Monday, November 28, 2016

Student-Led Clinic showcases unique learning 

opportunities for MScOT students


This month, the Faculty of Rehab Medicine communications department highlighted the work of Jillian Quigley at the Vi Riddell Children's Pain and Rehab Centre at Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary.  This placement allows groups of students to participate in a student lead multi-disciplinary learning environment.  Please click here to see the entire article.  

The Department of Occupational Therapy's Jutta Hinrichs and Cori Schmitz pose with Jillian Quigley (centre) in Banff where Quigley received the ​CAOT Fieldwork Educator Award of Excellence for the Student-Led Program in Calgary. (Photo Credit: Lili Liu)
Thank you to Jillian for her tremendous work with our students!


Friday, November 11, 2016

Students report back on their 

Introductory Fieldwork Placements

After fun and busy Introductory Fieldwork placement October 31-November 4, our first year students were back in class this week and gave brief reports on their experiences to their peers.  Placements ranged across Alberta and Saskatchewan and just about every area of practice (hospital,home care, community, schools, WCB).  The students were thrilled and we loved hearing how excited they were to experience Occupational Therapy in action.  These experiences really gave the students a sense of how clinical reasoning, ethical considerations, client centered practice and interprofessional collaboration look in practice.  Here are a few of the comments that students had:
  • My preceptor was like a 'detective'.  I was amazed at how she problem solved and found the right answer for this client.  
  • It was really neat to see how the team worked together and the respect the OT was given in terms of discharge recommendations. 
  • It was so cool how my preceptor worked with this client - she empathized, collaborated, educated all in the matter of one visit.
  • I never thought I would be interested in this area of practice but it was really interesting and I have a totally different perception now.  
  • It was true what we were told about practicing in a small town.  I did know several of the clients we talked about.  It made me much more aware of confidentiality. 
  •  There were so many ethical considerations.  My preceptor had to negotiate conflict between client and family, different teams, etc.
  • It was so cool!  I had no idea OT was involved in that area.
  • It was amazing how my preceptor 'heard everything' the client said and acknowledged it. I was so busy looking at the chart, I don't know how she can do it all at once!
  • It was a real 'confidence booster' to get to try a few things with clients and figure out I can do this!
Sam and Julia with their preceptor Jonathan Rivero of Qi Creative
Thank you to all of you who supported the students as they put their toes in the "OT waters" for the first time.  It was a great week for everyone and will help them so much as they move forward with their program!  


Tuesday, November 1, 2016


The OT Students gOT Spirit!


Once again,  our OT student Professional Development Committee has put together a great submission for OT Month Challenge.  Their aim is to promote how meaningful OTs are to their clients and community.  

The video is available on FaceBook   click here to view

Image result for clip art video camera

If you are connected on Facebook, please like and share the original post to get the word out to the OT community.  The submission that gets the most "likes" on Facebook will be the winner of the challenge and receive a prize.  Our students have already identified two worthy charities to donate the prize to.  

Congratulations to the students and we hope you enjoy!


Monday, October 17, 2016

Introductory Placements October 31-November 4


As our students are well into the fall term and we are all feeling like winter is here, the Fieldwork Team would like to take a moment to wish all of you a Happy OT Month! I know many sites will be having their own celebrations and here at Corbett the students are making a video celebrating OT -  I had my "close up" today! Here's to celebrating our great profession and the work we do!

Thank you so much for the overwhelming response to our call for offers for the Introductory Placements for our Year 1's from Oct. 31-November 4.   

The purpose of this early exposure to OT practice is three-fold: 
1. Opportunity for students to witness and participate in real, live OT practice and confirm their interest in our profession.
 2. Opportunity for students to gain basic knowledge about the OT role in a particular practice setting and create a context for OT practice that can be built on during classroom learning.
3. Opportunity for students to demonstrate professionalism, engagement and begin practicing their therapeutic use of self.

There are no 'caseload' expectations for this placement but throughout the placement students are expected to be engaged, eager learners who demonstrate basic time management skills and the ability to communicate appropriately with clients and colleagues. At some point during the placement, student must establish therapeutic rapport with at least one client and by the end of the placement they must articulate to their preceptor what occupational therapy is and explain the role for OT in this particular practice setting. 

