Responding to the growing demand for practice education: Are we building sustainable solutions?

Abstract

Practice education occupies the nexus between occupational therapy education and professional practice, it is inextricably connected to and influenced by key stakeholders including higher education, professional bodies, employers and regulating agencies.Across the past decade growth in the number of occupational therapy students across Australia, combined with changes in the structure of the employment sector, have combined to place pressure on capacity of higher education providers to source enough suitable practice education opportunities for each student across the course of their education.Recent innovative responses designed to address practice education shortfalls have, in many cases, created solutions to the immediate problem of enough practice education hours, but are these solutions appropriate and sustainable?The authors call for each stakeholder, influential in occupational therapy practice education, to work together to build national definitions and accreditation standards for practice education to promote sustainable development of occupational therapy practice education standards across Australia.