Fieldwork and Capstone Resources

Welcome to the Community Resource Library and Information Center
of the Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program

Thank you for your support of fieldwork education and doctoral capstone mentorship in collaboration with the University of Arkansas / University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences OTD Program. As a fieldwork educator and/or capstone site mentor, you contribute greatly to the success of our program and to the career success of future occupational therapists preparing to serve the state of Arkansas and beyond.

The program has approximately 150 active contracts with the fieldwork sites across the United States. These facilities and program represent occupational therapy services offered across the lifespan, with an extensive variety of clinical populations, and in both traditional and non-traditional settings.Please note that the OTD Program does not currently offer Level I, Level II or Capstone experiences outside of the United States.

The following resources and information are designed to support your success as a fieldwork educator, capstone mentor or occupational therapy practitioner.

Fieldwork Education Information and Resources

Student fieldwork is an essential and important critical component of occupational therapy education. Being an effective fieldwork educator involves "giving back" to the profession by sharing your skills in a collaborative environment that provides role modeling and mentorship of the occupational therapy process while protecting the safety of clients. Ensuring client safety involves consistent communication with, and observation of, the student at a level that facilitates recognition of when supervision is needed and to what degree. Establishing the amount and type of supervision to provide can vary across situations. Consistent with ACOTE accreditation standards, Level II fieldwork supervision begins as direct / line of site and gradually decreases to less supervision to support progression towards entry level competence based upon the following considerations:

  • Competence and confidence of the student
  • Complexity of client needs
  • Number and diversity of clients
  • Role of occupational therapy and related services
  • Type of practice setting
  • Other regulatory requirements

To ensure a ratio of fieldwork educator to students that is supportive of appropriate role modeling, safety of clients, and provide frequent performance assessment, the OTD Program requests a traditional one to one supervision model. However, the program will consider a two student to one fieldwork educator model when it is determined that supervision quality and educational outcomes will not be compromised.

To support open channels of communication and the success of the student fieldwork experience, the OTD Program academic fieldwork coordinator interacts with fieldwork educators and students before, during, and after the fielwork experience. To ensure that fieldwork educators feel prepared to supervise a University of Arkansas / UAMS OTD student, the following resources are provided:

Preparing for Fieldwork

Students, fieldwork educators, and the OTD Program all have important responsibilities in advance of the beginning of both Level I and Level II rotations.

Students: Must ensure all requirements that are detailed in the Student Fieldwork and Capstone Manual are completed. These include immunizations, drug screens, and background checks. Students must ensure that housing and transportation needs have been addressed, and all policies and procedures have been reviewed.

FW Educators: Must ensure that they have provided the necessary documentation to ensure eligibility's to serve in a supervisory role. These include credentials, professional licenser information (for OT and non-OT professionals), years of experience (occupational therapists must at least 1 year of clinical experience to serve as a Level II FW educator), and previous fieldwork supervision experience. Additionally, all FW educators must be employees of hte clinical site where the fieldwork experience is occurring. Learning objectives related to the fieldwork rotations must be reviewed and approved by the student, FW educator, and OTD Program Academic Fieldwork Coordinator (AFWC). The AFWC will also provide FW educators with information on the OTD Program curriculum, strategies for successful supervision, and the effective evaluation of student clinical compentenices. AOTA's Commission of Education (COE) provides a comprehensive review of the key requirements and responsibilities for effective fieldwork.

Guidelines for Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Education (PDF)

OTD Program: The AFWC will serve as the primary point of contact throughout the fieldwork experience. Communication is open and ongoing related to the student and FW educator responsibilities listed above. Evaluation of the experience from the perspective of both the student and FW educator is considered in determining future curriculum and fieldwork improvement. Students and FW educators may also receive correspondence from the OTD Administrative Assistant in collaboration with the AFWC. Timely responses will ensure that timelines are met so that clinical rotations begin on time and unanticipated changes can be appropriately addressed.

 

Program Documents

ClinEd Web Fieldwork Educator Training Course — The University of Arkansas OTD Program provides fieldwork educators complimentary access to this detailed and informative 4-hour training course. Please contact Clinical Assistant Professor Danielle Acurio, dacurio@uark.edu, for information on your complimentary access.

AOTA Fieldwork Resources - Resources About Level I and Level II Fieldwork Education for Academic Fieldwork Coordinators, Fieldwork Educators, and Fieldwork Students - including webinars, upcoming professional development, articles, and important documents.

Arkansas State Medical Board Guidlines for Acceptable Continuing Education (PDF)

  • Level I supervision fieldwork — 2 CEU credits
  • Level II supervision fieldwork — 4 CEU credits; limited to 4 CEU credits
  • Level II supervision fieldwork / doctoral capstone — 6 CEU credits

Capstone Mentor Information and Resources

The Doctoral Capstone is designed to allow students to apply knowledge and skills gained across the curriculum through an individualized in-depth exposure to one or more of the following: clinical practice skills, research skills, administration, leadership, program and policy development, advocacy, education and theory development. As a capstone site mentor, you will partner with both an OTD student and a OTD Program faculty mentor.

The doctoral capstone aligns with the department's vision and mission and serves a dual purpose: to broaden the knowledge base of OT by building evidence through faculty and department research agendas, and to equip students with the requisite mindset and skill set to advance their particular areas of interest. The curriculum design prompts students to begin thinking about areas of interest in all foundational courses. Multiple courses each term will inform an occupation-centered perspective of the Capstone while keeping in mind the intended progression of student learning. Exposure to a wide range of traditional and emerging practice domains allows students to explore the transformative potential of OT in a variety of environments with diverse populations with diverse populations across the lifespan.

Capstone consists of two parts, the Capstone Project and the Capstone Experience. The Capstone Project is a proposal completed prior to the experience and includes individualized learning objectives, activities to meet those objective, proposed timelines and supporting evidence, a plan for supervision, and a plan for evaluation. This project demonstrates synthesis of in-depth knowledge in the designation area of interest prior to the 14-week experience.

Program Document

OTD Program Fieldwork and Capstone Manual (PDF)