Factors Affecting a Clinician's Decision to Provide Fieldwork Education to Students

Abstract

Fieldwork represents an important component of the education of an occupational therapist. In this study thirteen occupational therapists in small Saskatchewan occupational therapy facilities were interviewed to determine the factors and the relationships among these factors that affected their involvement in the fieldwork process. The directors of the two large occupational therapy departments in Saskatchewan, together with eight Canadian university fieldwork coordinators were interviewed for comparison purposes. The findings of the study have shown that there were four major influences affecting Saskatchewan therapists' involvement in the fieldwork program of occupational therapy students. They were: workload; feelings of isolation; the parameters of a placement; and professionalism. This study is important because it has identified significant factors for university fieldwork coordinators to consider in their contact with therapists. It has also provided a model for other similar studies.

Factors Affecting the Number of Students Engaged in Mental Health Fieldwork Education

“…Across all supervisory levels, more respondents perceived challenges to accepting students than not. A lack of time was the most frequently identified barrier to accepting level II fieldwork students, consistent with prior research (Tompson & Proctor, 1990). Perceiving a lack of time, however, did not appear to be an obstacle to accepting fieldwork students as previous research might suggest.…”

“…This was interesting when contrasted with the finding that "Perceives Lack of Time" failed to be associated with student numbers. Apparently, time limitations as suggested by Tompson and Proctor (1990) are a clinical reality for the present sample; however, this perception did not appear to make a difference in terms of commitment to fieldwork education. Rather, perceiving no challenges to offering a fieldwork placement was the more crucial variable in support of clinical education.…”

“…Tompson and Proctor (1990) reported that clinicians have expressed the desire to take fieldwork students but that several factors including: limited time, decreased productivity, and requisite clinical expertise prevented them from supervising students. Mental health occupational therapists have identified other barriers to student supervision, including legal or ethical issues (e.g., a therapist's liability for a student's actions), conflicting student personality characteristics, and negative perceptions of the fieldwork experience by the student caused by negative student attitudes about mental illness and decreased clinician case loads (Gilbert & Strong, 2000;Slogget , Kim & Cameron, 2003).…”

The ‘Gift Exchange’: a metaphor for understanding the relationship between educator commitment and student effort on placement

“…However, the gift becomes more of a commodity when it is embedded in professional structures that emphasize professional and moral responsibilities, synonymous with 'obligation' and 'duty' (Blanchard Edwards 1969). The principle of supporting the profession by becoming a practice-educator-mentor is an example of an assumed professional obligation that is identified in occupational therapy (Tompson & Procter 1990), medicine (General Medical Council 2013), physiotherapy (Chartered Society of Physiotherapy 2011) and nursing (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2008). Martinez-Aleman's (2007, p578) suggestion that "gift exchange might not be consonant with the spirit of obligation or contractual exchange" but rather that "gifts move because they are social bonds between self and other" is of concern in the current climate in health and social care.…”

Supervising students: exploring the experience through reflective journals

“…The constraints of limited time and increased workload are ongoing fieldwork concerns (Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, 1990; Thompson and Proctor, 1990;Green, 1996). Nevertheless, Paterson (1997) found that clinicians' productivity increased with the presence of a student.…”