Clicking your way through continuing professional development? Attitudes to social media use as a platform for continuing professional development (CPD) within occupational therapy

Introduction: This poster presents a study which explored the use of social media within the continuing professional development of occupational therapy students and practitioners. Perceived barriers and the influence of generation theory on the use of social media were also considered. Increasingly, social media platforms are being embraced by healthcare professionals within financially challenging climates and occupational therapists working within non-traditional settings as a cost effective mode of networking and supporting their CPD (Lawson and Cowling, 2014). Previous literature is limited and focuses on small-scale qualitative data (Bodell and Hook, 2014) and personal experience of using specific social media platforms (Bodell et al., 2009; Ezzamel, 2013; BJOT and #OTalk, 2016). More research with a larger sample group was therefore considered appropriate. Method: A mixed method survey design gathered qualitative and quantitative data through an online questionnaire. Content analysis was used to code and identify themes. Descriptive statistics were used to quantify the findings and consider variations across generations. Findings: Results highlighted a predominantly positive attitude to social media use within CPD. Accessibility, networking, learning and development were highlighted as advantages to its use. Time and individuals’ skills and knowledge were highlighted as barriers to utilising the platforms. The results suggest that age does not impact on willingness to use social media within CPD but does impact on perceived knowledge and skills to utilise the platforms confidently. Conclusion: The study highlighted a need for more structured training on professional social media use at both pre and post registration levels.