Background: Minimal attention has been given to the perspectives and experiences of individuals post incarceration regarding stigma and its impact on reintegration and occupational engagement. This research aimed to understand how stigma is experienced among individuals who were formerly incarcerated and its influence on occupational engagement, specifically social participation, work, and school occupations. This research also examined the role of occupational therapy as an intervention in addressing stigma from the perspectives of individuals who were formerly incarcerated to inform practice and mitigate the influence of stigma. Method: Interviews were conducted with 10 participants of a work rehabilitation program for people who had previously been incarcerated. A thematic analysis was performed to identify major themes. Themes were organized into concept maps related to stigma as experienced by those who were formerly incarcerated. Results: Four overarching themes emerged. These themes, internal and external perceptions, and family and community systems, served to enable as well as disable the impact of stigma on daily life post incarceration. Conclusion: The themes presented increased the understanding of stigma as experienced by individuals who were formerly incarcerated and supported the need for further research and occupational therapy programming specifically aimed at minimizing the impact of stigma. Comments This study was approved by the university's institutional review board and completed in partial fulfillment of the university's occupational therapy postprofessional doctorate program. No conflicts of interest are declared.

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The purpose of fieldwork education is to propel each generation of occupational therapy practitioners from the role of student to that of practitioner. Through the fieldwork experience, future practitioners achieve competence in applying the occupational therapy process and using evidence-based interventions to meet the occupational needs of a diverse client population. Fieldwork assignments may occur in a variety of practice settings, including medical, educational, and community-based programs. Moreover, fieldwork placements also present the opportunity to introduce occupational therapy services to new and emerging practice environments. Fieldwork assignments constitute an integral part of the occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant education curricula. Through fieldwork, students learn to apply theoretical and scientific principles learned from their academic programs to address actual client needs within the context of authentic practice environments. While on fieldwork, each student develops competency to ascertain client occupational performance needs to identify supports or barriers affecting health and participation and document interventions provided. Fieldwork also provides opportunities for the student to develop advocacy, leadership, and managerial skills in a variety of practice settings. Finally, the student develops a professional identity as an occupational therapy practitioner, aligning his or her professional judgments and decisions with the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Standards of Practice (AOTA, 2005b) and the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics (AOTA, 2005a).

A professional development course for occupational therapy educators about teaching evidence-based practice (EBP) was developed and piloted. The course was developed to promote increased awareness of resources and methods for teaching EBP that are applicable across entry-level curricula. Participants included full-time faculty (n = 7) from one entry-level occupational therapy program in the New York City area. The results of the pilot informed refinement of the course in preparation for delivery to a wider audience of educators. This paper provides a description of the course, results of the pilot, and implications for future delivery of the course.

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