Fieldwork News: Past, Present, Future!

PAST: 

Thank you to all who came out to our Fieldwork Appreciation Events in Saskatoon and Edmonton in the last few weeks.  It was so much fun to celebrate our clinical community and have a chance to express our appreciation.  We hope to plan similar events in other cities in the future. 

PRESENT:  

Level I placements still needed!!! 

We are still looking for a large number of placements for our Level 1 students from May 15-June 30.  These students are especially keen and excited to have their first opportunity to actively participate in occupational therapy service.  The general caseload expectation is approximately 25% of caseload with moderate to maximal assist, the focus is on applying academic knowledge, and  the supervision style is focused on 'teaching'. While we obviously want students to have lots of client contact, because there is a lower expectation for independence, it is reasonable to provide students with extra time and structured opportunities to engage in self-directed learning or practice.  Here are some ideas to engage student's while preceptors are completing their own activities:

• perform chart review, practice charting
• prepare notes for brief verbal report (rounds)
• complete an occupational profile on a client (even if you don't know what's involved in that, the student should!)
• spend time exploring relevant cultural competency resources such as spending time with an Elder or Aboriginal Helper,  or simply having discussions with clients about their culture and it's impact on occupational performance. 
• research community resources and partners
• research a diagnosis, lab result or diagnostic test and relate to occupational performance
• review medication list and identify potential influence on occupational performance
• shadow OT in another area, identify similarities and differences
• spend time with support personnel and discuss assignment and delegation principles
• shadow interprofessional team members and identify overlapping and unique scope of practice
• complete a project or deliver a presentation that supports learning objectives (no more than 5% of placement time)
• spend time becoming familiar with equipment, materials, resources (adjust some wheelchairs, play with splinting scraps, sew a sling!)

If you feel you can support a student at this time or want to discuss options please contact Michele Green <mgreen@ualberta.ca> or Cherie Henderson  cherie.henderson@ualberta.ca 

FUTURE: 

Rehab Med Family Fun Day & Calgary Open House

Join us for a FREE family event for people of all ages to learn what physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists and rehabilitation scientists do! PLUS an opportunity for prospective students to tour the Calgary satellite site, learn more about MSc Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy programs, and see our ‘double robot’ in action!

Saturday, April 8, 2017

2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. 

Calgary Downtown Campus 

Floor 3, 906-8 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2P 1H9

Register by March 31 at: registration

Fieldwork Community Appreciation Event

We are pleased to host past, present, and future supporters of our MScOT students to the following Pub Nights:

Saskatoon - March 9th, 4:30-6:30 at Mano's on 8th st E

Edmonton - March 15, 5:00-7:00 at Canadian Brewhouse on 109 street/104 avenue

Drop in anytime for appetizers, soft drinks and prizes.

Please RSVP to cherie.henderson@ualberta.ca

Celebrating Preceptor Excellence

I was so happy to attend the SAOT AGM last week and see some of our excellent preceptors recognized with the SAOT Clinical Preceptor Award.  There were four recipients this year:

Mary Henry from the Royal Alexandra Hospital

Mary Henry with SAOT's Laura Budzak

Gary Rowland and Anthony Goodwin of Halvar Jonson Centre for Brain Injury 

Gary and Anthony with their former students Priyanka Vergis and Taylor Guy

Also recognized was Nicole Bretzer of Shepherd's Care Foundation.

Congratulations to these four and thank you for providing excellent mentorship to our students!

Happy New Year!

We head into Winter Term with quiet halls as our Year Two students are out on their OccTh 526 (Level 2) placements.  The U of A students are represented from coast to coast from Prince George, BC to Saint John, NB.  We are also pleased to be hosting students from Australia, U of M, Western, Queens, Dalhousie and the Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres to Alberta and Saskatchewan!  It is truly a collaborative effort to coordinate national and international placements and it all hinges on our great clinical community, so thank you!

For the U of A MScOT students, Level 2 placements are where they start to transition from "Knowledge Application" to "Reflection in Action".  They can not only make a plan for an assessment or intervention but also start to evaluate how and why things unfolded the way they did.  It can take students a while to wrap their heads around the fact that there may be more than one 'correct' answer and path to supporting our clients in participating in meaningful occupations. Preceptors start to move from 'teaching' to 'coaching' and can encourage students to come up with their own theories, providing input and suggestions they may not have considered.  There are several good preceptor resources on our Clinical Education section of the U of A OT Department website [ click here ].   Stay tuned for information on Preceptor Workshops later this spring!

