Short & St. Peters Manuscript Accepted for Publication in The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy is client-centered practice in which professionals navigate ethical complexities, adhering to altruism as a core value. Though professional codes of conduct are documented, occupational therapists must exhibit moral reasoning guided by character. In January 2017, Dr. Nate Short and 10 Huntington University first-year OTD students who voluntarily participated in a service learning trip to Guatemala with Wheels for the World. A study conducted by Drs. Short and Heather St. Peters demonstrated that purposive cross-cultural service learning as a pedagogy extends beyond skill development, such as fitting wheelchairs, to impact character traits of curiosity, gratitude, love of learning, openness to evidence, perspective taking, propriety, self-control, social perceptiveness, spirituality, and zest. OTD students shared testimonials like, “Seeing their (Guatemalan clients’) reactions to receiving mobility equipment [was] incredibly heartwarming. It made me appreciate my education, my health, and my ability to serve even more” and “throughout the experience, you could see God working everywhere. It motivated me to allow God to work through me even greater, to pray more, and to grow in my own spirituality.” Serving Guatemalans benefited students and left lasting impressions exemplified by this story:
A grandmother who had sustained a stroke had to be carried by family members for five years. A student recounted: “She (the grandmother) never was able to regain function in her right leg and had limited function in her right arm. For the past five years, her sons had been carrying her everywhere she had gone.” While the group helped transfer the client to a wheelchair, a student noticed a slight movement in the client’s right foot. The student continued, “We were able to get her a wheelchair and also able to get her up and walking with a walker. It was the first time she had walked or even tried walking in five years, because she did not know what she was capable of, and thought the pain meant she should not walk.”
Drs. Short and St. Peters remain grateful for the opportunity to pursue research associated with Christian higher education at Huntington University and thank God for lives changed.