Tuesday, December 3, 2013

ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN WORKING WITH CLIENTS



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