Experiential Learning to Advance Student Readiness for Level II Fieldwork

Wendy P. Goldbach, Concordia University, Mequon WisconsinFollow
Tiffany C. Stella, Concordia University WisconsinFollow

Document Type (Journals)

Educational Innovations

Abstract

Occupational therapy (OT) students question their readiness for Level II fieldwork prior to their first placement. Many request more hands-on experiences with clients during their coursework, in preparation for the practice setting. As part of a two year Master of Occupational Therapy program, a fourth semester course was designed to address readiness for fieldwork and engage students in the OT process with actual volunteer clients. This course utilized the primary components of a clinical setting: client interaction, evaluation, intervention and outcomes review, clinical decision making, documentation, and communication, to promote student proficiencies as clinicians in preparation for fieldwork experiences. Weekly student reflections, survey data, and exit interviews identified that the experience was a highly valuable process that aided participants in their readiness to practice as student clinicians. This paper will describe the experiential learning course design, the learning methods used and the outcomes as identified by student perceptions of the impact on their learning and readiness for fieldwork.

Biography

Wendy Goldbach, OTD, MEd, OTR, CHT has a doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Temple University and is an assistant professor in the Occupational Therapy Department at Concordia University, Wisconsin. Wendy was a private practice occupational therapist before entering academia 9 years ago. Tiffany Stella, MOTS is a Master's of Occupational Therapy Student at Concordia University, Wisconsin. Tiffany completed a bachelor's degree in kinesiology with a minor in gerontology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and is a member of the national occupational therapy honors society, Pi Theta Epsilon.

Declaration of Interest

We declare that there is no conflict of interest to disclose.

Recommended Citation

Goldbach, W. P., & Stella, T. C. (2017). Experiential Learning to Advance Student Readiness for Level II Fieldwork. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 1 (1). https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2017.010103