ABSTRACT

Objective : The aim of this study was to determine the main job tasks in clinical practice in terms of their criticality and frequency. The findings analyzed here will be offered appropriately as basic data for occupational therapy education, field work, and the national licensing examination. Methods : This survey was conducted from December 2008 to April 30, 2010. Four-hundred and forty-two occupational therapists from 114 institutions participated. A job analysis was applied toward the criticality of each job and its frequency. In analyzing the data, the criticality of the occupational erapists’tasks and task elements, and their mean frequency and priority, were investigated, as were their core tasks and core task elements. Results : In order of criticality among the therapist’s duties,“ occupational therapy”was recognized as most important, and “patient evaluation”was most frequently conducted. In terms of criticality and frequency, there were 16 core tasks and 94 core task elements over the mean points. When comparing therapists on their first appointment with those with experience, differences in criticality were shown in 2 tasks, and differences in frequency were shown in 7 tasks. Given their different treatment areas, 8 and 13 differences were shown respectively in the areas of physical disabilities, children, and juveniles. Conclusion : This study showed that education should be prioritized in therapy and field work. The results of this study will also be useful in providing basic data for the national licensing examination.