A few helpful hints for students!

Before Fieldwork:

• Ask your facility for more information (i.e., dress code, parking, lunch, common diagnoses, common treatments, etc.)
• Plan for all financial responsibilities (i.e., housing, food, travel)
• Complete all immunizations. This includes taking care of routine doctor/dental visits that are necessary. 
• Review your fieldwork manual 
• Save facility numbers in cell phone
 - just in case of an emergency.

*Once you start your fieldwork experience, save time by filling out your student evaluation forms early!!! You can start listing diagnoses, treatments, assessments, etc. 

AOTA's Guidelines for Supervision, Roles, and Responsibilities During the Delivery of Occupational Therapy Services

From personal experience, I was sent to my first Level I fieldwork experience without a clear understanding of expected roles and responsibilities of an occupational therapist and assistant. This made it difficult for me to comprehend the dynamic the therapy team shared.

It may be beneficial for students to read over this document before heading out to Level I fieldwork. It outlines important aspects of the roles and responsibilities of occupational therapists, assistants, and aides.

You can find more information here!

Reflective Journaling

We believe reflection following experiences has the potential to bring value and meaning to certain moments in our lives! Allowing ourselves the time to think back on experiences give us the learn from mistakes, reflect on high points of the experience, brainstorm different approaches, and so on!

"Reflective journaling is helpful for developing procedural reasoning, to understand the diagnosis and treatment techniques from the perspective of known categories or methodologies... Journaling as a tool to promote reflective learning helps students bridge the gaps between theory, academic knowledge, and practice, allowing them to analyze a situation, gain insights, and dialogue with educators... This article helps to illustrate a constructivist learning approach in which clinical reasoning skills are developed through reflective writing paired with discussion (Hanson, Larsen, & Nielsen, 2011)."




Hanson, D., Larsen, J., & Nielsen, S. (2011, April 25). Reflective writing in Level II fieldwork, A tool to promote clinical reasoning. OT Practice, 11-15. 

You can find this article in the OT Practice, April 25th 2011 Edition.

Student’s goals and objectives for Level I fieldwork.

The Level I Fieldwork experience is for students to develop general observation and communication skills. Students will also sharpen their understanding of what the client/resident/patient/consumer needs in order to support a functional lifestyle.

The occupational therapy student will be able to:

• Begin the transition from student to practitioner.
• Describe practice environments. 
• Demonstrate an understanding of the funding or reimbursements of practice settings.

• Develop skills in the following areas: therapeutic interaction with clients and involvement in daily activities in the practice context.
• If relevant, observe and participate in assessment processes such as: chart review, interview, administration of assessment, and establishment of goals.
• Observe interaction amongst participants.
• Develop and articulate an appreciation for the potential roles of the occupational therapist.
• Demonstrate the ability to reflect upon their professional growth.
• Recognize and understand their feelings about working with individuals with various needs and abilities and articulate these feelings in a faculty/peer group discussion.

This information was brought to you by the University of Southern California!