Variety of Fieldwork Education Experiences
Each fieldwork course in the curriculum includes learning objectives that address the psychological and social factors influencing engagement in occupation as documented on the course syllabus.
For Level I fieldwork, students are assigned to a variety of learning experiences and/or practice settings that are integral to the curricular content and courses for that semester-sequence in the program, unless otherwise noted. Level I fieldwork requirements across the OTD curriculum are ensured for rigor, and can be met through a placement, as supervised by a fieldwork educator off-campus in a practice environment, or through mixed instructional methods, including but not limited to, simulated environments, standardized patient encounters or faculty practice in the IMPACT Practice Center, on-campus, or faculty-led site visits. For example, a focus on mental health and psychiatry aligns with the second summer semester with placements, experiences, and assignments that incorporate analysis of psychosocial factors that influence engagement in occupation.
For Level II fieldwork, the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) requires that students be “…exposed to a variety of clients across the lifespan and to a variety of settings.” Students begin the Level II Fieldwork component of the program during Summer and Fall of the third year of the program after completing the six semesters of academic course work. Students can complete Level II fieldwork in a minimum of one setting if it is reflective of more than one practice area, or in a maximum of three different settings.