The French National Association of Occupational Therapists (ANFE), the Syndicate of French Occupational Therapy Training Institutes (SIFEF), the National Union of Occupational Therapy Student Associations (UNAEE) request by mutual agreement from the Ministry of Health and prevention, and urgently, a reengineering of occupational therapy training. Press release to read below.
The last training engineering for occupational therapists dates back to 2010. Over the past 10 years, in view of the evolution of health policies and new health issues, the needs for intervention in occupational therapy have evolved towards new fields of activity: psychogeriatrics, critical care, home care services, neonatology and early childhood services, structures for assessing needs and coordinating care pathways, mobile teams, emergency accommodation centres, etc. The liberal exercise is also in full expansion following the implementation of TND early intervention packages, promotion of physical activity, and Aging Well at Home schemes such as Ma Prime Adapt’.
Thus, new activities or areas of expertise are required of occupational therapists to respond effectively to these many needs: prescription of technical aids, assessment of the needs of complex situations, coordination of care pathways within teams (Specialized Alzheimer’s Team, Mobile team, Adapted Activities Center in EHPADs, etc.), parenting support, interventions in acute care units, telecare, use of 3D printing, prevention and promotion of health with seniors (anti-fall plan), with caregivers, occupational health and MSD prevention (PRA2S), psychosocial rehabilitation in mental health, etc.
The current 3-year training makes it difficult to acquire new knowledge, know-how and essential skills and thus cope with these new professional practices requiring complex clinical reasoning within rapidly changing multi-professional teams. The studies are too dense, with an increasing difficulty for the training institutes to integrate all the lessons necessary for this learning but also to meet the requirements of the ministries such as the acquisition of digital skills in health or the health service or simulation in health. The hourly volume of these 3 years is higher than that of the 4 years of physiotherapists. Students today suffer from an overloaded program that does not allow them to assimilate their knowledge, to deepen their clinical reasoning with a significant impact on their quality of student life and their health.
We also deplore the lack of harmonization of the duration of our training with those of our colleagues in the field of re-education and rehabilitation to create a paramedical body whose level of training might respond to changes in public health issues defined by the WHO in 2017. This request for reengineering is also part of the development of research in occupational therapy, to create career opportunities in terms of curricula and strong commitment of professionals in teaching and research like which can be observed in countries allowing occupational therapists to obtain master’s and doctoral degrees (United States, Canada, England, Sweden, Holland, Denmark, etc.). With the creation of the CNU 91, the universitarization of studies in occupational therapy up to the master’s degree must promote the recruitment, in the near future, of university lecturers from occupational therapy. We also want to facilitate access to the doctorate to provide evidence of effectiveness and recommendations for intervention in occupational therapy, and thus improve the relevance and quality of care.
The updating of our training reference also aims to match the recommendations of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT), which defines minimum criteria for the training of occupational therapists.
The transformation of the health system, the diversity of the professional activities of the skills required therefore lead us to ask for an urgent revision of the content of the studies and comes to support the need for an extension of the duration of the training.
The French National Association of Occupational Therapists (ANFE), le Syndicate of French Occupational Therapy Training Institutes (SIFEF)l’National Union of Occupational Therapy Student Associations (UNAEE) by mutual agreement wish to harmonize training at the national level in 5 years with recognition at the master’s level:
– a common 1st year for example, in health science validated rehabilitation/rehabilitation course promoting interprofessionalism and the acquisition of fundamental prerequisites for paramedical professionals;
– 4 years of professional training in occupational therapy training institutes.
Reflections have already been initiated by ANFE, SIFEF and UNAEE on the content of this reengineering. Contributory work to update the activity and skills benchmarks has already been carried out jointly by ANFE and SIFEF. This new benchmark by block of skills highlights a reform of the educational model but also an extension of the duration of occupational therapy studies. To promote more cross-functionality between studies within the rehabilitation sciences sector, to promote bridges, it seems judicious to us to carry out these reforms concomitantly, and thus avoid reproducing the current training system in silos, which prevents for example the pooling of lessons. This reengineering of occupational therapy training is urgent, we ask the Ministry of Health and Prevention as well as the Ministry of Higher Education and Research to integrate the latter as a priority in the next calendar of reforms of paramedical studies .
President of ANFE: Arnaud Schabaille
President of SIFEF: Géraldine Despres
President of the UNA: Flora Calipari
