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Biomedical subjects

S M Peloquin

Publications and source records attributed to S M Peloquin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Competence in scientific inquiry and research.

The survival and expansion of the profession of occupational therapy depends on its ability to respond to continually changing environments. One of the most current and critical factors in this adaptation is the capacity of therapists to achieve competence in scientific inquiry and research. Competence in the role of researcher is necessary because it contributes to the development of the individual therapist, the profession, and the organization within which the therapist functions. The aim of this article is to review and elaborate on the competencies associated with the role of researcher and to propose a reconceptualization of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that shape competence in scientific inquiry.

Evidence-Based Medicine↗
PubMed1996

Art: an occupation with promise for developing empathy.

Empathy is central to the interactions of occupational therapists who value personal dignity. Persons from various sectors of the behavioral sciences and the medical humanities have proposed that engagement with the arts can develop empathy, an assumption that prompted this inquiry. The observations of artists and art philosophers suggest that the assumption that art may develop empathy is grounded in the kindred natures of the two practices and in the actions that occur when a person engages with a work of art. The assumption that art may develop empathy is grounded in the kinship of the actions common to both practices: response, emotion, and connection. Artists and art philosophers' observations of human practices have uncovered three rules of art that may dispose one toward empathy: reliance on bodily senses, use of metaphor, and occupation by virtual worlds. Analysis of art's potential suggests that a person who would derive empathy from art must (a) use the senses to grasp feeling, (b) stretch the imagination to see a new perspective, and (c) invite an occupation that enhances understanding. Persons who hope to develop empathy must pursue an experience that evokes the fellow feeling that inspires it. Art can offer this experience.

Art Therapy↗
PubMed1995

The fullness of empathy: reflections and illustrations.

Seven core values are said to undergird the profession of occupational therapy, with empathy serving as a hallmark of one of those values-personal dignity. This inquiry explores the meaning of empathy within a practice that holds occupation at its center. The literature on empathy in both philosophy and the behavioral sciences yields cogent thoughts about the fullness of empathy and its characteristics actions. The Healing Heart, the biography of a pioneer therapist, Ora Ruggles, shows the manner in which occupational therapists can be empathic in their practice. These reflections and illustrations serve to sharpen the vision of occupational therapists as persons who reach for both the hands and the hearts of others.

Empathy↗
PubMed1994

Moral treatment: how a caring practice lost its rationale.

The 19th-century practices of moral treatment and phrenology serve as historical examples of a narrowing focus in health care and reveal the manner in which theories can shape practice. The story of moral treatment, as it is told in connection with phrenology, emphasizes the push for success and right solutions. The push followed several shifts in the conceptualization of mental illness, the last of which proved moral therapy unreasonable. If practitioners in this century hope to ensure that the heart of moral treatment will withstand the effects of ever-changing theories, they must hold caring attitudes, words, and actions at the center of their practice.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1993

The patient-therapist relationship: beliefs that shape care.

The results of a previous inquiry suggest that three images of occupational therapists dominate patients' stories about them: the images of technician, parent, and collaborator or friend. These ways of being in practice can be said to reflect the various understandings that therapists have about how to enact the profession's commitment to both competence and caring. When therapists act as technicians or authoritarian parents, patients register their disappointment over a valuation of competence that excludes caring actions. In a more current inquiry into the climate of caring, patients and caregivers reflect about the current health care system and identify three societal constructs that shape a preference for competence over caring: (a) emphasis on the rational fixing of the health care problem, (b) overreliance on methods and protocols, and (c) a health care system driven by business, efficiency, and profit. Occupational therapists who are concerned about complaints that the health care system is increasingly uncaring might benefit from a consideration of the extent to which societal beliefs shape the manner in which they care.

Caregivers↗
PubMed1993

The depersonalization of patients: a profile gleaned from narratives.

Occupational therapists who would better understand and advocate against depersonalization in health care can find specific references in narratives to the attitudes and behaviors that seem problematic. Patients argue that helpers fail to recognize that illness and disability are events charged with personal meaning. Instead of communicating with patients, helpers establish a distance that diminishes them. They withhold information in a manner that precludes hope, they use brusque manners, and they misuse their powers. Each of these behaviors seems unreasonable and impersonal, and each discourages patients. Together these narratives might inspire therapists to value interactive reasoning as central to practice, to recommit to their consideration of persons, and to enact a climate of caring.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1991

Time as a commodity: reflections and implications.

American society's conceptualization of time as a commodity has supported occupational therapy practice since its inception. This article discusses numerous contemporary media messages about time both because they are pervasive and because their meaning often escapes us. Popular magazines, greeting cards, and cartoons weave themes about time into the fabric of other messages. There is remarkable coherence in the themes that cut across these three sources of time messages. Commercial images reveal the ideas that we are asked to accept about time; satirical images ask us to reflect about the ideas that we have accepted. A preponderance of images suggest that we control time and live in style. These suggestions constitute a cultural force that shapes personal values toward an end that we rarely consider. Occupational therapists need to recognize the presence and power of media images that radically challenge the meaning of living a satisfying life.

