Duquesne Helping Poland Prepare for Its First Ever OT Programs

Members of the Department of Occupational Therapy (OT) are preparing to host a university professor from Warsaw to help the European Network of Occupational Therapy in Higher Education (ENOTHE) in their efforts as they prepare to establish the first ever OT programs in Poland.

Dr. Andrzej Gryglewicz, dean of student affairs and chair of rehabilitation psychology at the Joseph Pilsudski University of Physical Education, will visit the OT department from Oct. 4-18.

Gryglewicz’s visit is sponsored by the ENOTHE, through its partnership with the University School of Physical Education in Krakow, the Academy of Physical Education in Wroclaw, the Higher School of Administration in Bielsko-Biala and Warsaw’s Pilsudski University. The four universities and the ENOTHE are working to train 32 Polish academics to become OT lecturers as they introduce occupational therapy education, practice and research in Poland that is compatible with European and World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT) standards.

During his visit to Duquesne, Gryglewicz is charged with observing and learning how occupational therapy is taught and practiced in the United States to help develop the Polish curricula at the four universities involved in the ENOTHE partnership.

“This is an excellent opportunity to meet, learn about each other and consider possible future exchanges such as faculty collaboration and study abroad,” said Dr. Patricia Crist, professor of occupational therapy, who is coordinating the visit.

Gryglewicz will learn how the OT department implements the practice-scholar model through coursework, research and service learning, according to Crist.

“We will also discuss our applied research agenda focused on studying the occupation as a construct to create and/or modify health status and adaptation to disability,” she said. “We have a major emphasis on training our students in the contexts in which they will eventually practice, even in our labs. This includes extensive experiential education off campus and well-developed, service learning opportunities which prepare our students as practice-scholars to embed research in everyday practice to contribute to the knowledge regarding everyday practice questions.”

Gryglewicz will examine just two other American universities’ OT programs in addition to Duquesne’s.

“America is known for strong academic programs and curriculums that exceed WFOT standards,” said Crist. “There is a strong emphasis that these programs engage in research and not just education. Outside of Europe, Canada and the U.S. are the only countries with an extensive number of universities with faculty doing research. Europe will always be accessible to these faculty in Poland, but the opportunity to study occupational therapy in other countries is more challenging and less likely.”