Academic programs commonly face challenges in developing Level I fieldwork where students have ample opportunity to practice and understand occupation. In response to this challenge, our academic program developed a non-traditional Level I fieldwork. The purpose of this study was to understand the student perceptions of this learning experience. Focus group methodology was employed. Fifty-nine students participated in one of six focus groups. Six themes were identified through the data analysis process. These included challenges and rewards of effective communication, learning to think like an OT, a greater understanding and focus on occupations, developing skills in cultural understanding and advocacy, gaining confidence through doing, and the logistical challenges of getting everyone on the same page. These themes supported that students viewed non-traditional Level I fieldwork paired with structured classroom learning activities positively. A pattern across all themes was that students learned because they were able to make mistakes, reflect on them, and change their action. Limitations include that student perceptions are only one aspect of understanding the impact of learning experiences; therefore further study is needed.

Student personal and professional development is an area of increasing importance in professional education programs. The practitioner of the future needs to be able to reflect and self-assess his/her learning in order to take intentional steps toward developing or continuing competency. The purpose of this article is to describe the evolution of one program’s process of incorporating self-reflection and feedback as an integral part of the curriculum. Examples of the guiding questions are included. The value of a self-reflective student evaluation process in the development of reflective practice and its implementation within a professional healthcare curriculum and future practice environments are discussed.

A Career Management Program was implemented for new tenure track faculty (basic science and educator scholars) in a small community‐based medical school. The program was designed based on best practices in the literature to be a resource for faculty, complementing the mentoring provided by department chairs. Interactive panel presentations were led by senior faculty from basic science and allied health departments focusing on research, teaching, service, and strategic career planning. The basic science scholars also met as a cohort, with an experienced basic scientist to discuss specific issues raised in previous panel discussions. The program successfully completed year one with eleven junior faculty (five basic science) participating on a regular basis. The session evaluations resulted in 90% or higher for the value of the sessions and usefulness/transferability of the information to the participant's position and job responsibilities. This program demonstrates that a career management program can combine faculty from multiple tracks as long as they have opportunities to address career‐specific issues.Sponsored by the North Dakota Women's Health CORE, A National Center of Excellence in Women's Health Region VIII Demonstration Project, Elizabeth Burns, PI.

This article highlights the limitations of culturally relevant care for Indigenous people in the prevention, treatment, and recovery of substance use disorders. It provides recommendations for consideration that expand the capacity for cultural humility. The "one-size-fits-all" approach to providing services, employed by most health and human service providers who are non-Indigenous, has failed. These limitations are often because of a lack of understanding of the larger historical and cultural context of Indigenous people. The authors emphasize the importance of health and human service providers' acquisition of the requisite knowledge about the impact of colonization and trauma that guides a trauma-informed approach to treatment. Sixteen suggestions are provided to serve as a guide when serving Indigenous populations. They include expanding the body of literature on evidence-based practices to include the voice of Indigenous populations through the application of a Community-Based Participatory Action Research approach. Critical to achieving these outcomes is an expansion of the number of behavioral health providers who are Indigenous through the adoption of pedagogical practices that better serve the educational needs of this population. In addition, expanding the capacity of the preservice workforce to understand the impact of colonialization and cultural genocide is paramount. The goal is to prevent the perpetuation of negative attitudes and beliefs that result in addiction treatment providers becoming frustrated with the outcome and blaming the patient. These suggestions, based on the literature, will maximize positive outcomes and can be adapted by a broad spectrum of providers of substance use disorder services.

Date Presented 03/27/20 An exploratory survey was used to determine the knowledge, attitudes, practices, and perceived barriers to EBP implementation held by OT managers. As there is no current research addressing this topic, this study fills a gap in the OT literature and knowledge base regarding EBP. The researchers found that OT managers hold positive attitudes toward EBP, have moderate levels of EBP practices, have high knowledge of EBP, and perceive moderate levels of barriers to implementation. Primary Author and Speaker: Samantha Scheel Additional Authors and Speakers: Madelin Buscho Contributing Authors: Marilyn Klug, LaVonne Fox