Introduction / Background:
In January 2023, Occupational Therapy Workforce Clinical Educator (OT WCE) roles were introduced to enhance staff development and education across bed-based adult OT services within a large metropolitan Melbourne health network. Initially focused on group tutorials, the OT WCEs expanded their approach by implementing 1:1 ‘drop-in sessions’, designed to address specific unmet individual learning needs through targeted, in-context clinical education.

Objective:
To evaluate the impact of OT WCE 1:1 education sessions on bed-based adult OT clinicians, including perceived benefits and implementation challenges.

Methods:
A mixed-methods approach was employed. Quantitative data captured clinicians’ self-assessed knowledge, skills, and confidence before and after attending drop-in sessions. Qualitative data was collected through focus groups with OT learners and clinical supervisors, and thematically analysed to explore experiences and perceptions.

Results:
Survey data revealed a 26% increase in clinician-reported confidence, knowledge, and skills post 1:1 sessions. Thematic analysis identified improvements in clinical reasoning, supervision quality and focus, and the availability of a psychologically safe alternative learning environment. Supervisors also reported reduced supervisory burden. However, several challenges were noted, such as scheduling constraints, frequency of site-based educator sessions, and the need for clearer role delineation between clinical educators and supervisors, Senior Grade 3 clinicians and Clinical Grade 4 leads.

Discussion and Conclusion:
The OT WCE 1:1 drop-in sessions positively influenced clinician development and supervision support. While the initiative is valuable and supports ongoing implementation, addressing logistical barriers is essential to ensure sustainability across a large and diverse workforce.

Introduction / Background
Paediatric occupational therapists frequently encounter situations where a child is unable to access or engage in the therapy session, despite adaptations in approach. This could present as shutdown, dysregulation, avoidance, refusal or a mismatch of session expectations. Continuing therapy in this state can be emotionally and cognitively taxing for both therapist and child, reducing therapeutic benefit and increasing the risk of burnout. The Three-Session Review provides a clear clinical checkpoint to purposefully service evaluate and confidently lead purposeful clinical realignment.

Method / Implementation
The review is initiated after three consecutive sessions where the therapist is unable to develop engagement or therapeutic momentum despite using appropriate co-regulation, sensory, play or communication strategies.

• Hard Session 1 - Recognise that therapy felt effortful or misaligned.
• Hard Session 2 - If the pattern repeats, openly explore it with caregivers or educators.
• Hard Session 3 - If the pattern continues, lead a directional discussion to adjust approach, pacing, goals, environment or service structure.

The process does not mean stopping therapy. Instead allows for an intentional review of clinical approach. For children where safety and connection are the therapeutic focus (e.g., trauma, PDA profiles), it helps therapists differentiate expected relational work from misalignment.

Discussion / Outcomes
Therapists report greater confidence in clinical decision-making, clearer communication with families and teams, and more purposeful, intentional and sustainable therapeutic planning.

Conclusion
The Three-Session Review supports therapists to lead therapy intentionally, maintain professional wellbeing and ensure therapy remains accessible, ethical and effective.

Introduction: Early career clinicians entering public health environments often experience inconsistent access to structured learning supports, which can affect their confidence, capability, and professional identity formation. To address this gap, our organisation developed a novel online program informed by implementation science to scaffold learning and streamline processes for rotating Grade 1 occupational therapists.

Implementation: A co-design approach was adopted to ensure relevance and acceptability across stakeholder groups, including learners, supervisors, and managers. Guided by principles of adult learning and implementation science, a suite of digital resources was created to support the identification of individual scope of practice, targeted learning needs, goal development, and structured reflective practice. Embedded checkpoints were developed for rotation orientation, supervision engagement, feedback processes, and mandated learning requirements. Managerial support was secured to enable weekly protected learner time and to standardise expectations for resource use across sites.

Discussion: The program aims to address known implementation barriers by strengthening behavioural regulation mechanisms, clarifying expectations, and promoting accountability through consistent processes. Embedding supervision quality indicators and reflective practice prompts is expected to enhance learner autonomy and professional development. This initiative also seeks to reduce variability in new-graduate experiences and elevate the organisational culture of learning.

Conclusion: The program has recently been implemented, and formal evaluation is underway. Early reflections suggest strong feasibility, acceptability, and potential to improve capability development and supervision quality for early career clinicians in public health settings.

Introduction: Traditional occupational therapy (OT) student placements utilise a 1:1 apprenticeship-style model, where students shadow a supervisor closely, observing most or all of their clinical activity. While this approach provides rich experiential learning, it is increasingly unfeasible in busy clinical settings. Supervisors often replicate this model from their own student experiences; however, it often does not suit current work environments. Alternative approaches are needed to balance supervisor capacity with meaningful student learning, with a focus on fostering self-directed and reflective practice that better prepares students for new graduate roles with growing complexity and at times limited supervision.

Method: Drawing on extensive experience as a clinical educator and sessional academic across diverse settings, and informed by discussions with both supervisors and students, this presentation will outline strategies to support more sustainable supervision. Emphasis will be placed on practical strategies and tools that reduce the burden on supervisors while ensuring high-quality learning.

Discussion: Apprenticeship-style placements are valuable and can be successful, however sustainable approaches must focus on quality over quantity. Students do not need to accompany supervisors for every client interaction; instead, structured self-directed learning and reflection allow them to consolidate knowledge, apply OT theory, and practice skills outside of client interactions. Time away from direct supervision develops essential self-management skills while reducing pressure on supervisors and fostering meaningful learning.

Conclusion: Reflecting on supervision approaches and adopting sustainable models can enhance the feasibility of student placements, reduce supervisor burden, and provide richer, more meaningful learning experiences for students.