We hope those of you who have students at your sites find them eager and engaged and that they remind you of your own excitement about Occupational Therapy. 

Happy Occupational Therapy Month!


Sunday, September 18, 2016

 

Students co-author article 

on Prosper Place Clubhouse

Congratulations to MScOT students, Helen Tam and Esther Wong, who along with their fieldwork supporters, Heather Bussiere and Loraine Kolber,  and community leader, Bluma Goldberg,  were published in this month's OT Now.  The article it titled "Prosper Place Clubhouse: A mosaic of inclusion for recovery" and you can read it by clicking here.  


Prosper Place has been a key partner in providing Independent Community Placements (ICPs) to our MScOT students for a number of years and journalling and reflections are a key part of any ICP experience. Esther and Helen's journal reflections help illustrate how the principles of the recovery philosophy used in the Clubhouse model mirror Occupational Therapy values.  You can learn more about ICPs on our website [ click here ] or by contacting our Fieldwork Educator for ICPs , Loraine Kolber.  


Thursday, September 8, 2016

The "Postcards" have arrived!

Back in June, we let you know we were requesting submissions from our students about their placements.  We got some great pictures that really highlight what a dynamic, creative and FUN clinical community we have in both Saskatchewan and Alberta.  Here's a what they looked like when we pulled them together. 



We had postcards from Canora, Rosetown, Cochrane, Edmonton, Bonnyville, Outlook, and Calgary!  Here's one of my favorite stories:

"This is a picture of [A], the boy I worked with this summer, and his friend. Kids at A's school don't like to play with A. because he has autism. The parents of these kids don't let their kids come to A's birthday parties. There is a stigma attached to having the label of autism but this little girl doesn't think A is different at all. She genuinely likes to be around A and plays with him like she plays with any other kid. She's patient with him and makes sure he feels included. She treats him like a typical kid while everyone else treats him differently. The world would be a better place for those with disabilities if people were all like A's friend."      Andrea

This little girls sounds like a future Occupational Therapist to me!!  Thanks to all the students who submitted!

WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING THIS FALL? 

  • Year One students are into their first week of classes and have already filled out their selections for their Introductory Placements from October 31-November 4.  Thanks to all our great sites and preceptors for offering to give this group their first fieldwork experience - they're pretty excited!  A reminder, students are allowed to return to their Introductory site in future placements (they only time they can repeat sites).
  • Year Two students are back from summer break and buzzing about their OCCTH 525 placements in May/June (and hopefully enjoying their classmates postcards!).  They will head out in January again for OCCTH 526.
  • The first "Year Three" students in the new curriculum are excited as they are completing their final placement!  Remember that feeling of no longer being the "Student", not knowing what to do with your time now there were no assignments and due dates, and the excitement and trepidation of embarking on your new career?  Many of them will be preparing to write the CAOT exam on November 19th.  
  • Finally, something for YOU!  There are U of A Alumni-Student Pub Night events booked
  • In Edmonton:
    Friday, September 236-9 pm
    Hudson's on Whyte
    10307 82 Ave NW Edmonton

    In Calgary:
    Friday, November 46-9 pm
    Last Best Brewing & Distilling
    607 11 Ave SW, Calgary 

    Appetizer buffet starts at 6 pm
    FREE drink ticket for a domestic bottle beer or hi-ball
    Please click on the link above for information and to register! 
As always, feel free to contact any member of the fieldwork team if you have any comments, questions or cudo's regarding MScOT student placements!



Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Welcome to our new MScOT students!


Congratulations to our newest group of MScOT students who start orientation today at Corbett Hall. One hundred and twenty strong (96 in Edmonton and 24 in Calgary), over the course of the next 26 months this bright, eager and enthusiastic group will engage in approximately 30 courses for  80 credits and hopefully have some fun along the way!  These courses include four full fieldwork courses of seven weeks:

  • OCCTH 525 in May/June of year one
  • OCCTH 526 in January/February of year two
  • OCCTH 527 in July/ August of year two
  • OCCTH 528 in September/October of year three

To kick it all off, the students will participate in a one week Introductory Placement (OCCTH 503) from October 31-November 4.  This is a great opportunity for the students to become familiar with some of the roles and diversity of Occupational Therapy in real world practice.  We are still looking for a few more placements so please let us know if you have space for a student! our contact info

Hopefully, some of you will have the chance to meet these great 'future OTs' over the course of their program and join me in wishing them luck!




