To get a better understanding about the value of a great fieldwork experience, here is an article from the American Journal of Occupational therapy to help you better understand!
Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Education:
Value and Purpose
The purpose of fieldwork education is to propel each generation of occupational therapy practitioners from the role of student to that of practitioner. Through the fieldwork experience, future practitioners achieve competence in applying the occupational therapy process and using evidence-based interventions to meet the occupational needs of a diverse client population. Fieldwork assignments may occur in a variety of practice settings, including medical, educational, and community-based programs. Moreover, fieldwork placements also present the opportunity to introduce occupational therapy services to new and emerging practice environments.
Fieldwork assignments constitute an integral part of the occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant education curricula. Through fieldwork, students learn to apply theoretical and scientific principles learned from their academic programs to address actual client needs within the context of authentic practice environments. While on fieldwork, each student develops competency to ascertain client occupational performance needs to identify supports or barriers affecting health and participation and document interventions provided. Fieldwork also provides opportunities for the student to develop advocacy, leadership, and managerial skills in a variety of practice settings. Finally, the student develops a professional identity as an occupational therapy practitioner, aligning his or her professional judgments and decisions with the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Standards of Practice (AOTA, 2005b) and the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics (AOTA, 2005a).
As students proceed through their fieldwork assignments, performance expectations become progressively more challenging. Level I fieldwork experiences occur concurrently with academic coursework and are “designed to enrich didactic coursework through directed observation and participation in selected aspects of the occupational therapy process” (Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education [ACOTE], 2007a, 2007b, 2007c). Level II fieldwork experiences occur at or near the conclusion of the didactic phase of occupational therapy curricula and are designed to develop competent, entry-level, generalist practitioners
(ACOTE, 2007a, 2007b, 2007c). Level II fieldwork assignments feature in-depth experience(s) in delivering occupational therapy services to clients, focusing on the application of purposeful and meaningful occupation and evidence-based practice through exposure to a “variety of clients across the life span and to a variety of settings” (ACOTE, 2007a, 2007b, 2007c).
The value of fieldwork transcends the obvious benefits directed toward the student. Supervising students enhances fieldwork educators’ own professional development by providing exposure to current practice trends, evidence-based practice, and research. Moreover, the experience of fieldwork supervision is recog- nized by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) and many state regulatory boards as a legitimate venue for achieving continuing competency requirements for occupational therapy practitioners.
Another benefit to the fieldwork site for sponsoring a fieldwork education program is with the recruitment of qualified occupational therapy personnel. Through the responsibilities expected during Level II fieldwork, occupational therapy staff and administration are given opportunity for an in-depth view of a student’s potential as a future employee. In turn, an active fieldwork program allows the student, as a potential employee, to view first-hand the agency’s commitment to the professional growth of its occupational therapy personnel and to determine the “fit” of his or her professional goals with agency goals. The fieldwork program also creates a progressive, state-of-the-art image to the professional community, consumers, and other external audiences through its partnership with the academic programs.
In summary, fieldwork education is an essential bridge between academic education and authentic occupa- tional therapy practice. Through the collaboration between academic faculty and fieldwork educators, students are given the opportunity to achieve the competencies necessary to meet the present and future occupational needs of individuals, groups, and indeed, society as a whole.
References
Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education. (2007a). Accreditation standards for a doctoral- degree level educational program for the occupational therapist. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61, 641–651.
Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (2007b) Accreditation standards for a master’s- degree level educational program for the occupational therapist. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61, 662–671.
Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education. (2007c) Accreditation standards for an educa- tional program for the occupational therapy assistant. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61, 652–661.
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2005a). Occupational therapy code of ethics (2005). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 59, 639–642.
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2005b). Standards of practice for occupational therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 59, 663–665.
The Commission on Education
René Padilla, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, Chairperson Andrea Bilics, PhD, OTR/L
Judith C. Blum, MS, OTR/L
Paula C. Bohr, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Jennifer C. Coyne, COTA/L
Jyothi Gupta, PhD, OTR/L
Linda Musselman, PhD, OTR, FAOTA
Linda Orr, MPA, OTR/L
Abbey Sipp, ASD Liaison
Patricia Stutz-Tanenbaum, MS, OTR
Neil Harvison, PhD, OTR/L, AOTA Staff Liaison
Copyright © 2009, by the American Occupational Therapy Association. To be published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63(November/December). 394
