Impact of Stress on Performance & Satisfaction During Level II Fieldwork

Occupational therapy (OT) students in their Level II Fieldwork (FW) placement experience stress due to environmental and personal factors. This stress has the potential to negatively impact performance and satisfaction during Level II FW. This study aimed to identify specific stressors and examine the impact of student perceived stress on FW performance and satisfaction. This descriptive study used a one-time online survey to gather qualitative and quantitative data from OT students who were currently in or finished a Level II FW placement within the past 30 days. The participants were recruited via convenience and snowball sampling. Participants took a survey consisting of 30 questions in three sections: demographics, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and a section on perceived stress, performance, and satisfaction. Using SPSS, the data were analyzed to determine whether stress impacted performance and satisfaction, whether performance ratings were related to satisfaction ratings, and whether any demographics were related to PSS scores or performance ratings or satisfaction ratings. Paired t-tests were also performed to determine if there was a significant difference between recalled stress levels prior to the placement and current perceived stress levels. Analysis using the Kruskal-Wallis revealed significant differences in reported satisfaction scores with the FW experience among three different groups with high, medium, and low PSS scores. Additional analysis using the Bonferroni post-hoc test revealed a statistically significant difference between the low PSS score group and high PSS score group, p = .047,with a mean performance of 33.25 for low PSS score and 18.46 for high PSS score. Increased feelings of stress amongst participants, in turn affects their reported satisfaction with the experience overall. This study points to the conclusion that there are opportunities to develop resources to help alleviate stress for students during Level II FW.

References

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