Guide for Clinical Educators
Continuing Education Unit
 After reviewing this Power Point Presentation please
download the short quiz. Complete the quiz and
email it to lsnyder@tnstate.edu. You will then be sent,
via email, a 1 CEU certificate.
Guide for clinical educators
 The Department of Occupational Therapy at Tennessee
State University appreciates your willingness to provide
clinical education for our students during their Level I and
II fieldwork experiences.
 As part of our appreciation for taking students, I am happy
to inform you that while you are supervising our students
you will receive full and free access to the TSU Library
Consortium.
 All you need do is email Ms. Elisha Holt (eholt@tnstate.edu ) your name and email
address. She will take care of the process to get you access.
Larry Snyder, Ph.D., OTR/L
Department Head
Mission of the MOT Program at
TSU
 The MOT program at Tennessee State University.
To fulfill the University mission of “promoting life-long learning, scholarly inquiry,
and a commitment to the service of others” the mission of the Tennessee State
University Occupational Therapy Graduate Program is to provide the community
with competent occupation-based, client-centered practitioners in existing and
emerging practice settings.
The Occupational Therapy Entry-Level Graduate Program is committed to
 Recruiting and developing the talents of diverse individuals to serve individual
consumers and populations in order to promote, maintain, and improve their health
and well-being
 Developing professionalism, creative problem solving, and critical thinking skills for
graduates to serve consumers in suburban, as well as urban, and rural underserved
areas
 Training future practitioners to conduct evidence-based practice and scholarly
inquiry
 Shaping the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that will enable occupational therapy
practitioners to collaborate with other professionals in the workplace and promote
the profession
 Preparing successful leaders and change agents who will value and pursue life-long
learning in order to advance practice, attain post-professional degrees, and conduct
scholarship in the region and throughout the nation.
MOT program philosophy

The MOT program at Tennessee State University.
The occupational therapy program at TSU recognizes occupation to be an individual's goal-directed use of
time, energy, interest and attention; and assumes that occupation is best analyzed by examining the
activities in which people engage. It is believed that activities are of a changing nature not only throughout
the lifespan of each individual, but also through time as the needs, interests and goals of our society change
and progress.
The program further recognizes that each person's capacity to compensate for lost or underdeveloped
abilities is unique. Health is not absolute, but depends on an individual's sociocultural group,
environment, and personal needs and choices. A unique role of occupational therapy lies in its capacity to
integrate biological, psychological, sociological and technological components within its view of health and
to analyze the factors which influence an individual's performance of work, educational, leisure, and play
activities; social participation; instrumental activities of daily living; and personal/basic activities of daily
living. Student learning experiences will be structured in the curriculum with respect to ongoing
development of individuals across the lifespan. The faculty, in the Department of Occupational Therapy,
believes that every person has value. We emphasize the right of each individual to make choices and to
determine personal goals. We further believe that in a helping relationship, active participation from the
recipient is essential. This belief in active participation applies to both clients and students. Consequently,
students shall be responsible for contributing to the structure and content of their learning experiences.
The faculty is committed to helping students develop problem solving skills by supporting risk taking and
encouraging interactive learning, develop an appetite for life-long learning; become grounded in
occupational therapy theory, history, and philosophy upon which the profession was built; demonstrate
professionalism and act in compliance with the Code of Ethics (2005); and provide excellent client services,
which includes the use of evidence-based practice and collaborative communication with the client, to
achieve the desired outcome of engagement in occupation. Students will be expected to examine their own
attitudes, values, and personal characteristics as a model for assessing the needs of others.
Curriculum Design

The curriculum design of the MOT program is based on 5 main threads.
They are; foundations, self reflection, skill competencies, clinical
reasoning, and clinical practice. We believe it is paramount that students
need a solid core foundation for which future courses will build upon with the
ultimate goal of students being ready and competent to enter clinical practice.
