Excellence in Fieldwork Criteria: Fieldwork Educator and Fieldwork Site

The AOTA Commission on Education (COE) developed and approved recommended criteria for fieldwork educators and fieldwork sites of excellence.

In April 2007, the AOTA Representative Assembly charged the AOTA Commission on Education (COE) to develop and disseminate criteria for fieldwork educators and fieldwork sites of excellence as a resource for affiliated state associations. The criteria were developed through the work of an AOTA ad hoc committee with the goal to highlight exemplars of fieldwork that could be emulated by other sites.

COE acknowledges that many states have already established awards for fieldwork. The criteria were developed for use at your discretion in your state. They may assist you in developing new ideas for recognitions, identifying and recognizing exemplary fieldwork, or starting a discussion within your state about fieldwork.

The criteria are designed to fit the ideal type in current practice as well as prepare fieldwork for the future. COE is engaged in a number of actions to advance fieldwork as a critical portion of our professional education. The rationale for the development of these criteria lists include:

These awards will motivate fieldwork educators and fieldwork sites to model exemplary practices and demonstrate support of our core professional values related to fieldwork.
Fieldwork is acknowledged as the bridge between education and practice.
Fieldwork has the greatest potential to change practice.
Recognizing outstanding fieldwork educators and sites will raise awareness and respect for this area of professional responsibility.

If you use any additional criteria to recognize excellence in fieldwork educators or fieldwork sites in your state, COE is very interested in adding the criteria to this recommended list. Please send your recommended criteria to edleadership@aota.org.

Excellence in Fieldwork Criteria: Fieldwork Educator

An exemplar of an excellent clinical educator demonstrates:

AOTA and occupational therapy state association membership
participation in continuing education related to supervision, teaching, and evaluation of learning or mentoring
active engagement in ethical, evidence-based, and occupation-centered practice
positive evaluations from students who completed their fieldwork experiences with this clinical educator
a 5-year history of providing consistent fieldwork education to students
proactive collaboration with other professionals, serving as a team member role model
skills at the master clinician level and presents them as a model for students
awareness of where his or her practice fits within the profession
recognition of the uniqueness of each student and adapts his or her supervisory style accordingly
active engagement in evaluation of his or her own effectiveness as a supervisor in addition to the fieldwork program
contributions to occupational therapy education beyond the fieldwork site (i.e., provides in-services, is a guest lecturer at a college, speaks at a community center, assists with admission interviews at local occupational therapy or occupational therapy assistant education program, serves on committees at local OT/OTA education program, and so on)
leadership within a professional association that promotes the values of the profession

Excellence in Fieldwork Criteria: Fieldwork Site

An exemplar of a fieldwork site of excellence demonstrates:

100% occupational therapy staff has AOTA membership
100% occupational therapy staff has state occupational therapy association membership
inclusion of the clinical educator role as a job expectation and performance standards for advancement include effective functioning as fieldwork clinical educator
an exemplary fieldwork manual for occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants with an ongoing review process
quality assurance monitoring on some aspect of providing fieldwork education
a reputation for exceptional occupational therapy practice in their practice area
the delivery of ethical, evidence-based, and occupation-centered practice
staff with working knowledge and use of the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF)
a 5-year history of providing consistent fieldwork education to occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant students
good collaboration with academic institutions (e.g., site visits, participation in fieldwork-related educational activities at the academic institution, and so on.)
staff development in the areas of teaching, assessment of learning, and supervisory skills
commitment to manage and adapt to challenging student placements (i.e., find alternative supervisor, assignments, and so on)
acceptance of both occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant students in Level I and Level II placements
consistent positive evaluations from Level I and Level II students
institutional commitment to the occupational therapy fieldwork program and meeting students’ needs for accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act
creative and innovative supervision models