OT Practice Issues Forum 2026: Lost in Translation?

This year's forum will focus on solutions to help prepare students & practitioners with the transition to clinical practice.
About this Event

Lost in Translation? Clinical Reasoning and Competence from Classroom to Practice

This year's forum will focus on one of the most important conversations facing our profession today: preparing students for successful fieldwork experiences and practitioners with the transition to clinical practice. While occupational therapy education continues to evolve in response to changing healthcare environments and learner needs, many fieldwork educators, academic faculty, students, and employers recognize that today's transition from classroom to clinic, as well as ongoing staff professional development presents challenges for everyone involved. While participants will examine current gaps, an opportunity to discuss practical strategies from different perspectives will help attendees focus on solutions.

Objectives:

1. Examine how generational learning preferences, evolving workplace expectations, technology, workload, and learner well-being influence engagement and professional development.
2. Identify gaps in clinical education, competency development, and practice readiness that affect the transition of new practitioners into occupational therapy practice environments.
3. Develop practical, learner-centered solutions to promote learner and practitioner confidence, competence, and sustained professional growth.

This course is being evaluated for 3.0 hours of continuing education credit/professional development

Agenda

🕑: 05:00 PM
Dinner
🕑: 05:30 PM - 06:15 PM
Keynote Address
🕑: 06:15 PM - 06:30 PM
OTAC Updates
🕑: 06:30 PM - 06:40 PM
Break
🕑: 06:40 PM - 08:00 PM
Panel: Reasoning, Readiness, and Real-World Practice
🕑: 08:00 PM - 08:30 PM
Discussion and Q&A: Closing the Gap