Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations.
This project identified the leadership characteristics that master’s-level OT students demonstrate during their Level II fieldwork. Fieldwork educators reported that their students are effective communicators, show respect for employees, and respond to constructive criticism. Areas of improvement for the students include seeking out resources to drive action for change, taking risks by sharing new approaches, and taking on leadership roles by implementing new protocols.
Primary Author and Speaker: Amy Maurer
Additional Authors and Speakers: Breanna Chycinski, Kristin Willey
Contributing Authors: Summer Besteman, Jessica Mooney, and Katelyn Hartman
PURPOSE: Occupational therapy (OT) students are expected to demonstrate leadership qualities throughout their Level II Fieldwork experiences; however, it has been reported that students lack this quality. The purpose of this project was to identify the leadership characteristics that master’s-level OT students demonstrate and develop during their Level II Fieldwork experiences. Therefore, investigating the leadership qualities that students exhibit during Level II Fieldwork is crucial to determine where improvements could be made within fieldwork education to better fit the needs of students while complying with the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE)’s requirements for OT educational programs.
DESIGN: This study utilized a cross-sectional, non-experimental design, surveying Level II Fieldwork Educators (FWEds) who have accepted fieldwork students from various universities throughout the country. Quantitative items were used to address the research question. An online electronic survey tool, Qualtrics, was used to increase the sample size and to simplify data collection. A total of 25 participants completed the survey. Inclusion criteria for the participants were that they must have been a FWEd for a Level II student within the past five years and a current practitioner within the United States. Individuals within the desired population were identified via a list provided with contact information of Level II FWEds affiliated with Grand Valley State University who have accepted a Level II Fieldwork student within the past five years.
METHOD: This study utilized an online survey tool, Qualtrics, to understand the perceptions of FWEds who have taken a Level II Fieldwork student within the past five years. A code-recode procedure was used to analyze open-ended questions. The frequency and mode of responses were used to report the results of the Likert-scale questions.
RESULTS: A total of 25 participants completed the survey. FWEds reported that their students are effective communicators, show respect for employees in the workplace, and respond to constructive criticism. Areas of improvement for the students include seeking out resources to drive the action for change, taking risks by sharing new approaches, and taking on leadership roles by implementing new protocols.
CONCLUSION: This study has discovered master’s-level students’ areas of strength and areas that need improvement in regards to developing leadership qualities throughout their Level II Fieldwork experiences. This proposal is likely to have a powerful influence on OT fieldwork education as it has identified areas in which students may need to improve within their fieldwork experiences in order to coincide with ACOTE’s requirements for OT educational programs. Therefore, OT educational programs can use this information to modify their approaches to facilitating leadership qualities within their students to better prepare students for their fieldwork experiences.
References
Campbell, M. K., Corpus, K., Wussow, T. M., Plummer, T., Gibbs, D., & Hix, S. (2015). Fieldwork educators’ perspectives: Professional behavior attributes of level II fieldwork students. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 3(4). https://doi.org/10.15453/2168
Grenier, M. L. (2015). Facilitators and barriers to learning in occupational therapy fieldwork education: Student perspectives. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 69(Supplement_2), 6912185070p1. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2015.015180
Fleming-Castaldy, R. P., & Patro, J. (2012). Leadership in occupational therapy: Self-perceptions of occupational therapy managers. Occupational Therapy In Health Care, 26(2–3), 187–202. https://doi.org/10.3109/07380577.2012.6
Kemp, E., & Crabtree, J. L. (2017). Matching student abilities to level II fieldwork sites. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71(4_Supplement_1), 7111510173. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2017.71S1-PO1125
