Building support and resources for the fieldwork and capstone community through sustaining doctoral capstone experiences

To support the needs of occupational therapy fieldwork and capstone education, several state and regional educational consortia (councils) are established across the U.S. Although the councils represent different geographic areas, they have a shared vision to promote excellence in occupational therapy education by encouraging and facilitating communication and collaboration among its occupational therapy community partners (e.g., occupational therapy students [OTS], fieldwork coordinators and educators [FWE], capstone mentors [CM], academic fieldwork educators [AFWC], capstone coordinators [CC], and program directors [PD]). Through the exchange of ideas, collaborative problem solving, and consideration of current and emerging trends in occupational therapy education and practice, valuable resources and continuing education opportunities are made available to support professional growth and encourage enhanced engagement in experiential learning in occupational therapy education. While occupational therapy education councils have historically focused on fieldwork education, many are expanding their efforts to include outreach initiatives and resources for the occupational therapy doctoral capstone project and experience (DCE).