Last week, our MOT IIs started their Level II
Fieldwork. For 24 weeks, the students
will be participating in full-time clinical fieldwork in a variety of settings,
including: acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient rehabilitation,
schools, pediatric hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, community mental
health, hand therapy, and industrial rehabilitation.
Prior to beginning fieldwork, some of our MOT IIs let us
know how they felt about moving from the classroom to the fieldwork portion of
the Master of Occupational Therapy curriculum.
“I can only hope that during my Level IIs, all the knowledge
my teachers have given me and all the extracurricular activities required of my
classes will set me up to be a great occupational therapist. Yes, it is scary
to think I will no longer be worrying about what grade I got on an assignment,
but what impact I really made on a person’s life…I am excited to apply what I
have learned and make a difference in people’s lives for the better.” –Kiley
“How do I feel about heading into fieldwork? I’m excited,
nervous, happy, anxious, and relieved! Some students are saying they will miss
school. Although I feel a great sense of relief, I know that I have a great
deal of learning ahead of me. I must go to fieldwork and apply everything I
have learned in a real OT setting. I
must acclimate myself, and absorb as much knowledge as I can. I’m incredibly
nervous about it! I recognize that although I’ve made it over a very large
hurdle, I must finish this race. I will not be finished until I pass my
fieldwork!”—Kristin
“It feels surreal to be at this point in my education. I can
clearly remember the day I received a phone call from SLU saying that I had
been accepted into the OT program. There were many times throughout the program
when I thought that I couldn’t do it. But now as I am quickly approaching the
end of my education, I cannot believe that I will have a Masters degree before
I even turn 23 years old… Through my education in SLU occupational therapy, I
have gained an extensive amount of medical, clinical, and occupational
knowledge. However, I believe what sets SLU apart from other schools is the
focus on professional behavior and inter-professional teamwork. I believe that
these skills should not be neglected when gaining an education. Because of my
development in these areas, I feel more confident in applying classroom
knowledge to team and client interactions in the field.” –Jenae
