Fieldwork Education Resources

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Welcome, Fieldwork Educators

We appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge, experience, energy, and time to develop our students into confident, evidence-based, entry-level occupational therapists.

We value the collaboration between faculty and fieldwork educators. You are the bridge from academia to community practice.

This site will serve as a resource upon which you can continue to:

  • Identify helpful resources
  • Expand your skills as a fieldwork educator
  • Further develop your fieldwork program

Site Visits

Prospective Fieldwork sites:

  • Identification of interest in becoming a fieldwork site
  • Assess fit of site with academic goals of program and students available to be placed
  • Initiation of the collaborative relationship between the Academic Fieldwork Coordinator and the Directors/Managers/Fieldwork-Student Coordinators and Fieldwork Educators
  • Review of the academic occupational therapy program at Eastern Washington University

Fieldwork site visit during student rotation: 

  • Review of student progress
  • Collaboration in development of action plans to improve learning opportunities
  • Review of any new standards and/or policies of facility or program

Resources for Your Fieldwork Education Program

Reference Material

Bolton, T. & Dean, E. (2018). Self-determination theory and professional reasoning in occupational therapy students.: A mixed methods study. Journal Therapy Education, 2(3). https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2018.020304

Henderson, W., Coppard, B., & Qi, Y. (2017). Identifying instructional methods for development of clinical reasoning in entry-level occupational therapy education: A mixed methods design. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2017.010201

Mattila, A., Delullis, E.D., Martin, R., & Casile, E. (2021). Investigating student satisfaction and perception in clinical reasoning skills with simulated case-based learning as a level I fieldwork experience. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 75(S2), 7512500050–7512500050p1. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2021.75S2-RP50

Potvin, M.-C.,Coviello, J., Lockhart-Keene, L., Taylor, C., Rothacker, E., & Thomas, M. B. (2020). OT practitioner students’ perspective of clinical reasoning development during level II fieldwork.  American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(4_Supplement_1), 7411505149–7411505149p1. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S1-PO4026

Rothacker, E., Potvin, M.-C., Coviello, J., Keene, L., Pettigrew, T., Taylor, C., & Thomas, M.-B. (2021). How I developed clinical  reasoning skills during fieldwork: Perspectives of OT assistant students.  American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 75(S2), 7512505137–7512505137p1. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2021.75S2-RP137

Eddy, Z. E., Tickle-Degnen, L., & Evenson, M. E. (2021). Occupational therapy fieldwork educators: Examining professional quality of life. Work (Reading, Mass.), 70(2), 479–491. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-213586

Forfa, M., Helfrich, C., & Simon, R. (2022). Perceptions on non-traditional models of fieldwork supervision. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2022.060111

Gibson, S. J., Porter, J., Anderson, A., Bryce, A., Dart, J., Kellow, N., Meiklejohn, S., Volders, E., Young, A., & Palermo, C. (2019). Clinical educators’ skills and qualities in allied health: A systematic review.  Medical Education, 53(5), 432–442. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.13782

McNeil, S. D. & O’Brien, J. C. (2013). Teaching effectiveness: Preparing occupational therapy students for clinical practice. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 1(3), 3–. https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.1045

Suman, M., & Provident, I. (2018). Using online professional development to increase self-efficacy in school-based occupational therapy fieldwork educators. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2018.020106

Ozelie, R., Janow, J., Kreutz, C., Mulry, J.K., Penkala, A., Supervision of Occupational Therapy Level II Fieldwork Students: Impact on and Predictors of Clinician Productivity, December, 2014, American Journal of Occupational Therapy, December 2014, Vol. 69. doi: 690126001Op1-6901260010p7.doi:10.5014/ajot.2015.013532

Andonian, L.  (2017). Occupational therapy students’ self-efficacy, experience of supervision, and perception of meaningfulness of Level II fieldwork. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 5(2), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.1220

Mason, J., Hayden, C. L., & Causey-Upton, R. (2020). Fieldwork educators’ expectations of level II occupational therapy students’ professional and technical skills. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 8(3), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.1649

Evenson, M. E. (2014). Fieldwork and professional entry. In B. A. B. Schell, G. Gillen, & M. E. Scaffa (Eds.), Willard & Spackman’s occupational therapy (12th ed.) (pp. 974-988). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Brown, T., Williams, B., & Etherington, J. (2016). Emotional intelligence and personality traits as predictors of occupational therapy students’ practice education performance: A cross-sectional study: EI, Personality and Fieldwork Performance. Occupational Therapy International, 23(4), 412–424. https://doi.org/10.1002/oti.1443

Evenson, M. E., & Hanson, D.J. (2019). Fieldwork, practice education, and professional entry. In B. A. B. Schell & G. Gillen (Eds.,), Willard and Spackman’s occupational therapy (13th ed.) (pp. 1078-1095). Wolters Kluwer

Wallingford, M., & Knecht-Sabres, L. J. (2016). OT practitioners’ and OT   perceptions of entry-level competency for occupational therapy practice. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 4(4), 10–. https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.1243

AOTA membership required to access.

Chapman, L.M., (2016, June) AOTA, Special Interest Section: Education. Transitioning From Clinician to Fieldwork Educator.

Deluliis, E.D. (2013, July 8). Answering questions about level I fieldwork. OT Practice, 18, 8-9.

Edwards, M., Gentry, A., Showalter, M. & Thomas, H. (2015, June) AOTA, Special Interest Section: Education. Occupational-Based Practice as Experienced by Occupational Therapy Students During Level II Fieldwork.

Gupta, J. & Amini, D. (2018). Field students. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 72(Supplement_2), 7212410020p1–7212410020p3. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2018.72S205

Patterson, M., & Levandowski, S. (2022) Commonalities in OT level II field e: A program review.  American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 76(Supplement_1), 7610500012p1. doi: https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2022.76S1-PO12