Clinical practice, however, includes more than just the evaluation, treatment
planning, and therapy interventions. It also includes a solid knowledge base in
the business of OT, socio-culture-economic-demographic factors that may
have an effect on OT practice, advocating for the OT profession and clients,
and a willingness to assume a leadership role in the OT profession.
The curriculum is also designed to follow along with the structure of Blooms
Taxonomy. As students matriculate the program, courses are structured to
facilitate movement along Bloom’s continuum from knowledge to evaluation.
MOT Curriculum at TSU
First Year
OCCT 5000 Fieldwork Seminar
OCCT 5010 Foundations in OT
OCCT 5050 Occupational Analysis
OCCT 5110 Anatomy
OCCT 5160 Psychosocial Dysfunction
OCCT 5170 Psychosocial Dys. Applied
OCCT 5180 Biomechanics
OCCT 5120 Neurobiology
OCCT 5250 Pediatrics Lecture
OCCT 5251 Pediatrics Lab.
OCCT 5254 Pediatrics Practicum
OCCT 5760 Admin. & Leadership
OCCT 5900 Analysis of Research
OCCT 5550 Physical Dysfunction I Lec.
OCCT 5561 Phys. Dys. I Lab.
OCCT 5554 Phys. Dys. I Practicum
Second Year
Third Year
OCCT 5660 Research I
OCCT 6914 Fieldwork Exp. II
OCCT 6560 Phys. Dys. II Lecture
OCCT 6561 Phys. Dys. II Lab.
OCCT 6554 Phys. Dys. II Practicum
OCCT 5450 School Based OT
OCCT 5860 Research II
OCCT 5400 General Diagnoses Applied
OCCT 5421 Clinical Practice
OCCT 6810 Modalities
OCCT Elective
Comprehensive Examination
OCCT 6904 Fieldwork Experience I
*Students begin program in August and graduate December 2 years later
MOT curriculum design
& Threads
Curricular Threads
- Foundations
- Self Reflection
- Skill Competencies
- Clinical Reasoning
- Clinical Practice
The Practice of Occupational Therapy
Value of fieldwork education
• We all can remember how it was when we first entered
our fieldwork experiences.
• I believe we can also remember how it was when we
finished our second Level II experience.
• Hopefully we had confidence and were well prepared
to enter clinical practice.
• Fieldwork is such a valuable experience for students as
they leave the classroom and enter the clinic.
Why take fieldwork students
 Benefits:
 Satisfaction of providing a vital portion of OT
education.
 CEU credit for supervising students
 Other CEU credit offered by each educational program
 Recruitment of new staff (student on Friday and
employee on Monday)
 Helping students to identify career options
Why take fieldwork students
Based on a study by Thomas, Dickson, Broadbridge,
Hopper, Hawkins, Edwards, and McBryde (2007)
Benefits cont.
 Assessment of future employment
 Develop supervision skills
 Improve clinical reasoning skills
 Promote time management skills
Why take fieldwork students
 Benefits cont.
 Marketing of site to educational program
 Improve and maintain clinical skills of staff
 Promote diversity at the facility
 May be a goal of the facility
 Promote teaming
 May provide information to influence education
program curriculum
Thomas, et.al. (2007)
Skills of the clinical educator
 Characteristics and skills include:
 Knowing self
 Time and task management
 Establishing objectives
 Evaluating student performance
 Structuring the clinical experience
Hunt & Kennedy-Jones, (2010)
Need for supervisor support
 Supervisors need
 Peer support
 Mentoring by more experienced therapists
 Support from the facility and educational program
 Training to be a clinical educator
Hunt & Kennedy-Jones, (2010)
Clinical Educators
 Be a role model for the student
 Continues the student on the path to becoming a
competent clinician
 Promotes positive professional behaviors
 Provide opportunities to apply classroom education
 Helps ready the student for Level II
Johnson, Koenig, Piersol, Santalucia, & Wachter-Schutz, (2006)
Helpful hints
 Helpful hints
 Be sure you are ready, willing, and able to supervise fieldwork
students




For traditional settings you must have at least 1 year of clinical
experience
For non-traditional fieldwork experiences the fieldwork educator
must have at least 3 years clinical experience
If no OTR is on-site one must be available at lease 8 hours per week
and available all other work hours via some other method.
