The impact of 'Generation Y' occupational therapy students on practice education. Hills, C., Ryan, S., Smith, D. R., & Warren-Forward, H. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 59(2):156--163, April, 2012. 00008
doi  abstract   bibtex   
Background/aim: Many occupational therapy students can be classified as 'Generation Y', a group whose characteristics are perceived as being confident, optimistic and 'techno-savvy'. This study aimed to explore practice educator perceptions of 'Generation Y' students. Methods: A questionnaire survey was sent to all practice educators affiliated with the university. The survey contained fixed choice questions on demographics and educators' knowledge of the term 'Generation Y', followed by open-ended questions on practice educator perceptions of occupational therapy 'Generation Y' students and the educational strategies used in practice education. Results: Anonymous responses were analysed using descriptive statistics, attribute coding and content analysis. Most educators considered that there was, in fact, a 'Generation Y student', describing them as confident with technology, over confident in their skill level and easily bored. Practice educators raised concerns regarding students' casual communication, poor professional behaviour, shallow professional reasoning and difficulty when receiving negative feedback. Conclusions: Overall, the results of this study suggest that 'Generation Y' students are having both a negative and a positive impact on practice education in occupational therapy. For educators, management of the overconfident student and professional reasoning development should be addressed in university practice education workshops. For students, the need for clarification of placement expectations on professional behaviour and communication was indicated. Students may also require 'listening to feedback' skill development prior to practice education. Universities and practice educators should consider the development of technological resources for practice education, including simulation, to meet the needs of the, now recognised 'Generation Y' student. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Australian Occupational Therapy Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
@article{hills_impact_2012,
	title = {The impact of '{Generation} {Y}' occupational therapy students on practice education},
	volume = {59},
	issn = {00450766},
	doi = {10.1111/j.1440-1630.2011.00984.x},
	abstract = {Background/aim:  Many occupational therapy students can be classified as 'Generation Y', a group whose characteristics are perceived as being confident, optimistic and 'techno-savvy'. This study aimed to explore practice educator perceptions of 'Generation Y' students. Methods:  A questionnaire survey was sent to all practice educators affiliated with the university. The survey contained fixed choice questions on demographics and educators' knowledge of the term 'Generation Y', followed by open-ended questions on practice educator perceptions of occupational therapy 'Generation Y' students and the educational strategies used in practice education. Results:  Anonymous responses were analysed using descriptive statistics, attribute coding and content analysis. Most educators considered that there was, in fact, a 'Generation Y student', describing them as confident with technology, over confident in their skill level and easily bored. Practice educators raised concerns regarding students' casual communication, poor professional behaviour, shallow professional reasoning and difficulty when receiving negative feedback. Conclusions:  Overall, the results of this study suggest that 'Generation Y' students are having both a negative and a positive impact on practice education in occupational therapy. For educators, management of the overconfident student and professional reasoning development should be addressed in university practice education workshops. For students, the need for clarification of placement expectations on professional behaviour and communication was indicated. Students may also require 'listening to feedback' skill development prior to practice education. Universities and practice educators should consider the development of technological resources for practice education, including simulation, to meet the needs of the, now recognised 'Generation Y' student. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Australian Occupational Therapy Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)},
	number = {2},
	journal = {Australian Occupational Therapy Journal},
	author = {Hills, Caroline and Ryan, Susan and Smith, Derek R. and Warren-Forward, Helen},
	month = apr,
	year = {2012},
	note = {00008},
	keywords = {ATTITUDE (Psychology) -- Testing, ATTITUDES, DESCRIPTIVE statistics, FIELDWORK (Educational method), GENERATION Y, HEALTH occupations students, INTELLECT, INTERNSHIP programs, OCCUPATIONAL therapists, PERCEPTION, Questionnaires, STUDENTS, SUPERVISION of employees, SURVEYS},
	pages = {156--163}
}

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