Developing their own style

As placement unfolds, it is likely your student has done a lot of “copying” of how you do things.  When I think back to when I was an educator, unknowingly, I tried to mold my students into a version of me. Something felt easier to mentor/evaluate a student who was a “mini-me.”  I believe a real conscious effort is needed to allow your student to develop their own style.

Now, allowing students to develop their own style doesn’t mean you throw everything out the window. There are still expectations that need to be met.  But we each bring different styles to how we are as (student) OTs. This includes how we use humour (or not), how we communicate, how we write chart notes and the list goes on. This quote from one of our educators speaks to this:

“Always ask yourself if your feedback is coming from a place of personal preference or necessary to ensure the integrity and ethics of an OT role… When a student is doing something in a way that is different from you, you need to ask yourself, “Is it 'wrong?’” and/or “Are there are any negative consequences to this?”

Here are some comments from other educators in our community on allowing the development of style: 

“When it comes to writing reports and chart notes, I don't expect perfection. If the information is there and spelling/terminology is correct, I don't try to make too many changes. I believe everyone has their own writing style and I think it's important that students learn to develop their own and not just write how I do -I'm not the queen of report writing!”

“I try to be positive by encouraging independence and the student’s personal style.  I allow them the time to meet their client’s and work on their ability to communicate, not just ‘get the work done’”.

     "Encourage students to find their own style rather than trying to clone yourself!"

Understandably, we each have our own ways of doing things. We once had to figure out our own OT style too. Now, its your students turn.

Thanks to the OT educators who provided this feedback to share.
Lisa 

Revised by Julie, 2024

OT Community Thoughts: “Why I offer Intermediate I Fieldwork”

The Intermediate I placement block has always been the most difficult fieldwork placement to recruit.  I happened to mention this recruitment difficulty to the OTs who offered an Intermediate I placement.

Here are some of the responses they gave as to why they offered during this time frame:

I actually think Intermediate I might be my favorite placement to offer as it seems like students at this time come with a good chunk of OT knowledge and reflection experience but are also “fresh” enough that the clinical experiences they gain during they’re placement can be endless.

I feel a student at this stage of their learning “know enough to know what they don’t know” and ask really good questions!  Also, I see a lot larger gain which is very satisfying as a supervisor. 

We do a lot of report writing so it allows the student to get a lot of experience with developing their documentation skills, which I know is typically an area that requires a lot of practice.

I really enjoyed taking a student for the Intermediate 1 placement. It was a good fit because the student had endless direction in which to tailor his/her learning.

I heard other comments as well:  how well this placement fit with new OT roles, OT roles that are broad, and OT roles that are very specific!

If you are new to offering at Intermediate I or any placement and would like to discuss how it might work for you, please contact our fieldwork team at OTFieldwork@umanitoba.ca. Without each of you, there would be no fieldwork!

Lisa

Revised by Julie, 2024

Stuff from the top of my head: Tips from an OT with 24 years of experience

Sharing tips amongst each of you is an important part of this blog. There is so much we can learn from one another, which is all part of being a community!

We asked you to share your tips. I offered some sentences for you to "fill in the blanks" to help to get the thinking going. One of our educators took us up on the challenge. This was what came off the top of her head…

Something I do to prepare is… 

Review the student manual and update materials.  This makes me think about seeing my job for the first time. Would this make sense to a first glance?

One thing I’m going to try for this placement is… 

To integrate theory in a more conscious manner, working through it with the student…co-learning!

Something I remember that my educator did when I was a student was… 

Ask me how I felt I did before providing me with any feedback. Self-reflection proved to be a great tool for life.

I would tell a new educator ... 

That you don’t need to know everything.

Something that makes me nervous is…

Not knowing everything! Despite my earlier note…however, it’s okay not to know everything and modeling how to get through an area of limited knowledge / experience is a great teaching moment, both for myself and a student.

I'll add here, with this educator's 24 years added to the 3 OTs in the post “you don’t need to know everything,” we have at least 95 years of experience behind this tip.  If you are pretending that you have all the answers, give yourself permission to stop!

There is still so much more to learn from each other. For now, thank you to this educator for sharing these insights!

Lisa

Revised by Julie, 2024

 

 

“What I’d tell a first time educator” Advice from OTs with experience

Being part of a community includes supporting the learning and growth of each other - not just of students entering the profession but also of those who are already in the field.

Here are a few suggestions shared by OTs with experience when asked, 

"What would I tell a first-time educator?"

