Supporting Those who Support us: An Exploration of Strategies to Address Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Educators' Concerns and Needs

Fieldwork (FW) education is integral to occupational therapy (OT) education and enables the transition of a student to an entry-level practitioner. Clinicians who serve as FW educators play a significant role in this process. To deliver OT education, universities must support FW educators and address their needs and
concerns. This study surveyed OT FW educators who supervised entry-level OT doctoral students from a public university for Level I and/or Level II FW regarding strategies to address their concerns and needs. An anonymous survey was distributed to the FW educators (n=349) who supervised the students for FW
between Spring 2021-2023. By the response deadline, the survey yielded a 32.09% (n=112) response rate. Fieldwork educators perceived themselves to be competent clinical educators, and their perception was not associated with the completion of FW educator training courses, years of experience as a practitioner,
or number of students supervised in the past. However, FW educators reported difficulty in teaching soft skills (e.g., communicating with patients/caregivers, participating in Admission, Review, and Dismissal meetings, etc.) and supervising challenging students. They considered providing FW supervision as beneficial to them. Their concerns related to FW supervision centered around student readiness, student behavior, and time management. They expected universities to assess student readiness before sending them on FW. Also, they expected more clarity and guidance from universities on expectations related to
FW supervision. Further, they indicated a need for FW educator training programs and access to library/scholarly resources. The implications of the findings for different stakeholders were discussed.