Second-year students of undergraduate occupational therapy at the University of Newcastle, NSW, undertake a fieldwork placement in occupational health. However, sufficient placements are not always available. A new fieldwork program attempts to meet this need. Three groups of students conducted risk assessments throughout the academic year, with generally positive results. Students enjoyed the self-directed nature of the placement and the opportunity to learn generic and occupational health related skills. Although there were some limitations to the program, we believe that fieldwork placements met the learning needs of second-year students and offered them an excellent opportunity to gain practical experience related to occupational health practice in prevention.
K E Y W O R D S fieldwork, occupational health, self-directed learning.
Occupational therapists provide support to children with special learning needs and their families during the child's transition from early childhood to mainstream school. Little has been documented regarding the role and experiences of occupational therapists working with children, families and teachers during transition in an Australian context. Six paediatric occupational therapists from one geographical area in New South Wales were interviewed and asked to relay their role and experiences when providing a service to children with special learning needs during their transition to school. Participants described their role to include: preparing the child for school; working with school personnel; and providing parental support. Although participants described both positive and negative experiences, among the negative experiences were: limited time to provide a service; recommendations to school personnel not being followed; school personnel not being supportive; feeling uncomfortable in the classroom; and limited involvement in planning. Participants described a role which is consistent with current school-based occupational therapy practice; however, in the participants' experience, there was a gap between the ideal service and what participants were able to provide. This included limited collaboration with teachers.
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