I like to sit down with students on their first day and talk about

• the goals they have,
• what they hope to learn,
• what they are interested in,
• and most importantly, what they know about how they best learn and communicate

I have found I have had to change my approach with [each] student, some are “immediately following de-briefers”, some are “take some time to think then debriefers”, some are “list people”, some are “single task oriented”.  If I get that from them [near the start of placement] then we can work more effectively and efficiently together.

One thing I try to do is seek out feedback from my student:

• what does he/she feel comfortable taking on?
• what does he/she want more opportunities to observe?
• does he/she feel like she is getting enough feedback? The right kind of feedback?

I also make a point of using the eval package to plan out our goals for the following week of placement (e.g., observing a specific type of assessment, doing an initial interview, planning and running a group therapy session, writing a discharge summary, etc.). This keeps us on track and is an opportunity for my student to highlight things he/she is particularly interested in or wanting to work on.

I would say that my process has always been to give them a good introduction to the environment and to the key people that they would need to rely on for information.  Then, to observe me in various interactions, practice them with each other (if in a collaborative placement), be observed interacting with clients, then doing it independently and talking  about it later.

I really like to try and be collaborative with students and clearly outline expectations or reasonable progressions for the goals they are trying to achieve.

I tell all my students that I feel the first (and perhaps the most important) step, with any patient, is to establish a rapport with the patient.  Nothing can move forward without such rapport.

Be open to feedback, you likely will learn more from your student then you think and take the experience as the gift it is.  

Lisa

Updated by Julie, 2024

Ten random (and great) tips from our OT community

You will see in previous posts that I have grouped many of our tips into themes...but this post will be about all the random little gems that have come from our very own OT community.  In no particular order, I present you:

Ten random responses to, 

“What would your students say if I asked them what makes you a great educator?”

I remind the student that my ease/knowledge (or whatever the student calls it) comes from years of practice. Time and practice are all that are needed to make a student into a clinician.

I wonder if it is simply that I love what I do and that I learn something new every day.  My take home message is that I hope students see that where there is passion/commitment and willingness to learn - you will become a better clinician.

I challenge students to consider what they want to get out of their fieldwork experience.

I remind myself that I can learn valuable things from my students; I have them take on the role of educator!

I encourage independence and debrief re: the experience; independence is the most significant facilitator to building confidence I have seen in my students.

I ask for feedback and questions! Students may say they don't have a question about a certain situation, but I often find they're just processing what's going on and may have questions later.

I focus on their strengths as I think if they feel confident in one area, it will help boost their confidence in areas that need work.

I try to remember that I’m not necessarily evaluating a student to do my job; I am evaluating their ability to demonstrate an OT skill set; I align expectations with the stage of learning they are at. 

My thoughts are that they are a person first and a student second.  I try to remember what it felt like to be a student.  Although it was a long time ago, some memories (good and bad) are pretty fresh.  It is not easy to be a student and encouragement is always welcome!  It is intimidating for me to take a student (maybe I shouldn’t admit that?!?) because I question my knowledge base.  So I also try to remember I have a lot to learn from a student too and it is positive experience. 

. 

I feel very lucky to work in an area I love, and like my job sells itself in a lot of ways! But maybe having a student is a reminder to showcase the work I do as an OT and to celebrate it.

Lisa

Updated by Julie, 2024

Encourage Inter-professional activities

As OTs, we typically work on teams with other professionals.  I could tell you more about the importance of it, but I think it’s best if I leave it to the educators in our community:

“I try to get students involved in other roles while they’re on placement… I think it just gives them a better understanding of what an OT actually can bring to the table.”

"I encouraged my student to take the opportunity to observe some of the other disciplines we work with and the OTs we often refer our patients to upon discharge. I think this promotes understanding and appreciation of the various team members’ roles (including areas of overlap) and gives greater scope of the spectrum or continuum of care for a particular patient. I think it makes students feel more comfortable liaising with the other disciplines on our team as well as determining the right referral option for a particular patient upon discharge."

"I really try to get students to observe or shadow other clinicians in the centre. That was one of the things I learned over the years.  It was a good idea to let them link up with other clinicians for a spell.  We work with so many others, and the best way to really understand their roles is to know where they are coming from.  I’ve been lucky that the other clinicians at my setting are so willing to let the students observe, and then my discussions with the student about who does what and our roles as OT’s are better.  They are also more comfy with the team working with our clients and are able to ask more meaningful questions."

Lisa

Updated by Julie, 2024