Thursday, August 11, 2016

MScOT Student participates in unique Summer Studentship in Cancer Care


Congratulations to MScOT student Sheena Moodie on her recent completion of the Satore Multi-disciplinary Summer Studentship Progam at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton!  Sheena is one of two health professional students to participate this year and only the second Occupational Therapy student ever.  Good work, Sheena and thank  you for representing OT so well. 

For more information on Sheena's experience, click here for the full story!  

Friday, July 29, 2016

Acting ACCE for Fieldwork Program for August 2016- July 2017

Cherie Henderson will be the Acting Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education (ACCE) for the UofA MScOT Program from August 2016 - July 2017 while Cori Schmitz is on sabbatical.

We would like to welcome Cherie to the ACCE role! We are very excited for her to join our MScOT Fieldwork Team. Cherie already has a wealth of knowledge and experience with student fieldwork and clinical education from her recent years as the OT Professional Practice Leader at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton.

As ever, we encourage our OT clinical community to reach out to Cherie, or any of our team members, if they interested in being involved in student placement supervision or are needing support while working with one of our MScOT students:

cherie.henderson@ualberta.ca

In June, Cherie participated in our team's fieldwork retreat and started orienting to her new position. The retreat was generously hosted by Michele Derdall, our Saskatchewan Clinical Education Coordinator, at 'The Camp' near Outlook, Saskatchewan.



Monday, July 25, 2016

MScOT Student Plays for Canada in 2017 Rugby World Cup

One of our second year OT students, Amanda Williams, is competing for Canada at the 2017 Rugby World Cup in Ireland this summer!

Click here for the full story.

Monday, July 18, 2016

Fieldwork Performance Expectations for Level 3 Placements

Our students have now started their OCCTH 527 (Level 3a) placement and will be completing their OCCTH 528 placement (Level 3b) in Sept-Oct.  They are now into the final stages of applying their practical knowledge before graduating and becoming our colleagues!

At this stage the students are working to CONSOLIDATE their knowledge, accurately analyze and appropriately alter their behaviour, solve problems more independently and function in the fieldwork environment with minimal or only consultative supervision.

The preceptor's role during this stage is often one of MENTOR, using a consultative style of supervision. Here are some specific roles preceptors may focus on during Level 3 placements:

  • allowing the student to work as independently as possible
  • encouraging self-direction and demonstration of initiative
  • working 'collegially' with the student
  • providing unique experiences
  • articulating professional reasoning and sharing client stories
  • relinquishing control (if it's safe!)

However, before jumping in to mentoring or expecting independent work, it has to be understood that students have likely had a broad variety of fieldwork experiences (i.e., school based, home care, adult acute care, etc) and with a diverse population (i.e., pediatrics, adults, seniors).

Thus, each placement still goes through earlier stages of the preceptor being an EDUCATOR as the student gains direct knowledge application in the new setting (as in Level 1 placements) and assisting the student to transition to more independence with the preceptor acting as COLLABORATOR or COACH (as in Level 2 placements). Depending on the setting, it is expected that Level 3 students can move through these first two stages reasonably quickly and then become more independent.  

For Level 3a, in a typical practice setting, the expectation is that the student will be able to manage 50-75% of a typical caseload for a new-grad therapist and for Level 3b, increase that to managing 75% or more of a new-grad caseload. 

As always, thank you for your time and efforts to supervise the students.  We hope that everyone enjoys the experience and looks forward to these students becoming our colleagues in the near future!

Monday, July 11, 2016

Update re: OCCTH 528 (Sept-Oct) Placement Recruitment

We were surprised and very pleased with the large number and variety of offers that were made available to our MScOT students for their Level 3b placement in Sept-Oct 2016!

All the students were able to choose placements that best suited their interests and will maximize the diversity of their fieldwork portfolios (including the program requirements of mental health, community and rural practice).

