Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Student Experiences: Level II Fieldwork

During their final semester, our MOT II students complete two 12-week fieldwork placements to assist them in applying knowledge to clinical situations and to facilitate development of entry-level skill. After about four weeks of their first Level II Fieldwork placement, our students reported a great variety of opportunities. Check out a few of their experiences below:

Dani, Inpatient Rehabilitation:

I have been working with patients with CVA and Brain Injury with ages from 20-90.  My fieldwork educator is amazing--such a great teacher and she is really great at knowing when I need help and when I can be independent. I get to do a lot of ADLs/IADLs: bathing, dressing, laundry, cooking, etc.  I have 4 clients of my "own" right now where I come up with treatment plans, run the sessions, and do the documentation, and my fieldwork educator watches and helps as needed. I will have her full caseload from week 6-12.  I have been able to learn more assessments that are used for research, use FIM scoring daily, done pre-driving assessments, and even E-stim!  My fieldwork educator specializes in vision so we do a lot of vision screens on our clients and others.  She is also on the brain injury team and neglect team so we have meetings we go to for that.

Morgan, Outpatient Pediatrics:

So far, I have a case load of 4 different clients with various abilities and diagnoses.  I am given 1-2 new clients every week, and I will have 10 or more by the end of fieldwork.  I am able to read previous notes/assessments written by other therapists and form my own treatment plan for each client.  I also write 1-3 notes per day. I have gotten to see one feeding eval and two other assessments.  I am learning about the Integrated Listening System (iLs) which is used daily at the site.  I have 3 separate readings (1 book and 2 continuing ed conference manuals) and one DVD to finish by the end of my fieldwork.  I will have 6 separate assessments to complete by the end of my fieldwork as well.  I look forward to completing these assessments and gaining experience.  I have learned a lot about reflexes and how they affect a child's performance in their occupations.  I have learned to identify various delays by observing children during play.  I also help direct two separate classes for fine motor development and letter recognition with a COTA who heads the classes.  I have been able to score a Sensory Profile, and I plan to score a Peabody assessment tomorrow.  I am enjoying my experience thus far, and feel competent in most areas relating to Sensory Integration.

Karen, School-based Pediatrics:

I am starting to treat 15 of my supervisor’s clients, including the planning, implementing, and daily notes. I have observed at two IFEP meetings and wrote to new IFEP goals.
The last few weeks have been so much fun and have provided me with a new experience of what an OT can do in the field.

I have learned:

  • That early childhood special education is similar to special school district by how they travel to many locations
  • The difference between an IEP and a IFEP 
  • Observed multiple types of classrooms for IFEP children (i.e., co-teaching, integrated, and ABA classroom.)
  • Learned the roles that an occupational therapist in early childhood may fill (i.e., evaluator, treatment implementer, technology specialist, and ADL consultant.)

Sarah, Outpatient Day Treatment:

I am thoroughly enjoying my learning experience.  My site goes above and beyond for their patients and students.  My fieldwork educator has been a therapist for 8 years.  She has a great spirit, is fun, and extremely intelligent.  Her feedback is always so helpful and I am always open to what she has to say.  I feel overwhelmed with my options and my resources and I want to do my very best to be creative and to use all resources, but it is hard to go above and beyond when I'm so exhausted at the end of the day!  I have gained insight into my own likes and dislikes.

What advice do you have for our students as they progress through Level II Fieldwork?