Fieldwork
Selection
Process of Choosing Required Fieldworks
The academic fieldwork coordinator meets with all the Year
I students in the late fall or early spring semester of
their first year. At that time, the Coordinator describes
the purposes of the fieldwork experience and presents guidelines
to assist students in making their fieldwork choices. Year
III students who have completed fieldwork or students who
complete a pediatric fieldwork experience between Year I
and Year II may also be invited to talk about their experience.
At this time, students will be given a handout that lists
the facilities where the UND Occupational Therapy Department
presently sends students for fieldwork experiences in psychiatry,
physical disabilities and pediatrics. Students are given
a listing of those fieldwork settings with current reservations
and the specific dates.
A second meeting with the Year I OT student’s is scheduled
to plan the process for selecting Level II fieldwork experiences.
A lottery method is used to give equal opportunity for all
students to choose fieldwork experiences. At this meeting,
each student’s name will be drawn; the student who
is number one will have first choice of the facility he/she
selected and so forth, down the list of students.
Questions regarding the process of choosing fieldworks
are once again addressed. Students are advised that they
will have the opportunity to sign up with the academic fieldwork
coordinator for a two hour time period, to be shared among
six students. During this time period, students will have
opportunity to read the fieldwork binders and to ask the
academic fieldwork coordinator pertinent questions. Fieldwork
binders contain specific information regarding the types
of learning experiences available to each facility. Before
putting fieldwork choices in writing, all students are expected
to read the binders view the fieldwork computer program,
and access fieldwork information located in Blackboard regarding
chosen centers.
Once all students have had an opportunity to meet with
the academic fieldwork coordinator and have read the fieldwork
resources available to them, the students will sign up,
in order of their lottery number, to meet with the academic
fieldwork coordinator for a 15 minute time period. The student
needs to bring two (2) completed request forms for both
the psychosocial and physical disability fieldworks and
should have filled out the form with the top three choices
for each experience. In addition, the student should bring
a typed copy of his/her personal data sheet. The academic
fieldwork coordinator will periodically post the fieldwork
choices that are made, so that students with higher numbers
are aware of which fieldwork centers are open and which
are taken.
After all the students have met individually with the academic
fieldwork coordinator and have made their choices, the academic
fieldwork coordinator sends a signed official Fieldwork
Request Form to the fieldwork educator in a given center.
If the educator can accommodate the student, the form is
returned to UND bearing the signature of that supervisor.
Once the form is signed by both the UND academic fieldwork
coordinator and the facilities fieldwork educator, the agreement
is binding. Changes requested by the student can be made
only by appeal to the fieldwork committee. This must be
completed at least three months prior to the Level II experience.
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