Finally, it may seem like a long way away but we have begun to plan for spring and summer placements for the following courses:

• OccTh 525 (Level 1 - Year 1):  May 15-June 30, 2017 (7 weeks)
• OccTh 527 (Level 3A - Year 2):  July 4-August 18 (7 weeks).  These dates can be adjusted to accommodate preceptor holidays. 

If you would like to offer or discuss the possibility of having an OT student, please contact a member of our Clinical Education Team [ Contact information  ]

Stay warm, enjoy some winter activities (be that skiing or curling up in front of the fire!), and give us a call if you have anything you would like to discuss! 

Student-Led Clinic showcases unique learning 

opportunities for MScOT students

This month, the Faculty of Rehab Medicine communications department highlighted the work of Jillian Quigley at the Vi Riddell Children's Pain and Rehab Centre at Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary.  This placement allows groups of students to participate in a student lead multi-disciplinary learning environment.  Please click here to see the entire article.  

The Department of Occupational Therapy's Jutta Hinrichs and Cori Schmitz pose with Jillian Quigley (centre) in Banff where Quigley received the ​CAOT Fieldwork Educator Award of Excellence for the Student-Led Program in Calgary. (Photo Credit: Lili Liu)

Thank you to Jillian for her tremendous work with our students!

Students report back on their 

Introductory Fieldwork Placements

After fun and busy Introductory Fieldwork placement October 31-November 4, our first year students were back in class this week and gave brief reports on their experiences to their peers.  Placements ranged across Alberta and Saskatchewan and just about every area of practice (hospital,home care, community, schools, WCB).  The students were thrilled and we loved hearing how excited they were to experience Occupational Therapy in action.  These experiences really gave the students a sense of how clinical reasoning, ethical considerations, client centered practice and interprofessional collaboration look in practice.  Here are a few of the comments that students had:

• My preceptor was like a 'detective'.  I was amazed at how she problem solved and found the right answer for this client.  
• It was really neat to see how the team worked together and the respect the OT was given in terms of discharge recommendations. 
• It was so cool how my preceptor worked with this client - she empathized, collaborated, educated all in the matter of one visit.
• I never thought I would be interested in this area of practice but it was really interesting and I have a totally different perception now.  
• It was true what we were told about practicing in a small town.  I did know several of the clients we talked about.  It made me much more aware of confidentiality. 
•  There were so many ethical considerations.  My preceptor had to negotiate conflict between client and family, different teams, etc.
• It was so cool!  I had no idea OT was involved in that area.
• It was amazing how my preceptor 'heard everything' the client said and acknowledged it. I was so busy looking at the chart, I don't know how she can do it all at once!
• It was a real 'confidence booster' to get to try a few things with clients and figure out I can do this!

Sam and Julia with their preceptor Jonathan Rivero of Qi Creative

Thank you to all of you who supported the students as they put their toes in the "OT waters" for the first time.  It was a great week for everyone and will help them so much as they move forward with their program!  

The OT Students gOT Spirit!

Once again,  our OT student Professional Development Committee has put together a great submission for OT Month Challenge.  Their aim is to promote how meaningful OTs are to their clients and community.  

The video is available on FaceBook   click here to view

If you are connected on Facebook, please like and share the original post to get the word out to the OT community.  The submission that gets the most "likes" on Facebook will be the winner of the challenge and receive a prize.  Our students have already identified two worthy charities to donate the prize to.  

Congratulations to the students and we hope you enjoy!

Introductory Placements October 31-November 4

As our students are well into the fall term and we are all feeling like winter is here, the Fieldwork Team would like to take a moment to wish all of you a Happy OT Month! I know many sites will be having their own celebrations and here at Corbett the students are making a video celebrating OT -  I had my "close up" today! Here's to celebrating our great profession and the work we do!

Thank you so much for the overwhelming response to our call for offers for the Introductory Placements for our Year 1's from Oct. 31-November 4.   

The purpose of this early exposure to OT practice is three-fold: 

1. Opportunity for students to witness and participate in real, live OT practice and confirm their interest in our profession.

 2. Opportunity for students to gain basic knowledge about the OT role in a particular practice setting and create a context for OT practice that can be built on during classroom learning.

3. Opportunity for students to demonstrate professionalism, engagement and begin practicing their therapeutic use of self.

There are no 'caseload' expectations for this placement but throughout the placement students are expected to be engaged, eager learners who demonstrate basic time management skills and the ability to communicate appropriately with clients and colleagues. At some point during the placement, student must establish therapeutic rapport with at least one client and by the end of the placement they must articulate to their preceptor what occupational therapy is and explain the role for OT in this particular practice setting. 

We hope those of you who have students at your sites find them eager and engaged and that they remind you of your own excitement about Occupational Therapy. 

Happy Occupational Therapy Month!