The Use of Simulation in Self-Perception of Learning in Occupational Therapy Students

Abstract This study aimed to assess the self-perception of students’ learning in occupational therapy (OT) undergraduate students of the School of Health from Polytechnic of Porto after exposure to a simulated situation of an information collection interview for an occupational profile. A case study was conducted involving 33 second-year students of OT at the School of Health. Data were collected on the self-perception of learning from both the students involved in the simulation and those who participated as observers. The students revealed that they had learned through this method, which allowed them to put knowledge and communication skills into practice in a motivating way. However, students who had only observed were not as confident as those who had practiced the simulated situation in mastering the trained skills. The feedback phase was indicated as the one that most contributed to learning in both groups. Simulation proved to be an effective and motivating learning method for OT students, but it was not possible to see whether this learning was generalized when applied to a real context.