Rate My Professor Alejandra Aguilar

Dr. Alejandra Aguilar, known professionally as Ali Aguilar, is a Lecturer in Occupational Therapy within the School of Allied Health and Human Performance, College of Health at Adelaide University. She earned her PhD in 2016 from the University of South Australia with a thesis titled 'Professionalism in physiotherapy and occupational therapy in Australia: Towards a definition and understanding'. Additionally, she holds Professional Certificates in University Teaching and Clinical Education. Before entering academia, Dr. Aguilar practiced as an occupational therapist specializing in acute hospital care, mental health, and aged care rehabilitation. She has been involved in lecturing and tutoring occupational therapy and allied health courses since 2010 and currently serves as the International Student Coordinator for the Occupational Therapy program at Adelaide University.

Dr. Aguilar's research specializations encompass teaching and developing optimal methods for teaching, professionalism in physiotherapy and occupational therapy, interprofessional education and practice, consumer involvement in university education programs, community gardening, and occupational therapy practice in hospital settings, mental health, and aged care rehabilitation. She is eligible to co-supervise Masters and PhD students. Her key publications include 'Individual placement and support: a qualitative investigation of carers' experiences supporting someone experiencing mental illness into employment' (Kernot et al., 2024, Australian Occupational Therapy Journal), 'Describing consumer involvement, recruitment, retention in Australian occupational therapy university education: a cross sectional survey' (Soon et al., 2022, British Journal of Occupational Therapy), 'Consumer involvement in university education programs in the nursing, midwifery, and allied health professions: a systematic scoping review' (Soon et al., 2020, International Journal of Nursing Studies), 'The meanings attributed to community gardening: a qualitative study' (Ong et al., 2019, Health & Place), 'Exploring how Australian occupational therapists and physiotherapists understand each other's professional values: implications for interprofessional education and practice' (Aguilar et al., 2014, Journal of Interprofessional Care), 'Towards a definition of professionalism in Australian occupational therapy: using the Delphi technique to obtain consensus on essential values and behaviours' (Aguilar et al., 2013, Australian Occupational Therapy Journal), and 'Exploring professionalism: the professional values of Australian occupational therapists' (Aguilar et al., 2012, Australian Occupational Therapy Journal). These works have influenced discussions on professional values and interprofessional collaboration in the field of occupational therapy.