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Bridging the Gap
MU OTs train fieldwork educators
In order to learn, you must experience. And if you ask occupational therapy (OT) students where they learn the most, they would probably say during fieldwork where they get hands-on experience with clients. Fieldwork educators play a crucial role in the success of OT students.
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Photo by Cheri Ghan
Dovie Weston and Brad Earnest have been selected by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) to provide coursework for AOTA’s new national Fieldwork Educator Certificate program.
“As a fieldwork educator it is all about application,” says Brad Earnest,
BS ’89, BHS-OT ’95, adjunct faculty member of the Department of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science and fieldwork educator at Rusk Rehabilitation Center in Columbia. “We strive to bridge the gap and create a successful transition from classroom to career.”
The importance of fieldwork educators led the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) to launch a national Fieldwork Educator Certificate program to create uniformity among fieldwork educator training and to insure that these educators are prepared to effectively teach students.
Dovie Weston, BS-OT ’75, MEd ’84, Academic Fieldwork Coordinator in the Department of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science asked Earnest to team up with her to apply as trainers for the program. “He has a reputation with us for being an educator from whom students learn what they need to know to succeed,” says Weston.
Weston and Earnest successfully competed to become one of the 15 teams of trainers selected by AOTA to help begin the program. The teams were chosen on the basis of experience with fieldwork education, diversity of practice area experience and geographic distribution.
Both Earnest and Weston were thrilled when they learned they were chosen as one of the teams. “It’s a neat opportunity to learn new material and become a more skilled presenter because that is a segment of my career I would like to develop,” says Earnest.
This inaugural group of trainers will help develop the curriculum for subsequent training workshops for fieldwork educators by determining what material is most important for enhancing the relationship between the student and the fieldwork educator. Although the certificate program is not mandatory, it has many benefits for those who choose to participate.
“Fieldwork educator training is important because it will help the practicing OT feel more prepared to interact with students in a positive way and feel comfortable with challenging students,” says Weston.
Earnest agrees. “We want there to be an emphasis on helping the struggling student,” he says. The fieldwork educator has to know how to handle the situation.”
Weston and Earnest will be responsible for hosting at least one training workshop per year for the next three years. Workshops are scheduled for January 2010 in Wichita Kan., March 2010 in St. Louis and July 2010 in Columbia. For a complete listing of currently available Regional Fieldwork Educator Certificate Workshops, visit the American Occupational Therapy Association website.
— Karen Hecksel
Page last updated on: October 26, 2009
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