An investigation of the potential of mindfulness to promote expert performance in clinical decision making in occupational and physical therapists.

Background: In today's health care environment, developing expertise and making good decisions can be challenging when confronted with demands for high performance, high productivity, and low cost. Mindfulness may be a practice that can promote expertise and improve decision making, despite the pressures faced by occupational and physical therapists. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and examine the potential relationships between expertise, mindfulness, and decision making. Methods: Occupational and physical therapists participated in a two-part study that included both quantitative and qualitative methodology. Seventy-five therapists completed a demographic questionnaire, a modified version of the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS-M), and the Peer-Rated Expertise in Occupational and Physical Therapy Scale (PREOPT). In the second part of the study, four therapists completed a case study using a think aloud protocol. Their verbalizations were analyzed, using verbal protocol, for trends and patterns that would reveal differences in the therapists' decision making processes. Results: Results of the first part of the study did not reveal a significant relationship between mindfulness, measure by the KIMS-M and expertise, measured by the PREOPT. Qualitative analysis suggests that mindfulness may affect therapists' approaches to decision making but does not indicate that these approaches result in better decision making. Further, the differences were surprising, as they were not consistent with current arguments about the effects of mindfulness. Conclusion: These preliminary results suggest a relationship between mindfulness and decision making approaches. However, further research is needed to confirm these observations and explore the nature of this relationship.

Grantor dc:publisher

Temple University. Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Grant, Weltha Jane

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Byrnes, James P.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Fullard, William
• Toth-Cohen, Susan
• DuCette, Joseph P.
• Laurence, Janice H.

• Health Sciences, Rehabilitation and Therapy
• Decision Making
• Expertise
• Mindfulness

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Dc Identifier Other

864884754

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/1333