About the Authors

Lisa Mendez

My interest in supporting fieldwork educators was first sparked when I was a “struggling student” on placement back in 1998.  It seemed that I could no longer just copy what I saw my educator doing--I was actually expected to think and reason.  My fieldwork educator was in regular communication with Theresa Sullivan, the Academic Fieldwork Coordinator at time, who gave her strategies and insights into my challenges.  I remember being in absolute shock, I was oblivious to the fact that I was struggling.

Fortunately for me, it was around this time that Theresa was offering an independent study on the topic of Clinical Reasoning (Anne Strock, who was at Health Sciences Centre at the time was an additional mentor on the project).  Theresa and Anne wanted to gain some insights into students’ perspectives on learning about and developing professional/clinical reasoning.  With Theresa and Anne’s guidance, Jodene Neufeld and I worked to develop a resource entitled Clinical Reasoning: What is it and why should I care?    This resource is still being used in OT and SLP programs across Canada and around the world!

I graduated with a Bachelor of Medical Rehabilitation (OT) in 1999 and a Masters of Occupational Therapy in 2012, both from the University of Manitoba.   My clinical work has mainly been in pediatrics; I have worked at a pediatric rehabilitation centre, several school divisions, a private practice, and with a northern health program.  Although I have always been based out of Winnipeg, my clinical practice has allowed me to travel to Nunavut and many rural and remote regions of Manitoba.  I have been a fieldwork educator 12 times for a total of 21 students (I am a fan of the collaborative model).

I began working part-time in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Manitoba in 2002 and have been full time since 2005 (minus 3 maternity leaves).   My current workload allows me to interact with prospective students (admissions), current students (course coordination and teaching), and alumni (recruiting student placements and supporting preceptors).

Other contributors:

I would like to acknowledge Ellen Davis, who turned my spurting out of “maybe we should have some sort of tip of the week or something” into the actual set up of this blog during Basic 2010.  Thanks for the discussions, your tips, and for encouraging me to write.

I would like to acknowledge Teresa Allison, who took up blog writing as part of her role during Ellen and my leaves through 2012 and 2013.  It was great to have you jump right in; your perspective was so valuable.

Last but not least, I would like to acknowledge the amazing OT fieldwork educators in our community who have shared their tips, asked good questions, and have given us feedback on this blog.  I feel incredibly lucky to have such great educators and occupational therapists in my community.