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Occupational Therapy Fieldwork

What is fieldwork?

AIC’s MSOT Fieldwork program matches students with a variety of field placements both within the greater Springfield area and throughout the nation. The Fieldwork office has over 1400 existing affiliations and community partners. Each student is prepared through a developmental progression of classroom-based learning, labs, guided observations, competencies, case simulations, and integrated clinical experiences in order to best serve individuals, groups, communities, and populations.

Level I Fieldwork

Level I Fieldwork is embedded into the curriculum to enhance classroom knowledge about various aspects of the OT process. Engagement in fieldwork experiences encourages students to exemplify the professional values and behaviors of leadership, integrity, and social consciousness as well as to further explore concepts of access, opportunity, diversity, belonging, and community consistent with the institution’s core values. Throughout Level I fieldwork, students will refine their skills in observation, group dynamics, evaluation, planning, implementation, rapport building, and advocacy. Level I fieldwork greatly exceeds the minimum accreditation standards with students logging over ​_ hours of fieldwork experience, providing a solid foundation for professional competency.

The Level I Fieldwork experience is designed to enrich didactic coursework through directed observation and participation in selected aspects of the occupational therapy process. In addition, it provides opportunity for students to demonstrate professional behavior and to develop interpersonal skills including understanding and respect for diversity and effective communication.

  1. Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior
  2. Comply with administrative policies & procedures specific to site
  3. Exhibit communication skills demonstrating respect for supervision
  4. Exhibit interpersonal skills demonstrating effective communication and respect for diversity with clients and service providers alike
  5. Demonstrate ability to develop and report occupational profile of clients
  6. Identify and analyze facilitators and barriers to clients’ occupational performance
  7. Identify clients’ occupational goals and/or type of outcomes
  8. Identify, observe, and/or report use of FORs, EBP, intervention approaches and types of OT interventions utilized to promote client participation in occupations
  9. Identify and analyze access, quality and cost of issues related to service delivery

The Fieldwork program at AIC consists of a variety of Level I and Level II fieldwork experiences as a part of the overall curriculum. Some examples of current fieldwork sites include:

  • Public and alternative school systems
  • Acute inpatient hospitals
  • Acute rehabilitation hospitals
  • Community-based support organizations
  • Skilled Nursing facilities
  • Senior centers and elder adult communities
  • Pediatric outpatient clinics
  • Behavioral health hospitals
  • Outpatient clinics and hand therapy
  • Home health agencies
  • Hippotherapy
  • Teletherapy

Level II Fieldwork

Once all didactic courses and Level I fieldwork placements are completed, students progress into Level Two fieldwork, which consists of two, 12-week full-time experiences in a geographic area chosen by the student. Each student is assessed individually and placed based on strengths, interests, and geographical choice. These two full time 12-week experiences allow students to further develop their skills as they transition to an entry-level therapist.

Need content.

Level II Fieldwork is intended to provide a context for students to develop and demonstrate entry-level, competencies as a generalist occupational therapist. This goal is accomplished by providing students with in-depth experiences in the delivery of occupational therapy services in a variety of settings and to a variety of clients across the life span. Consistent with the Program’s mission, philosophy and curriculum design, the overarching objectives of Level II Fieldwork are for students to:

  1. Demonstrate personal and professional conduct reflecting the values and ethics of the profession; and
  2. Develop entry-level proficiency in the application of the Occupational Therapy Practice Frameworks: Domain and Process (2020), including clinical reasoning and competencies in evaluation, as well as the planning and implementation of interventions addressing the occupational needs and psychosocial factors of clients; and
  3. Articulate and model client-centered, occupation-focused, and evidence-based practice that is applicable to fieldwork settings; and
  4. Develop communication and interpersonal skills necessary for effective collaboration with clients, families and colleagues; and
  5. Analyze supervision and management functions/issues as they relate to service delivery; and
  6. Actively participate in the supervisory process to promote professional growth and role integration; and
  7. Initiate and perform self-directed learning consistent with the role of life-long learner.