Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-1991

Comments

This article has been peer reviewed. It is the author’s final published version in The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, Volume 45, Issue 11, November 1991, Pages 1027-1032.

The published version is available at DOI: 10.5014/ajot.45.11.1027. Copyright © American Occupational Therapy Association

Abstract

The recent focus on clinical reasoning in occupational therapy, specifically on how therapists solve complex problems, has stimulated interest in how master clinicians think in practice. By gaining insight into how clinicians think and what they think about when they identify and solve problems, we may be able to identify clinical reasoning patterns and processes that occupational therapy students and novice therapists need to experience in order to progress in their practice or to emerge as leaders in their field. Observation of the way in which clinical masters and leaders view challenges and solve problems as manifested in their clinical reasoning may provide new and potential therapists with clues as to how to best bone their skills and knowledge for future success in practice. This paper describes a study that examined the relationship of mastery, excellence, and leadership in occupational therapy. Ten master clinicians were interviewed to determine the characteristics of their mastery and excellence in practice and to explore the degree to which they engaged in leadership behavior. The findings revealed that mastery, excellence, and leadership are independent of one another but that some characteristics are common to all of these phenomenas.

PubMed ID

1793116

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