Finals! Fieldwork

Well finals are over. The two and a half years of work, stress, strain, learn, confusion, and clarification come together for a great moment of celebration to close this chapter and prepare for the next. The knowledge learned over the past 2.5 yrs is starting to come together and reading through medical notes the used to be 'greek' to me now make sense...well, more sense- I still have a lot to learn about diagnoses. Yesterday, I volunteered at the Rehab Institute of KC and had a great experience, I know there will be many ups and downs through my career but sand am excited to start my Level II fieldwork in January.

What is fieldwork? Well, the term explains pretty much what it is- 'Work' in the 'Field' to gain more competency in OT. Each OT program does it a little differently, at Rockhurst you have 3 Level I's (which last 1 week) and 2 Level II's with an option to do a third Level II to gain more competency in a given field (these last ~3 months). For instance if I wanted more direct training in a hands or prosthetics area I would opt for the level II optional fieldwork.

In a 2003 Addendum to "The Purpose and Value of Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Education" from "The Reference Manual of the Official Documents of the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc." it states:

Fieldwork education prepares students to become competent, entry-level generalists who can function and thrive in a rapidly changing and dynamic health and human service delivery system.

Level I fieldwork is almost like job shadowing with the goal to learn more about the field of OT and to start applying some of the skills learned in the classroom. In a level II we are working towards the quote above- to become competent, entry-level generalists. In a level II the OT student gains more knowledge and freedom to get us ready to be entry level OTs. The level II supervisor expects more out of the student and we are also given more freedom to help in the plan of care for patients.

OTS thoughts: It feels good to realize the investment in school, the stress, and the knowledge gained is all starting to pay off. This is one small victory on my way to getting through my Level II's and passing the NBCOT (board exam) to become an OTR/L (occupational therapist registered/licensed). If you are looking into OT at Rockhurst and you have any questions feel free to shoot them to me. I knew coming into the program there was many things I didn't understand and some things have changed within the past 2.5 years with the program. Thanks for reading.