Convocation 2022

CONGRATULATIONS to all our newest MScOT graduates!

Your hard work and perseverance paid off and we welcome you to our OT family.

Erin Geeraert won the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine OT Student Clinical Education Award for this cohort for her consistent exceptional engagement and performance across all fieldwork courses. 

Bravo, Erin!

And here's a spotlight on a couple more ...

When Christine Wagner began her master’s in occupational therapy, she knew relatively little about the profession, other than its vast scope. But the new MSc graduate quickly fell in love with the complexity and connections involved in the work, as well as its roots in social justice.

For the full interview click here.

Occupational therapy grad strives for a community where everyone can thrive. Juanita Gnanapragasam plans to use her career to help people achieve good health and wellness.

For the full article click here.

New Grad OT Profiled in RHPAP's Rural Health Beat

 Noelannah Neubauer is a new grad OT practicing in Lacombe AB. 

Click here to read a profile of her in this month's RHPAP's Rural Health Beat.

Always inspiring to find out that a rural fieldwork placement sparks an early career in rural practice!

Call for Offers for Spring & Summer Placements

OCCTH 525 for our Year 2 students is underway with a few scheduling changes in order to 'roll with' the continuing pandemic realities and the variant surge. 

Thank you to all the OTs involved in fieldwork for your flexibility!

Throughout the pandemic, we have been proceeding with OT fieldwork placements in AB, SK and NWT where/whenever possible, including placements that are entirely or partially virtual. We recognize that each fieldwork site continues to have its own realities, challenges and protocols/procedures. 

Please consider offering a fieldwork placement for the following spring and summer sessions: 

Year 1/Level 1 May 16 - June 30, 2022 (7 weeks)

Year 2/Level 2 July 4 - August 19, 2022 (or any 7 weeks between June 20 and Sept 2)

Contact otclined@ualberta.ca if willing and available.

We hope at least a few of you Alberta OTs got your hands on one of these cozy SAOT toques to get your through the remaining weeks of winter!

We appreciate your consideration and ongoing support!

Happy Holidays from the UofA MScOT Fieldwork Team

 

Thank you for having done so much over so many pandemic months to support our OT students!

Wishing you rest and calm and connection over the holidays.

Calgary-based MScOT Sessional Instructor Named Top 40 Under 40

Samantha Lowe is a sessional instructor within our MScOT program and, for many years, has supervised multiple fieldwork placements at The Mustard Seed in Calgary.

Earlier this year, Samantha was awarded the CAOT 2020 Fieldwork Educator of the Year for our University of Alberta catchment area. 

Now she has been named a Avenue Magazine Calgary Top 40 Under 40 for 2021!

Read the article about Samantha Lowe here.

Congratulations, Samantha! Thank you for teaching and mentoring so many MScOT students! 

Halloween Antics & Year 3 Students in the Home Stretch

October is over and November is upon us!

It was a necessarily subdued Halloween celebration around Corbett Hall here in Edmonton but a number of students and staff still dressed up, including our hard-working but fun-loving FRM Clinical Education Administration staff ...

Then this encouraging coach (Brett Y1) showed up at my office door ...

Before joining his team (Y1 classmates) in front of Corbett Hall ...

And at our FRM Calgary satellite campus the faculty/staff coordinated yet another impressive team effort ...

FYI Inside Out is a fun, and surprisingly informative, resource that is often referenced during our in-class MScOT discussions re: therapeutic use of self! And Ted Lasso ... well, it's just a lovely show.

OCCTH 528 begins this month with our Year 3 students in the 'home stretch' for the final placement within their pandemic-extended MScOT program. They are excited to be with you 'in the field' across AB and SK and complete this final educational step toward becoming an OT! 

THANK YOU for supporting their learning!

Happy World OT Day 2021!

 

World OT Day Resources are available online.

Thanks to the hard-working, dedicated, passionate OTs in our Alberta, Saskatchewan and NWT communities for doing what you do and helping to educate future OTs too!

Orange Shirt Day and National Day for Truth & Reconciliation - September 30 2021

Second year occupational therapy students enrolled in our UofA MScOT Indigenous Focus prepared this short video as well as a link to an editable resource document where you can learn more, take action and add additional resources.

National Day for Truth & Reconciliation (UofA) initiatives, stories and events.

'Postcards' From the Field

We encouraged our Level 2 students to share some of the experiences they had during their summer fieldwork placements.

We always enjoy seeing their diverse practice areas and locations and also hearing how excited they are to apply their knowledge and skills in the real world! 

Here are a few of the 'postcards' we received ...

Amanda celebrating the place-making project that she co-created in collaboration with Recreation Therapy during her placement with Transition Housing & Recovery (Kentwood) in Red Deer.

Maxine demonstrating splint making skills during her hand therapy placement with Community Accessible Rehabilitation (North) in Calgary.

Annelies actually standing 'in the field' during her rural pediatric placement with Children's Allied Health Services in Lethbridge and area.

River playing with her favourite therapeutic toys during her pediatric placement at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton.

It's now September and this same cohort of students have begun their first of two back-to-back Level 3 placements. 

