The theoretical-practical experimentation of an Occupational Therapy student in social field: an experience with homeless people

Abstract

almost after fifty years of existence of occupational therapists' programs in brazil, the question of the link between practice and theory remains as the central challenge for a better professional education. in various fields or areas of intervention the occupational therapist's academic education has been transformed, due to technological advances and knowledge, due to the public policies that are in continuous process of establishment or, still, due to the great target of action from non-governmental organizations that are part of the population groups' trajectory to wich brazilian occupational therapy dedicate themselves. on the other hand, the challenges of teh unequal and complex social reality demand a prepared professional to act/intervene in different society sectors, in situations that exceed the established space, as defined by the "health and illness" concepts. the studies and debates about the composition of the graduation's curricular components and the minimum standards have opened possibilities for the inclusion of the new areas/thematics, through courses whose contents search to endow the occupational therapist with capacities and abilities that allows them to understand and implement actions in the social field. in this perspective, this is an essay about the experience of the professional training in occupational therapy with homeless people, offered to Universidade Federal de São Carlos' students. the analysis and conclusions reported reinforce the defense of the importance of social occupational therapy as a curricular content course in the academic qualification of occupational therapists, and point to the connection between profession fudamentals and different possibilities of intervention.