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

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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

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