Thank you to all the OTs have supervised and supported fieldwork placements in recent months!

Pandemic Perseverance & the End of Summer Placements

Most summer fieldwork placements are wrapping up this week.

Our enormous gratitude and awe goes out to all the OTs who've stepped up and supervised students during the 18 months of this pandemic!

I have now returned to my UofA office and this collection on my door ...

Keep Calm and Place [or Supervise!] Students

It's Chaos. Be Kind. 

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

We thank you.

Summertime & OCCTH 526

Welcome to summertime!

Our Year 2 students are currently in the field with many of you across Alberta and Saskatchewan completing their Level 2 placement. Thank you for hosting and mentoring their practical learning!

We are in the final stages of recruiting fall 2021 placements and are so appreciative of all the effort and commitment demonstrated by AB and SK OTs over the lengthy pandemic period to 'pivot' and find a way to continue supervising OT students, in person or virtually!

We hope the summer re-openings give everyone a chance to reconnect with those who matter most!

With gratitude,

Your MScOT Fieldwork Team

https://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-summer-summer-solstice#

OTPDC Virtual Conference 2021

Fall 2021 Fieldwork Placement Recruitment

Thank you to all the OTs in Alberta, Saskatchewan and beyond who have continued to supervise our students amidst ongoing pandemic circumstances! 

We greatly appreciate the number of offers that we received for OCCTH 526/Level 2 set to begin in mid-June. Students have now been matched to those offers and are appreciative, keen and very excited to be joining you across a remarkably diverse 'field' of OT practice!

We have necessarily adjusted our UofA MScOT fieldwork schedule for 2021 to cope with ongoing pandemic realities.

Please consider offering fieldwork placements for the 2021 fall placement sessions:

OCCTH 527, Level 3a:  September 7 - October 22, 2021 (or alternatively September 13 - October 29)

OCCTH 528, Level 3b/FINAL:  November 1 - December 17, 2021 (7 weeks)

Please send us your placement offers by June 1 for either session but especially for the Sept/Oct session.

You can do this by contacting our Clinical Education Administrator directly or via the typical process used by your site/practice (HSPnet, etc).

otclined@ualberta.ca

We really appreciate your contribution to OT student education!

End of OCCTH 525 & Preceptor Appreciation

Spring is just starting to show herself and OCCTH 525 has wrapped up for most Year 2/Level 1 students.

Thank you to ALL the OTs in Alberta and Saskatchewan who have continued to supervise students amidst ongoing pandemic circumstances. Every placement counts and you were each a part of the solution as we necessarily juggled placement periods in recent months!

Formal appreciation letters have been sent directly via email to the OTs who supervised students between June-Dec 2020. 

By the end of March, appreciation letters will also be sent directly via email to OTs who have supervised students since the beginning of 2021.

Please check your inboxes (including junk mail) and let us know if you should have received an appreciation letter and have not!

otclined@ualberta.ca

Each letter is personalized in PDF format so it can be saved and/or printed for your professional record. These letters can also be submitted as evidence of continuing competency activity should you choose to make student supervision a practice goal from year to year.

We really appreciate your contribution to MScOT fieldwork!

Happy New Year & Update re: 2021 Fieldwork Schedule

The UofA Department of OT respects and greatly appreciates the ongoing commitment and effort being demonstrated by individuals and agencies in order to provide occupational therapy services, including student placements, during these unprecedented circumstances.

Since June 2020, we have been proceeding with OT fieldwork placements in AB and SK where/whenever possible. With COVID-19 realities and responses escalating again recently, we have continued to consult with fieldwork sites/partners throughout our catchment area (AB, SK and the NWT) and have decided to proactively cancel the 2021 spring fieldwork session (for first year students) but continue with the 2021 summer fieldwork session.

By focusing our recruiting efforts on the placement needs of our second year cohort, who are approaching graduation, we are intentionally removing some pressure from the OT community who have ‘rallied’ to support us for many months straight during 2020.

Given these changes, the OT fieldwork schedule for 2021 is anticipated be as follows:

• OCCTH 525, Level 1 (Year 2 students): January 4 - February 19, 2021 (or any 7 weeks between January 4 - April 2)

• OCCTH 526, Level 2 (Year 2 students): June 28 - August 13, 2021 (or any 7 weeks between June 14 and August 27)

• OCCTH 527, Level 3a (Year 3 students): September 7 - October 22, 2021 (or September 13 - October 29)

• OCCTH 528, Level 3b (Year 3 students): November 1 - December 17, 2021

In January OCCTH 525 will be underway and we will be focused on recruiting placement offers for OCCTH 526 to occur during Summer 2021.

We recognize that each site continues to have their own realities, challenges and protocols/procedures in relation to this pandemic. The safety of therapists and students and the safety of clients served by occupational therapy in our AB, SK and NWT communities continues to be our top priority. We continue to revise and use our FRM Guidelines for Clinical/Fieldwork Placements During COVID-19 Pandemic to guide the process of site-screening, student screening and student preparation re: the completion of fieldwork during a pandemic.

