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. 

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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

The importance of creating a safe learning environment

As OTs, we understand the impact the environment can have on our clients functioning.  The same goes for student learning.  When we, as educators, create a safe and positive environment, we set the stage for our students to feel ready to take on safe risks.  

But once again, don’t take my word for it…here are some thoughts from OTs in our community:

The feedback I have received from students in the past is that I create a supportive environment - where they do not feel afraid to try out their skills and have things not go "perfectly". Most students have said this has helped them build confidence....because a "failure or hiccup" is just an opportunity to debrief and learn from. My hope is that I make their placement feel like a partnership that we are in together.

I would hope they would say I encourage people to try and make mistakes in a safe supportive environment, I know for me I usually learn the lesson better and never forget it.

I try to be approachable and let the students know that this is a safe place to ask any questions no matter how silly they think they may be.  I always take them seriously and make sure we laugh a lot too.

Lisa

Revised by Julie, 2024

Treat the student like a new colleague

The most frequently mentioned tip by the nominees to the Fieldwork Roster of Honour was to treat the student as a new colleague, making them feel part of the team. 

Here are some of the comments:

I try to treat the students more like a new therapist and colleague. It seems to make them feel like they have a useful role and take responsibility more readily.

Make them feel welcome and part of the team. It can be so overwhelming being in a big facility with so many new faces and things to learn. I really believe that it's important that, as educators, we remember what it was like to be student and the stress that placements can have on them.

I try to provide students with as many experiences as possible and make sure that they feel part of the team.

In my particular area of practice, we work very closely with our other interdisciplinary team members; it was important to me that my student got to work in partnership with these various disciplines and also to feel like a valued member of our team. I was happy to hear [their] feedback about feeling [their] voice was heard in our team meetings and that [their] opinion mattered--I think one of the number one goals of any placement is for the student to feel affirmed in their role as an OT.

…it is very important...to be acknowledged in some way for the contributions they make.  Although they are students, they are on the path to joining the profession and I think it important to acknowledge their success with this and welcome them in.  

Lisa

Revised by Julie, 2024