Educator Resources

• Steps to Starting a Fieldwork Program
• Recommended Content for a Student Fieldwork Manual
• Strategies for Creative Fieldwork Opportunities
• Site-Specific Objectives
• Fieldwork Educators Certificate Workshop

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• Level I Fieldwork Objectives (PDF)
• Level I Fieldwork Professional Development FEEDBACK (PDF)
• Level II Fieldwork Objectives (PDF)
• Performance Evaluation in Level II Fieldwork: Policy for Addressing Performance Deficits (PDF)

General Fieldwork Experience and Tips

Grenier, M.-L. (2015). Facilitators and barriers to learning in occupational therapy fieldwork education: Student perspectives. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 69(Supplement 2), 6912185070p1-6912185070p9. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2015.015180

Herzberg, G. L. (1994). The successful fieldwork student: Supervisor perceptions. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 48(9), 817-823. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.48.9.817

Hoffer Nash, B., & Witt Mitchell, A. (2017). Longitudinal study of changes in occupational therapy students’ perspectives on frames of reference. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71(5), 7105230010p1-7105230010p7. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2017.024455

Kramer, P., & Stern, K. (1995). Approaches to improving student performance on fieldwork. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 49(2), 156-159. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.49.2.156

Mickan, S. M. (1995). Student preparation for paediatric fieldwork. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 58(6), 239-244. https://doi.org/10.1177/030802269505800604

Ozelie, R., Janow, J., Kreutz, C., Mulry, M. K., & Penkala, A. (2015). Supervision of occupational therapy level II fieldwork students: Impact on and predictors of clinician productivity. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 69(1), 6901260010p1-6901260010p7. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2015.013532

Vogel, K. A., Oxford Grice, K., Hill, S., & Moody, J. (2004). Supervisor and student expectations of level II fieldwork. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 18(1-2), 5-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/J003v18n01_02

Clinical Reasoning

Barker Schwartz, K. (1991). Clinical reasoning and new ideas on intelligence: Implications for teaching and learning. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 45(11), 1033-1037. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.45.11.1033

Coster, W., & Schwarz, L. (2004). Facilitating transfer of evidence-based practice into practice. Education Special Interest Section Quarterly, 14(2), 1-3. Full text (requires AOTA membership)

de Beer, M., & Mårtensson, L. (2015). Feedback on students’ clinical reasoning skills during fieldwork education. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 62(4), 255-264. https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.12208

Neistadt, M. E. (1996). Teaching strategies for the development of clinical reasoning. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 50(8), 676-684. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.50.8.676

Rogers, J. C. (1982). Teaching clinical reasoning for practice in geriatrics. Physical and Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, 1(3), 29-37. https://doi.org/10.1080/J148V01N03_02

Stube, J. E., & Jedlicka, J. S. (2007). The acquisition and integration of evidence-based practice concepts by occupational therapy students. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61(1), 53-61. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.61.1.53

Service Learning/Emerging Practice Settings

Gat, S., & Ratzon, N. Z. (2014). Comparison of occupational therapy students’ perceived skills after traditional and nontraditional fieldwork. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(2), e47-e54. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2014.007732

Lau, C. (2016). Impact of a child-based health promotion service-learning project on the growth of occupational therapy students. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 70(5), 7005180030p1-7005180030p10. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2016.021527

Mattila, A. M., & Dolhi, C. (2016) Transformative experience of master of occupational therapy students in a non-traditional fieldwork setting. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 32(1), 16-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/0164212X.2015.1088424

Parmenter, V., & Thomas, H. (2015). WOW! Occupational therapy education and experiential service learning through community volunteering. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 78(4), 241-252. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308022614563945

Talero, P., Kern, S. B., & Tupé, D. A. (2015). Culturally responsive care in occupational therapy: An entry-level educational model embedded in service-learning. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 22(2), 95-102. https://doi.org/10.3109/11038128.2014.997287

Fieldwork Challenges

Everly, J. S., Poff, D. W., Lamport, N., Hamant, C., & Alvey, G. (1994). Perceived stressors and coping strategies of occupational therapy students. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 48(11), 1022-1028. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.48.11.1022

Gutman, S. A., McCreedy, P., & Heisler, P. (1998). Student level II fieldwork failure: Strategies for intervention. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 52(2), 143-149. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.52.2.143

James, K. L., & Musselman, L. (2006) Commonalities in level II fieldwork failure. Occupational Therapy In Health Care, 19(4), 67-81. https://doi.org/10.1080/J003v19n04_05

Mitchell, M. M., & Kampfe, C. M. (1990). Coping strategies used by occupational therapy students during fieldwork: An exploratory study. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 44(6), 543-550. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.44.6.543

Nicola-Richmond, K., Butterworth, B., & Hitch, D. (2017). What factors contribute to failure of fieldwork placement? Perspectives of supervisors and university fieldwork educators. World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin, 73(2), 117-124. https://doi.org/10.1080/14473828.2016.1149981

Resources for Transitioning from Fieldwork to Worker

Crowe, M. J., & Mackenzie, L. (2002). The influence of fieldwork on the preferred future practice areas of final year occupational therapy students. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 49(1), 25-36. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.0045-0766.2001.00276.x

Evenson, M. E. (2009). Fieldwork: The transition from student to professional. In E. B. Crepeau, E. S. Cohn, & B. A. B. Schell (Eds.), Willard & Spackman’s occupational therapy (11th ed., pp. 252-261). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Evenson, M. E. (2014). Fieldwork and professional entry. In B. A. B. Schell, G. Gillen, & M. E. Scaffa (Eds.), Willard & Spackman’s occupational therapy (12th ed., pp. 974-988). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Mulholland, S., & Derdall, M. (2004). Exploring what employers seek when hiring occupational therapists. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71(4), 223-229. https://doi.org/10.1177/000841740407100407

Tryssenaar, J., & Perkins, J. (2001). From student to therapist: Exploring the first year of practice. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 55(1), 19-27. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.55.1.19

Professionalism

Campbell, M. K., Corpus, K., Wussow, T. M., Plummer, T., Gibbs, D., & Hix, S. (2015). Fieldwork educators’ perspectives: Professional behavior attributes of level II fieldwork students. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 3(4), 7. https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.1146

Other

Edwards, M., Gentry, A., Showalter, M., & Thomas, H. (2015). Occupation-based practice as experienced by occupational therapy students during level II fieldwork. Education Special Interest Section Quarterly, 25(2), 1-4. Full text (requires AOTA login)

Moyers, P. A., & Metzler, C. A. (2014). Interprofessional collaborative practice in care coordination. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(5), 500-505. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2014.685002

Rogers, A. T., Bai, G., Lavin, R. A., & Anderson, G. F. (2017). Higher hospital spending on occupational therapy is associated with lower readmission rates. Medical Care Research and Review, 74(6), 668-686. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077558716666981

Stutz-Tanenbaum, P., & Hooper, B. (2009). Creating congruence between identities as a fieldwork educator and a practitioner. Education Special Interest Section Quarterly, 19(2), 1-4. Full text (requires AOTA login)

Fieldwork Books

Costa, D. M. (Ed.) (2004). Essential guide to occupational therapy fieldwork education: Resources for educators and practitioners (2nd ed.). Bethesda, MD: AOTA Press. Buy from publisher

Napier, B. (2011). Occupational therapy fieldwork survival guide: A student planner (2nd ed.). Bethesda, MD: AOTA Press. Buy from publisher

Sladyk, K. (2002). The successful occupational therapy fieldwork student. Thorofare, NJ: Slack. Buy from publisher