With the midterm behind us it is now time to look towards
the last two weeks of placement. In
planning this blog, I reviewed the “Purpose of Basic Fieldwork” in the Basic
Fieldwork Description; numbers 4 and 5 jumped out at me as I think it is
common for some educators to struggle with how much independence to give,
especially at Basic.
4. Take an active role in
working with clients
5. Develop and practice
interaction, assessment, intervention and professional reasoning skills.
There is no clear-cut right answer on how much independence
to give (unless “it depends” counts as the right answer). While we know that the students are very
much at the beginning of their education we need to balance that with the
learning curve that occurs over the two years of the program.
When I think of giving advice to educators, I think the best
tip is to approach learning
opportunities for your student with your OT brain…
o
If I
broke this client interaction into steps, which parts would be appropriate for
my student to do independently? This
not only helps with identifying areas where the student can be involved, but
also helps the student to not be overwhelmed with everything that can occur in
a single OT interaction!
§
You interpret the assessment and develop the
intervention, however the student carries it out (especially if these are
interventions an aide would carry out).
§
When you go into the home visit, have the
student focus on the layout of the home and how it facilitates/presents
barriers to function.
§
After a client interaction, have the student
come up with one issue that is important to address, the barriers/resources
to overcoming this issue and possible
interventions for the future
o
If the
student isn’t able to do _______ independently, would it still be safe if I was
there as a “standby assist?”
§
Have your student lead the initial interview or
client education. You can jump in if the
student gets stuck.
o
If the
student isn’t able to do this independently in the “real world” is there a
simulated way for this skill to be developed?
§
Can the student practice the assessment on a
fellow student before completing it with a client?
§
If a chart note is too complex (or there isn’t
time) for the student to write, can he/she write a practice chart note and then
compare it to yours?
Some extra bonus tips
that come to mind:
o
When deciding which clients or tasks to share with
your student, focus on the 5-6 “things” that make up 80% of your day. So, if most of your day is discharge planning
for people who’ve had hip replacements, allow the student to take the lead with
these clients. This allows students to
recognize patterns among your clients, build confidence and competence.
o
Allow your student to spend extra time with
clients (if you setting allows) so that they can practice their interviewing
and communication skills. This tip has
been previously listed in the blog entry “Stuff the student can do when I’m
busy”. Click here
for more ideas.
o
Think
out loud. Basic has been voted
“Placement I am most likely to lose my voice”, but being explicit about the
reasoning that is going on in your head is a fabulous way for students to
learn.
Lisa