If your OT practice is ready, and you are willing to support fieldwork placements during the pandemic, please contact the Department of OT:

otclined@ualberta.ca

We are very grateful for your ongoing support of our program and our students!

We wish you a happy and healthy new year!

Happy Holidays from the UofA MScOT Fieldwork Team!

With the overwhelming support of Alberta and Saskatchewan OTs, and the various health regions across both provinces, an impressive range of fieldwork placements occurred for our Year 3 students during fall 2020.

Your commitment to being involved in their clinical education, despite fluctuating pandemic circumstances, ensured that these students continued learning and were able to complete their MScOT program by December ... so they can become our newest colleagues in 2021!

Stay safe and continue to take care of yourself, your clients, and your loved ones during these strangest of times.

Hopefully, we will all find new and creative ways to enjoy the holidays!

C J M & D

World OT Day & OT Month!

Join WFOT in celebrating World OT Day 2020!

Join CAOT in promoting OT Month in Canada!

Our sincere thanks to all the AB, SK and NWT OTs who offer fieldwork placements session to session and support the education of our UofA OT students ... the future of our dynamic profession!

UofA MScOT Fieldwork Update re: COVID-19 Pandemic

The UofA Department of OT respects and greatly appreciates the continued commitment and effort being demonstrated by occupational therapists in order to provide health and social services during these unprecedented circumstances.

With the overwhelming support of Alberta and Saskatchewan OTs, and the various health regions across both provinces, an impressive range of fieldwork placements for our Year 3 (senior) students are proceeding where possible:

• Level 3a - mid-June to October 2020
• Level 3b - September to December 2020

Alternate or overlapping schedules, as well as creative supervision and practice models, are being used when necessary. Many placements are engaging students and preceptors in tele-rehabilitation and virtual/remote service provision.

At this point, we have finished matching Year 3 students students to placements. Our students are thrilled and very appreciative to have these opportunities to learn and work in healthcare and social services so they can complete the final steps on their path to graduation!

We are now focused on recruiting placement offers for:

• OCCTH 525, Level 1 (Year 2 students): January 4 - February 19, 2021 (7 weeks) - RESCHEDULED from Spring 2020

These Year 2 students will have completed x3 terms of classroom-based MScOT curriculum, including the core pediatric course and all the mental health coursework. They have been waiting patiently for their first full-time placement experience and will be very keen to join you, apply their knowledge, and get involved in OT service provision during a pandemic!

If your OT practice is ready, and you are willing to support fieldwork placements in the new year, please contact us:

otclined@ualberta.ca

Our department and fieldwork team would like to offer our sincere gratitude to the OT communities in Alberta and Saskatchewan for the many placements that are underway and or scheduled for the remainder of 2020.

We couldn’t have accomplished this without you!

UofA MScOT Fieldwork Update re: COVID-19 Pandemic

The UofA Department of OT respects and greatly appreciates the commitment and effort being demonstrated by individuals and agencies in order to provide healthcare and social services, including occupational therapy, during these unprecedented circumstances.

With the overwhelming support of Alberta and Saskatchewan OTs, and the various health regions across both provinces, fieldwork placements for our third year (senior) students are proceeding where possible:

• Level 3a - mid-June to October 2020
• Level 3b - September to December 2020

Alternate or overlapping schedules, as well as creative supervision and practice models, are being used when necessary. Many placements are engaging students and preceptors in tele-rehabilitation and virtual/remote service provision.

Our students are thrilled and very appreciative to have these opportunities to learn and work in the healthcare and social services so they can complete the final steps on their path to graduation!

At this point, we are focused on recruiting placement offers for OCCTH 528 (Level 3b) for Nov 2 - Dec 18.

If your OT practice is ready, and you are willing, to support fieldwork placements during the pandemic, please contact the Department of OT:

otclined@ualberta.ca

Our department and fieldwork team would like to offer our sincere gratitude to the OT communities in Alberta and Saskatchewan for the many placements that are underway and have already been offered for the remainder of 2020.

Your response has been tremendous!

UofA MScOT Fieldwork Update re: COVID-19 Pandemic

The UofA Department of OT respects and greatly appreciates the commitment and effort being demonstrated by individuals and agencies in order to provide healthcare and social services, including occupational therapy, during these unprecedented circumstances.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we were unable to schedule fieldwork placements for first year OT students during spring term (postponed until Jan/Feb 2021) but fieldwork placements for second year OT students are proceeding where possible using a revised schedule:

• Level 3a - mid-June to end of August 
• Level 3a/DUPLICATE - September 8 to October 30 (any 7 weeks)
• Level 3b/FINAL - Nov 2 to Dec 18 (7 weeks) 

Offers are still needed for the Level 3a/DUPLICATE and Level 3b/FINAL placements this fall.

If your OT practice is ready, and you are willing, to support fieldwork placements during the pandemic, please contact the Department of OT:

otclined@ualberta.ca

Our department and fieldwork team would like to offer their sincere gratitude to the OT communities in Alberta and Saskatchewan for the many placements that have already been offered for Level 3a this summer. Your response has been tremendous!