Qualitative evaluation of a management course project: Creating new job possibilities for occupational therapy

A qualitative analysis of a ten-step management course project in occupational therapy education demonstrates the students changed perception of future job possibilities. The assignment, designed using a student-centered approach, bridges individual skills and interests with the creation of an occupational therapy position in an emerging market. The thematic analysis indicated the outcomes of the assignment were: a changed perception in the importance of a good fit between practitioner skills and the agency or program needs, added confidence in the students' skills based on a review of the two years of academic education, and a positive, anticipated transition of the academic knowledge base into real world experience. Student presentations served to measure the ability to articulate the services of occupational therapy within arenas unfamiliar to the profession.