OTRs can supervise both OT and COTA students but a COTA, under
the supervision of an OTR, can supervise a COTA fieldwork student
Amini, Gupta, (2012)
Helpful hints cont.
•
Remember the student will be nervous entering their first
practice arenas.
•
Please make the environment welcoming. Have
you made everyone aware of the student coming to
your facility?
Is there space available for the student?
Is there a structure to the student’s fieldwork
experience that is set in advance?
Bruns, Dimeo, & Malta, (2003)
•
•
Things to consider cont.
 Set the environment to demonstrate mutual respect
for each other.
 Foster open communication with your student.
 Foster open communication with the AFWC from the
student’s educational program and do not hesitate to
contact the AFWC for issues and questions you may
have.
 Provide clear oral and written documentation.
Things to consider cont.
 Offer expert advice to your student that encourages
their professional growth.
 Schedule formal reviews and evaluations with your
student in advance.
 Focus on the students behaviors and abilities and
avoid personal attacks.
 Encourage student self assessment.
Bruns, Dimeo, & Malta, (2003)
Communication
 Crucial to success
 Make sure there is open and clear communication with
the student’s educational program AFWC.
 If issues arise the clinical educator is welcome to call the
AFWC to discuss these issues.
 Our Academic Fieldwork Coordinator is Mr. Stephen
Penick 615.963.5653 or spenick@tnstate.edu and the
Assistant Academic Fieldwork Coordinator, Ms. Elisha
Holt 615.963.5929 or eholt@tnstate.edu
TSU’s Role
 Ongoing communication with the placement site is
crucial.
 Communicate clear expectations for our students and
collaborate with the site on objectives.
 Increase the fieldwork coordinator’s role for site visits
to meet with the clinical educator and the student.
Mulholland, Derall, 2005
TSU’s Role cont.
 Minimize the paperwork and use other means to
provide this material other than regular mail.
 Be available to the clinical educator for phone
conferencing or face-to-face meetings as needed.
 Ensure students are academically prepared to enter
fieldwork, especially Level II.
Resources available from AOTA
 http://www.aota.org/Practitioners/ProfDev/CE.aspx
 http://www.aota.org/Educate/EdRes/Fieldwork/Workshop.aspx
Summary
 The value clinical educators bring to the student’s
training process is as equal in partnership with the
academic organization.
 Working together we can ensure that tomorrow’s
clinicians are properly trained and ready to enter
clinical practice.
 Comments or concerns can be directed to Larry
Snyder, Ph.D., OTR/L at 615.963.5950 or
lsnyder@tnstate.edu
Resources
 Amini, D, Gupta, J, (2012) Fieldwork Level II and
Occupational therapy students: a position paper, OT
Practice, July, 23, 6&9.
 Bruns, C, Dimeo, S, Malta, S (2003) Journey into fieldwork
supervision, OT Practice, March, 2003, 19-22.
Resources cont.
 Hunt, K, Kennedy-Jones, M, (2010). Novice
occupational
therapists’ perceptions of readiness to undertake fieldwork
supervision, Australian Occupational Therapy
Journal,60(3), 394-400.
 Johnson, C, Koeing, K, Piersol, C, Santulucia, S,
Wachter-Schultz, w.,(2006). Level I Fieldwork: A study of
Contexts and Perceptions, American Journal of
Occupational Therapy, 57(6), 275-287.
Resources cont.
 Mulholland, S., Derdall, M. (2005), A strategy for
supervising occupational therapy students at a
community setting, Occupational Therapy
International, 12(1)
 Thomas, Y, Dickson, D, Broadbridge, J, Hopper, L,
Hawkins, R, Edwards, A, McBryde, C, 2007).
Benefits and challenges of supervising occupational
therapy fieldwork students, Australian Occupational
Therapy Journal, 54(Sup. 1), S2-S12.