Universities

Entering the healthcare setting can be daunting for medical, nursing and therapy students. Our goal of teaching students the OPN Method is to ease the transition from a laboratory setting to the healthcare setting by providing students with a practical evidenced-based patient-centered communication method that parallels AMA standards, The Joint Commission, APTA's Vision 2020 and healthcare reform regulations. Building strong communication skills at the entry-level will lead to a better-rounded clinician in the medical field, preventing poor communication habits in the future.

The OPN Method started as the project of three university professors at Virginia
Commonwealth University (VCU). Mark Ozer, MD, recognized the value of sharing the patient communication method he developed with rehabilitation professionals. Teaming up with a physical therapist and an occupational therapist, Mark Ozer, Otto Payton and Craig Nelson refined Ozer's four-part communication method to involve patients in decision making throughout the course of physical rehabilitation.

The OPN Method was subsequently incorporated into the entry-level coursework for physical and occupational therapy students at VCU. The semester long PT course, titled "Clinical Problem Solving and Communications," provided models of interpersonal communication, clinical problem solving and ethical decision making. Also part of the curriculum was for students to interview patients using the OPN Method and for faculty to critique the student's performance using a standard scoring form. For occupational therapy students, the OPN Method was included in adult physical rehabilitation coursework. Students in both curricula conducted research related to the OPN Method with some being published in refereed journals. Register