about for the future?
   a. Creative delivery models
   b. Flexibility in systems to support students and programs
   c. Long-term solutions for flexible work arrangements

Contact Hours

1 hour (0.1 AOTA CEUs)

Target Audience/Educational Level

Occupational therapy practitioners who are interested in how the pandemic has impacted OT education. The educational level is introductory.

Instructional Methods/Registration/Special Needs Requests/Cancellation Policy

This course is an independent/self-study course delivered via podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, and Stitcher. Explore your listening options on the OT Potential Podcast page.

If you need accommodations to take this course, please contact us and we will address your needs on an individual basis.

If this course were to be cancelled, please see our cancellation policy on our terms page.

Course Completion Requirements

In order to receive a certificate for this course, you must first listen to the podcast in its entirety. Then, you will need to take the test (found at the top of this page) and earn 75% or higher. If you pass, a certificate will be automatically generated and sent to your email.

Speakers

Dr. Melissa Kimmerling EdD, MOT, OTR/L

Dr. Melissa Kimmerling EdD, MOT, OTR/L is the Program Director for the Master of Occupational Therapy Program at NMC. Dr. Kimmerling has clinical experience in acute care, rehabilitation, skilled nursing, outpatient, and home health. Dr. Kimmerling serves as the Representative from the State of Nebraska to the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Representative Assembly. Dr. Kimmerling has presented her practice research locally, regionally, and nationally and has also been a speaker for community-based organizations.

Dr. Kimmerling holds her Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy and her Doctorate in Health Professions Education from the College of Saint Mary. Dr. Kimmerling spent three years in full time academic appointment for College of Saint Mary prior to moving into the consulting role and then Program Director role for NMC. Dr. Kimmerling is also certified in LSVT-BIG Parkinson’s Protocol.

Lauren Sheehan, OTD, OTR/L

Lauren has been an occupational therapist for 10+ years in a neuro-rehabilitation clinical setting, working with individuals with neurologic injuries and illnesses. She also spent a handful of years working in clinical administration and director of rehab roles for both small community hospitals and facilities in large, urban areas.

She has spent the last three years of her career working for rehabilitation technology companies, assisting with product and process development for products that serve stroke patients. She’s currently the Field Clinical Manager for NeuroLutions, a device company committed to developing quality products that incorporate innovation such as BCI (Brain Computer Interface) stroke rehabilitation technology.

She has a passion for supporting individuals with neurologic injury and illness through greater accessibility to technologies that can be used at home to increase function and improve quality of life. Outside of work, Lauren enjoys singing, cycling, and traveling.

After earning your certificate, please consider taking a moment to answer the following three questions:

1.) On a scale of 1-5 please indicate the degree to which the learning objectives were met.

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2.) Please rate our instructors on a scale of 1-5.

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3.) On a scale of 1-5, please rate the learning environment of the Club.

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Please share any other feedback below! Including, ideas for future programming, and most importantly, how you feel this podcast will impact your practice!

[lisa20 (Lisa Westhorpe)]

This was an amazing conversation to listen in on! I actually took on my first OT student during the pandemic, as I realised that there were so few placements available due to the restrictions caused by Covid.

It took some vulnerability on my account to ‘allow’ a student to see me basically re-learning my job as a school based OT delivering teletherapy. It did allow me the opportunity to discuss with the student about self care and setting boundaries, and for your work as an OT to be ‘good enough’ to avoid burnout. These are things that I probably wouldn’t have even thought to include in a fieldwork placement pre-Covid.

I also just finished reading Brene Brown’s book, Daring Greatly, and would recommend it to all OTs! So useful in thinking about leadership, shame and vulnerability as people and clinicians.

[SarahLyon]

Oh, wow! @lisa20, I’m so amazed by people like you who are taking on their first students during the pandemic. What a learning experience for everyone!! Thank you for doing that for the student!

I ready Daring Greatly last year! SO good! @lauren2, also got me hooked on Brene Brown’s podcast this year:

Unlocking Us | Brené Brown

[melissa9 (Melissa Kimmerling)]

@lisa20 thank you for the feedback, and for taking on a student during such a challenging time! I think it’s completely okay for them to see us learning, but it can feel really scary and vulnerable. Thank you for embracing the opportunity and learning alongside a future colleague!

[jennifer (Jennifer Nordstrom)]

This was an insightful, reassuring and genuine discussion on how OT education was impacted during the pandemic from the view of a student, faculty and clinician. As an OT clinician and OT faculty in higher education, I greatly appreciated the many takeaways I received from this podcast. Thank you.

[margaret10 (Margaret Weisblat)]

This was a great podcast that highlighted some very important aspects of the learning environment for students during this time. I have been considering taking my first OT student in acute care and this definitely has bought great perspective on the challenges and new opportunities that have occurred over the past several months. Flexibility is key, especially in acute care, Need to be flexible every day. Sometimes I have what I feel is a great treatment idea, but being able to adapt quickly to the patient’s needs is key especially in the hospital. Great episode!

[savel (Savel Sabol)]

This is the first podcast I’ve listened to from OT Potential, and sincerely enjoyed it. Very relevant! I have shared with several of my professors who are still engaged in higher learning.

[bonnie (Bonnie Shelton)]

Very Informative. Thank you so much for this one of a kind information.

[ellen5 (Ellen Schaefer)]

Very interesting. COVID has changed a lot of things.

[kathy (Kathy Bechand)]

Those of us workingnin healthcare had such a different experience with COVID than those in schools. Equally as challenging with different challenges. Interesting to think about the other side.