Four female student occupational therapists took part in a naturalistic study of their early fieldwork placements. Interviews, observation and analysis of the students' daily journals were used to collect data. This article focuses on these students' perceptions of the influences which affected them during their placements. Four main influences, the therapist, the environment, the client, and time are identified. The results of this study have implications for the structuring of fieldwork placements. First, it suggests that the role of the occupational therapist is a crucial one in the early fieldwork placements. It seems that more needs to be known about the effect of placements with no on-site therapist. Second, students tend to dichotomise their placements into physical and psycho-social when placements are named and framed within a medical model. Finally, it is important that in structuring the timetabling of the placement, fieldwork educators consider the impact of the pace of placements upon students' fieldwork experiences.
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