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Document Type (Journals)

Original Research

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence fieldwork educator support has on stress, burnout, and self-efficacy, and examine how both students and fieldwork educators support student psychosocial well-being and protective factors during Level II fieldwork (FWII). An explanatory sequential mixed method design was used, including a student cross-sectional survey (n=129) followed by one student (n=5) and two fieldwork educator focus groups (n=12). Outcome measures utilized for the cross-sectional survey included the Perceived Stress Scale, self-developed Perceived Fieldwork Educator Support Questionnaire, Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, and New General Self-Efficacy Scale. Results showed that statistically significant correlations existed among perceived fieldwork educator support and the following: stress (r=-0.443, p<.01), self-efficacy (r=0.221, p<.05), and burnout (r=-0.468, p<.01). Findings of this study demonstrate that greater perceived fieldwork educator support was linked to lower stress, lower burnout, and greater self-efficacy. Themes identified included factors that influenced fieldwork student well-being during FWII; roles perceptions and expectations affected experiential education success; communication was key for promoting student well-being and collaborative relationships; and opportunities to improve experiential education. Protective factors preventing the development of stress and burnout for students included high self-efficacy and perceived fieldwork educator support. Results from this study can assist fieldwork coordinators and fieldwork sites with program development that promotes student psychosocial well-being and supportive relationship building between students and fieldwork educators during FWII.

Biography

Grace V. Perry, OTD, MS, OTR/L, BCPR is an occupational therapy practitioner for Kaweah Health Rehabilitation Hospital in Visalia, CA. She treats adult clients with a variety of neuro-muscular and physical impairments, including SCI, post-stroke, amputation, and TBI. She earned her post-professional doctorate in August of 2023 from Creighton University. She earned her Master’s degree in 2015 from East Carolina University. Her research interests are varied, including technology, clinical education, functional cognition, and chronic disease management.

Katherine F. Varughese, OTD, OTR/L is an occupational therapist at the Valley Health Specialty Hospital in Las Vegas, NV. She graduated with her post-professional occupational therapy doctorate (POTD) in May 2024. Her doctoral research project and capstone focused on student psychosocial well-being during fieldwork from the student and fieldwork educator perspectives.

Dr. Yongyue Qi, PhD, MS is an associate professor in the Occupational Therapy Department at Creighton University. He teaches Critical Analysis of Occupational Therapy Practice in the entry-level OTD program. His expertise is in the fields of research design and quantitative data analysis.

Dr. Cary Moore, PhD, OTR/L is the Associate Dean for Clinical Health Sciences in the College of Health at University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). Dr. Moore also serves as Chair of the Center for Interprofessional Education at UAA.

Dr. Vanessa Jewell, PhD, OTR/L is an associate professor in the Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and the Director of the Diabetes Research & Wellness Lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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