Occupational Therapy Students’ and Graduates’ Perspectives of Traditional and Nontraditional Level I Fieldwork Experiences

Among occupational therapy students and recently graduated practitioners, what are the perceptions of Level I fieldwork in understanding the role of an occupational therapist, application to didactic coursework, and impact on overall skills? Quantitative findings suggest that students and graduates perceived traditional Level I FW settings to be the most effective for understanding the role of an OT, application to didactic coursework, and impact on overall skills in comparison to respondents who experienced non-traditional Level I fieldwork settings. Qualitative data supports this finding as the most common theme reported was participants\u27 desire to work alongside an OT during fieldwork, as required in traditional fieldwork settings. Additionally, participants found FW to be most effective when given the opportunity to be hands-on with clients.These findings can help inform OT to meet ACOTE standards. Future research should focus on investigating FW educator and coordinator perspectives on traditional and nontraditional FW and compare the difference in perspectives between students and educators. This will help determine if there is a disconnect or misunderstanding between stakeholder groups in OT FW education