Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Education: Value and Purpose

Abstract

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).

Analysis of Occupational Therapy Students’ Pedagogical Practices for the Forging of Professional Identity and Development of Professional Intelligence: A Scoping Review

“…Learning is essential in students’ transition ( Commission on Education, American Occupational Therapy Association 2009 ), and our results indicate that the development of occupational therapy professional knowledge and skills were the most addressed components of professional identity forging. This shows a discipline that emphasises the process of learning a role to create professionals with strong identities ( Benner 2011 ; Davis 2006 ) with skills to cope with different environments that could arise ( Sternberg 2021b ).…”

‘I left feeling different about myself’: What students learn on their first practice placement

“…The categories of learning about the profession and practices are both logical and anticipated, as they are reflected in the entry level occupational therapy core knowledge and practice skills (Brzykcy et al, 2016;RCOT, 2016). Apply knowledge of underpinning theoretical and philosophical concepts in safe and effective Occupational Therapy practice.…”

Student Perceptions of Growth-Facilitating and Growth-Constraining Factors of Practice Placements: A Comparison between Japanese and United Kingdom Occupational Therapy Students

“…Some studies have focused on the process of building occupational therapy students' independence and responsibility through fieldwork models [20, 21]. These new forms of practice placement are aimed at improving students' moral responsibility to their clients [22] by incorporating elements of autonomous discussion and peer support, as compared with the traditional one-to-one student-supervisor interactions. Although nontraditional models of practice placements' education have been used for more than 20 years, a perception remains that these types of experiences are inferior to traditional placements [3].…”