Health Care Outside of the U.S.A

As a part of the Master of Occupational Therapy curriculum at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, students have the opportunity to take an optional course, International Perspectives in Occupational Therapy. This course is taught in collaboration with the occupational therapy program at the Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen, Scotland. This collaborative course gives students from each university the opportunity to compare and contrast occupational therapy practice, healthcare systems, and occupational therapy curriculum between countries. Traveling is an option for students at both universities. This year students from UWL and RGU traveled over their respective spring breaks. Five UWL occupational therapy students traveled to Scotland where they were hosted by RGU occupational therapy students. While in Scotland, students job shadowed occupational therapy practitioners in various settings, attended class with the RGU students, and participated in other cultural activities. Nine RGU students traveled to the United States, were hosted by UWL occupational therapy students, and participated in similar types of experiences. Following the student exchange portion of the course, students from UWL and RGU participated in videoconference sessions to discuss practice similarities and differences and health care systems of each country. The students found that the difference in how occupational therapy is practiced in each country is directly related to the vastly different healthcare systems. Scotland has socialized medicine where all citizens receive healthcare for free through the National Healthcare System (NHS). This system is paid for by the government through taxes. Healthcare in the United States is paid for mostly through private insurance (usually purchased through an employer based group plan) or private out-of-pocket pay. Some of the differences in Scotland as a result of this system were more time spent with patients, less paperwork, and fewer restrictions for seeing patients. However, there were also longer waiting lists for therapy. After discussing the differences with RGU students, UW-L students came to the conclusion that each system has its strengths and flaws, and a better system for both countries would be one that incorporated principles from each system. It was important for the students to not only achieve a greater understanding of occupational therapy practice and the healthcare system, but to learn about the culture and its impact on occupational therapy was important. In order to be an effective healthcare provider and therapy partner, sensitivity to cultural differences is important. In order to experience the culture and learn about the history of Scotland, students took a tour of the Scottish Highlands, an area of Scotland rich in history and culture. They also toured a Whiskey Distillery, an important part of Scotland's economy and culture. The RGU students also organized a Ceilidh (pronounced Kay-lee), a traditional Scottish festival involving dancing, food, and socializing. These experiences allowed the students to immerse themselves in the culture in order to have a greater understanding of it. For more information on the International Perspectives in Occupational Therapy course, please visit the occupational therapy page on the UWL website (www.uwlax.edu/ot).

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