Ability to solve problems, professionalism, management, empathy, and working capacity in occupational therapy--the professional self description form.

The majority of occupational therapists in Sweden previously worked on large occupational therapy wards. Health care policy has changed over the years and the system has been reorganized accordingly. The employment situation for occupational therapists has also changed. This paper focuses on the perception of professional self among occupational therapists. The objective was to explore the professional self and to suggest components important to the occupational therapist profession. The Professional Self Description Form (PSDF) was used for the exploration of self. The 19 items in the PSDF cover areas relevant to professional functioning and activity. Sixty-eight employed occupational therapists participated. The results of the PSDF were subjected to factor analysis and five factors were obtained; Ability to solve problems, Professionalism, Management, Empathy, and Working capacity. We believe that these five factors can function as improving domains of the role of the professional occupational therapist in Sweden.