Life Style↗
PubMed1991

Occupational therapy service: individual and collective understandings of the founders, Part 1.

This inquiry aims to explore the understandings of patient, therapist, and occupation held by the founders of the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy. Influenced by contemporary historical events, the founders shared a common belief that the right occupation could help persons in need. Personal narratives found within the early occupational therapy literature illustrate each founder's unique understanding of how occupation might address contemporary problems. Each view contributed to the development of a multifaceted therapy. Exploration of the multiple interpretations that shaped a common idea may help current therapists to better understand their heritage of caring and to compare it with current practices. The first part of this inquiry considers the personal narratives of George Edward Barton, Susan Elizabeth Tracy, and William Rush Dunton, Jr. The second part, which will appear in a later issue, will further discuss Dunton's views, along with those of Eleanor Clarke Slagle, Herbert Hall, Susan Cox Johnson, and Thomas Bessell Kidner.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1991

Occupational therapy service: individual and collective understandings of the founders, Part 2.

This inquiry continues to explore the understandings of patient, therapist, and occupation held by the founders of the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy. The first part of this search, published in the April 1991 issue of AJOT, discussed personal narratives and anecdotes about George Edward Barton, Susan Elizabeth Tracy, and William Rush Dunton, Jr. This second part extends that discussion through an examination of the shaping influence of World War I on Dunton's beliefs and through consideration of the views held by Eleanor Clarke Slagle, Herbert J. Hall, Susan Cox Johnson, and Thomas Bessell Kidner. Influenced by contemporary historical forces as well as their personal experiences, the founders shared a common understanding that the right occupation could help persons in need. Personal narratives found within the early occupational therapy literature illustrate each founder's unique understanding of the manner in which occupation might address contemporary problems. Each view contributed to the development of a multifaceted therapy. Exploration of the multiple interpretations that shaped a common idea may help current therapists to better understand their heritage of caring and to compare it with current practices.

History, 20th Century↗
PubMed1990

The patient-therapist relationship in occupational therapy: understanding visions and images.

The patient-therapist relationship in occupational therapy has been a blend of competence and caring with the emphasis fluctuating over the years between these two features. When patients tell stories about their experiences, they reveal widely differing views of occupational therapists, partly because of the different ways therapists manifest competence and caring during patient-therapist interactions. Images from stories suggest that some therapists unwittingly disappoint their patients. This paper examines the patient-therapist relationship as envisioned by therapists and patients to help occupational therapists recommit to the patient as a vital partner in a collaborative relationship.

Bibliographies as Topic↗
PubMed1990

AIDS: toward a compassionate response.

AIDS evokes powerful feelings, often manifestations of fear, among health care providers. To effectively treat patients with AIDS, occupational therapists must acknowledge and reconcile their personal feelings. One way to formulate a compassionate response to patients is to understand the meanings that we give to AIDS, meanings that shape our interpersonal behaviors. Restricted meanings--that the disease constitutes death, sin, crime, war, or community division--place the person with AIDS at risk for compromised care. Recognizing the limitations of these meanings can free therapists to find other meanings that inspire compassion.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

Sustaining the art of practice in occupational therapy.

The art of practice in occupational therapy is intrinsically centered on relationships, on the qualities that make relationships meaningful, and on the meaning of occupation in a life. Demands from today's health care system make it increasingly difficult for practitioners to engage in meaningful relationships with their patients. The art of practice, jeopardized by the health care system, requires sustenance from other sources. A new field, literature and medicine, suggests a source of sustenance for the art of occupational therapy practice. The reading of fictional literature can provide occupational therapists with sustaining images that can reaffirm their commitment to the art of providing occupation as therapy.

Female↗
PubMed1989

Moral treatment: contexts considered.

Many scholars associate the 19th-century practice of moral treatment with occupational therapy practice. A more thorough understanding of moral treatment is therefore relevant for occupational therapists. This article considers moral treatment within the contexts that shaped both its characteristics and the course of its practice--the medical community and 19th-century society. This consideration may provide therapists with a broader understanding of moral treatment and enable them to address the question of a relationship between the two practices.

Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders↗
PubMed1988

Linking purpose to procedure during interactions with patients.

Occupational therapists' use of goal statements during interactions with patients can extend far beyond the care-planning session. Each treatment session provides an opportunity to match goals decided upon by the patient and therapist with a structured activity, thus endowing that activity with a therapeutic purpose. This article presents a rationale for discussing with patients the purpose and relevance of any procedure. The rationale for providing information and explanation is based on current health care trends, traditional occupational therapy assumptions, and the often ambiguous nature of activity, occupational therapy's primary modality.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