If we did not end up using your OCCTH 528 placement offer, then we will be notifying you shortly.

Since we have just now completed the first full-year with our new curriculum schedule, we are in the process of analyzing and responding to the patterns we have seen in terms of placement recruitment for each of the sessions.

We encourage you to be in touch with further questions or concerns, or to strategize about the best time of year for you or your site to offer a placement(s):

Calgary/Southern AB (Jutta Hinrichs) click here to contact via email.

Saskatchewan (Michele Derdall) click here to contact via email.

Edmonton/Northern AB (Cori Schmitz) click here to contact via email.

On behalf of the UofA OT Department and the entire fieldwork team, THANK YOU for your ongoing support of clinical education. We could not run our MScOT Fieldwork Program without you!

Thursday, June 30, 2016

OCCTH 525 ends ... and OCCTH 527 begins!

Summer is finally here ...

With Canada Day festivities, fireworks, and a long weekend to celebrate!

OCCTH 525 (our Level 1 placement for our Year 1 students) ends today.

OCCTH 527 (our Level 3a placement for our Year 2 students) officially begins next week, although placements at some sites have already begun.

OCCTH 528 (our Level 3b placement for our Year 2 students) recruiting is complete and student matching is nearly finished. These placements will occur in September - October 2016.

We have immensely appreciated the support of the Alberta, Saskatchewan and NWT occupational therapists and clinical communities during this first full 'go round' with our new curriculum schedule.

The students in our UofA MScOT Program completed a total of more than 600 fieldwork placements in the recent year ... all because of your generous contribution to their learning and to our great profession!

Happy Canada Day, everyone!



Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Postcards from the Field

We hope all is well and progressing at the various OCCTH 525 placement sites!

The fieldwork team and I would like to encourage our Year 1 students to send us ‘Postcards from the Field’!

Students are encouraged to send postcards or pictures, complete with interesting anecdotes/experiences from fieldwork and/or life away from Corbett Hall or Calgary Campus, to:

Cori Schmitz
Dept of OT - Faculty of Rehab Med
Corbett Hall 
U of A
Edmonton AB
T6G 2G4

'Postcards' can be sent via snail mail ... we love snail mail!

Or via email:  cori.schmitz@ualberta.ca

We’ll put all the 'postcards' and pictures up for display this fall and we’ll have a draw for something useful and OTish when the students arrive back on campus in September!

So be in touch, Year 1 students ...

We want to hear or see some of your fieldwork stories!



Tuesday, June 21, 2016

2:1 Student Supervision Model Highlighted in CAOT OT Weekly

You may have seen the short media piece in the Canadian Occupational Therapy Association's OT Weekly (June 14 edition) about how 2 OTs in Regina SK are effectively using a 2:1 model for student supervision?

If not here it is ...

While not a common model outside of role-emerging placements, 2:1 is the model of choice for two OTs in Regina, SK. The model provides “increased opportunities to develop clinical reasoning and reflective practice skills and to gain these skills faster due to peer support.” (Kerri) “They problem solve together before coming to me and in this setting, they have more independence than they would if on their own.” (Holli) Pedagogical benefit for students!  Practical benefit for preceptors!

Consider contacting one of our UofA Fieldwork Team members for more information reagrding strategies for supervising 2 students during the same placement.

A growing number of our Alberta and Saskatchewan clinical educators are now utilizing this 'peer' or collaborative learning model in a variety of practice settings ...

Perhaps it could work for you and your next OT student(s)!

Friday, May 20, 2016

OCCTH 525 begins ...

Our Year 1 students began OCCTH 525 this week ... their first full-time placement in their journey to become OTs!

Thank you to all the clinical educators who are supporting these Level 1 placements throughout AB and SK!

Click HERE to access a 6 min video on Reflective Writing, created by University of Hull (UK) that does a really good job at explaining a rationale for and approach to critical reflection.

The students were introduced to this resource during their fieldwork preparation seminars. They have been encouraged to pro-actively use both written and oral reflection as a tool for developing their clinical reasoning and professionalism throughout their placements.

We hope you find this video useful too!

