Progressive career patterns versus mandated entry-level education.

H ow are we to encourage the expansion of occupational therapy education and ca­ reers? With a national salary advan­ tage for occupational therapists with master's degrees averaging only $2,000, what incentive is there for oc­ cupational therapists to expand their expertise? First, there is the cognitive stimulation and the satisfaction of self-actualization that comes with the expansion of educational and profes­ sional competence. Second, there is the self-confidence that comes in knOWing of new health care develop· ments that will benefit patients and students. Beyond these reasons, how­ ever, what reward system is there to promote the pursuit of progressive career patterns for occupational thera­ pists in order to provide positive sanctions for continuing professional development) Questions such as this were being asked recently by 200 cli­ nicians and faculty attending a sympo­ sium in San Diego sponsored by the American Occupational Therapy Asso­ ciation (AOTA) entitled "Directions for the Future," in which the partici­ pants jointly examined the historical processes and prospects for the future of occupational therapy as a profes­ sional practice and discipline of study. The Entry-Level Study Commit· tee, an ad hoc committee of the Exec­ utive Board of AOTA, produced a re­ port entitled Occupational Therapy: Directionsfor the Future (AOTA, Entry-Level Study Committee, 1987), which encouraged symposium partici· pants to seriously consider how occu­ pational therapy could move from being a two·tiered field clinically and educationally to becoming a hierar­ chical profession and discipline with multiple levels of advancement. The Entry-Level Study Committee and the Directions for the Future symposium Mary V. Donohue