Ensuring inclusive education program success requires an evaluation of the excellence of service providers, including occupational therapists. In the Philippines, however, there is a need to determine how these competencies are demonstrated by registered occupational therapists. Thus, a group of Thomasian OTs from the College of Rehabiltiation Sciences led by Assoc. Prof. Kim Gerald Medallon, PhD came up with a competency matrix sensitive to the local context.
The study entitled “Development of Competency Matrix that supports successful inclusive education for occupational therapists in the Philippines,” was authored by Medallon, Ma. Eula Natalia C. Bucu (DevHub Center for Intervention; Makati Medical Center), Antonio Gabriel R. Pantilla (Goals Therapy Center; Creative Learning Paths School), Erick Christian T. Pelagio (MATTS Manila Therapy Center; Mindful Motions Therapy Center; Potentials Therapy Center; Tiny Todds Play Learning & Development Hub), Enya Maxine C. Santiaguel (University of the Philippines College of Medicine), Fenela Hazel A. Serrano (Fundevmentals Therapy Center; MCM Fundevmentals Therapy Center), and Hanzel Vonique Y. Tuibeo (MCM Fundevmentals Therapy Center; MATTS Manila Therapy Center).
In the new paper, the authors present a matrix that will serve as a guideline for OTs and other professionals “to have a better role understanding and active engagement with relevant stakeholders.” The study is found in the Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, and Early Intervention under Taylor & Francis. Medallon teaches at the Department of Occupational Therapy, while his co-authors are BS Occupational Therapy alumni of Class 2022.
Using the qualitative-descriptive approach, the study based the new framework on Sanghi’s Competency Model and generated the following themes: behavior, skills, knowledge, aptitude, and personal characteristics, each carrying subthemes that give flesh to what the umbrella categories mean. Among these are “initiating mechanisms for program development and monitoring,” “accommodating others’ opinions,” “clinical and critical reasoning approaches,” and traits such as empathy, honesty, respect, and responsibility.
The article can be accessed via: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19411243.2025.2531336