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

UofA Rehabilitation Medicine Family Fun Day

The Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine is hosting a Family Fun Day alumni and community event on Saturday, June 4 at Corbett Hall in Edmonton.

This is a FREE event for anyone who is interested in celebrating, re-connecting or learning about rehabilitation science, OT, PT or SLP.

Please plan to join us! RSVP here.

Family Fun Day RSVP

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

OT Professional Practice Lead Awarded CAOT Fieldwork Educator Award of Excellence

Cherie Henderson has been awarded the national CAOT Fieldwork Educator Award of Excellence for the University of Alberta for her significant and extra-ordinary support of clinical education at the Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) in Edmonton!

Follow the link for the full story:

http://rehabilitation.ualberta.ca/news/2016/april/ualberta-clinical-educator-wins-national-fieldwork-educator-award-of-excellence

Our congratulations and gratitude go out to Cherie and the RAH OT team for their ongoing commitment to supervising and mentoring OT students at this major Alberta Health Services (AHS) site!

Thursday, April 14, 2016

2016 CAOT Conference & UofA OT Alumni Event

We are looking forward to seeing many of you at the 2016 CAOT Conference in Banff next week!

A reminder that our department will be hosting a UofA OT Alumni Event on Thursday, April 21 in Banff, in conjunction with the conference proceedings. All UofA OT alumni are encouraged to attend!

Details below. Please RSVP by clicking here.

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Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Seeking Level 3 Student Placements for Summer Session

We now have enough placements for all of our OCCTH 525/Year 1 students for the spring session.

We are very grateful for the support and contribution of all the OTs in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and beyond who supervise our students from session to session, year to year!

We are re-directing our recruitment efforts to the Year 2/Level 3 summer session. Dates for this particular placement are quite flexible to work around your summer holiday schedules:

OCCTH 527 (Year 2/Level 3a)
ANY 7 weeks between June 27 and September 2 

If you are a registered OT working in Alberta and would be interested in supervising a student during this session, please contact Cori Schmitz at the UofA OT Department:

cori.schmitz@ualberta.ca

Thank you for your consideration!

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Still Seeking OCCTH 525 (Level 1) Placements

We are still needing to recruit a final few placements for our first year MScOT students for OCCTH 525. This Level 1 placement will occur from May 16 - June 30, 2016 (7 weeks).

If you are a registered OT working in Alberta and would be interested in supervising a student during this session, please contact Cori Schmitz at the UofA OT Department:

cori.schmitz@ualberta.ca

Thank you for your consideration!

We are very grateful for the support and contribution of all the OTs in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and beyond who supervise our students from session to session, year to year!

Friday, April 1, 2016

OT Clinical Educator of the Year recognized at RMSA Gala

The annual Rehabilitation Medicine Students Association (RMSA) Gala was held on March 18 in Edmonton.

Petrina Calder, an occupational therapist at the Edmonton Institution for Women, Correctional Services Canada, was presented with the 2015 OT Clinical Educator of the Year Award:

http://rehabilitation.ualberta.ca/news/2016/march/rehab-meds-brightest-celebrated-at-2016-awards-gala

Each year, after completing their final placements, the graduating cohort of MScOT students are each encouraged to nominate one of their clinical educators who has made an extra-ordinary contribution to their fieldwork experience.

Our congratulations and immense thanks to Petrina Calder for her ongoing investment in our OT students and for so effectively supporting fieldwork placements in a potentially intimidating practice setting!

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

UofA OT Alumni Event

Our department will be hosting a UofA OT Alumni Event on Thursday, April 21 in Banff, Alberta as part of the 2016 CAOT Conference. All UofA OT alumni are encouraged to attend! 

Details below. Please RSVP by clicking here.


Inline image 1

Friday, March 18, 2016

Our UofA MScOT Introductory Fieldwork Placement 'Takes Off'

ACOTUP recently published an article profiling our Introductory Fieldwork Placement which now occurs annually for one week, during fall term, for our Year 1 students:

An Early Exposure to OT Practice: Our UofA MScOT Introductory Fieldwork Placement Takes Off

Follow this link and see pages 6-7 ...

http://www.acotup-acpue.ca/Newsletters/Winter2016/index.html

A big THANK YOU to our AB & SK clinical communities for being enthusiastic and supportive of this valuable new fieldwork initiative and schedule!

