OT Current Students
Fieldwork is an important component of your Occupational Therapy education at Elizabethtown College because:
- Clinical exposure provides the best "real world" context for applying information and skills gained in the classroom.
- Students gain insights into the myriad of factors that impact the OT process including professional behaviors.
Information
- The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) requires that level I and level II experiences be incorporated into all OT educational programs.
- Elizabethtown College provides a hand-crafted education. Fieldwork selection and placement is no exception. Students collaborate with the academic fieldwork coordinator to determine placements for all fieldwork.
- All students will receive a fieldwork handbook with additional details and information during their junior year.
Resources and Professional Organizations
The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. (AOTA)
Fieldwork Level 1:
Elizabethtown College’s Occupational Therapy Program schedules level I fieldwork in full-day visits during each of the practice courses. Students typically will complete level I fieldwork in various settings for one day/week during respective practice courses. Other schedules may be available, e.g. during spring break. Students will experience a variety of settings including acute care hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, outpatient and private practice settings, schools, jails, clinics and home health opportunities.
Forms & Resources:
Learning Objectives for Level I Fieldwork (PDF)
Fieldwork Level 2:
Students in the B.S./M.S. degree complete level II fieldwork after successful completion of all academic coursework, typically during the spring of the 5th year and summer after the 5th year. The OT Academic Fieldwork Coordinator (AFWC) begins the process for level II placement during the students’ junior year. Students indicate their top choices in advance of the placement process. Students’ learning needs, previous clinical experiences and exposure, availability and schedules at clinical sites and all relevant information are considered as well as the needs of the overall class of students being placed at that same time.
Students' placements are confirmed typically 3 months prior to starting level II fieldwork to allow sufficient time for finding housing and working out other details. Potential sites include private and public hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, Veterans’ Administration services, early intervention, acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, jails, schools, private practice, clinics, outpatient settings and nontraditional settings. Students in the B.S./M.S. degree complete level II fieldwork after successful completion of all academic coursework, typically during the spring of the 5th year and summer after the 5th year. The OTD students complete level II fieldwork in the summer and fall semesters prior to the Capstone Experience.