title: Preliminary evidence to support a "boot camp" approach to wheelchair skills training for clinicians.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the impact of providing intensive large-group training on wheelchair-specific self-efficacy and skill capacity among occupational therapy students.
  
  
  METHODS
  Intervention study using before-after trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Universities.
  
  
  METHODS
  Volunteer sample of master of occupational therapy students (N=65).
  
  
  METHODS
  Two instructors provided a total of 4.5 hours of wheelchair skills training to groups of 14 to 19 students in a boot camp format, which included a brief lecture, instruction, demonstration, and hands-on practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  Wheelchair skill capacity (Wheelchair Skills Test Questionnaire [WST-Q]), with scores ranging from 0 to 64, and wheelchair-specific self-efficacy (Wheelchair Use Confidence Scale for Manual Wheelchair Users [WheelCon-M]), with scores ranging from 0 to 10.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At postintervention, the mean WST-Q score increased by 24.7 (95% confidence interval, 22.1-27.3; P=.000), reflecting a 38.6% improvement (Cohen d=2.8). The mean WheelCon-M score improved by 3.0 (95% confidence interval, 2.5-3.3; P=.000).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To our knowledge, this is the first study to measure and demonstrate improvement in wheelchair-specific self-efficacy among student clinicians. Participants demonstrated substantively larger improvements and acquired more advanced skills than previous studies using shorter training sessions with smaller groups. This study provides evidence for using a boot camp format as an effective strategy to increase occupational therapy students' confidence and skill with wheelchair mobility, preparing them to place greater emphasis on, and achieve better success in, training future clients.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Electronic address: Ed.Giesbrecht@med.umanitoba.ca.
authors.forename: Edward M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Giesbrecht
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bains
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: William C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000193:education*; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013336:Students, Health Occupations; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods; D014910:Wheelchairs; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Education; Occupational therapy; Rehabilitation; Self efficacy; Wheelchairs