Monday, March 14, 2016

In the News

It is exciting when an OT graduate in a new position assists clients in developing a program initiative and it then gets showcased on the news.  Such is the case with Sylvia Tsang and members of Potential Place in Calgary that were highlighted on Global television for using broadcast news to help people with mental illness.

See this link for the news story that aired in mid February:

...But what relationship does this have to fieldwork?

Sylvia and a student partner were placed at Potential Place clubhouse for their 3rd fieldwork experience, OCCTH 527.  As there is no Occupational Therapist on site, this setting is considered a role-emerging placement or, as we at the University of Alberta (U of A) term them, an Independent Community Placement (ICP).  Daily on-site supervision is provided by one of the professional staff there and weekly OT supervision is provided by one of the clinical educators from the U of A.  The benefits of using ICPs as a placement is that they foster opportunities for reflection, independence, self-direction, personal growth and professional growth of students. To date, Potential Place has partnered with the U of A in having 3 sets of students complete their OT placements.  The role of OT is so appreciated that Sylvia was able to be hired as a Mental Health Worker following her graduation from the program.  She continues to use her OT skills and lens to support the members of Potential Place to meet their goals for a productive life.  As well, she is striving to create an official OT position with the clubhouse.

Who knows what opportunities may be developed and highlighted when offering placements!

Friday, March 4, 2016

the end of OCCTH 526

A huge THANK YOU to all of you in AB, SK and beyond who were involved in the mentorship and supervision of our Year 2 students during January and February!

OCCTH 526 has wrapped up for all of our Year 2 students and they are back with us in the classrooms of Corbett Hall and Calgary Campus sharing stories of their placements with us and each other.

We appreciate this significant investment that you have personally made in the education of our MScOT students. We could, literally, not run our fieldwork program without your dedication and contribution to these future OTs!

Spring seems to be arriving early this year on the prairies (perhaps because winter never really took hold) ... enjoy it! And stay tuned for more fieldwork news and postings in the months to come.

Next up:

OCCTH 525 (Year 1/Level 1) from May 16 - June 30, 2016

OCCTH 527 (Year 2/Level 3a) in July/August 2016 (flexible dates)

Keep in touch!

Cori and the MScOT Fieldwork Team

Friday, February 19, 2016

Free Online Preceptor Workshops

Registration for the UofA FRM CSCE Clinical Educator Workshop on March 8th (Edm) and 15th (Calg) is now closed.

Our apologies if you missed out on this professional development opportunity! More CSCE workshops will be scheduled in 2016.

Please connect with one of our fieldwork team members near you to get any information you are needing about supervision for upcoming placements. We are happy to arrange site visits or set up 1:1 meetings, whenever needed, to support you to keep supporting us!

Just a reminder that there are (at least!) two, free online resources (modules) that you can complete for professional development to continue building your supervisory and leadership skills as a clinical educator:


Preceptor Education Program (UWO): http://www.preceptor.ca/

BC Preceptor Development Initiative: http://www.practiceeducation.ca/


We sure appreciate your interest in 'paying it forward' and contributing to the future of our profession!

Friday, February 12, 2016

OTPDC Conference: Identifying Injustice & Building Advocacy - March 18

Registration is now open for the OTPDC Conference is on Friday March 18th from 830am-330pm in Corbett Hall, UofA, Edmonton.

The conference title this year is: Identifying Injustice: Building Advocacy into Your PracticeThe keynote speaker is Dr. Mary Egan from the University of Ottawa. Alongside a variety of guest speakers, including clinicians, professors, community members, and clients, we will explore how OTs can incorporate advocacy into occupational therapy practice to promote social justice and ensure occupational opportunities for all. 

Tickets are $50. Morning snack and lunch included! 

Click here to register. 

When registering, please be sure to rank your workshop choices from 1-8 in order to complete the form. After submitting the registration form, you will be re-directed to a page with a PayPal link. Click this link to pay. In order for your registration form to be processed, you MUST pay at this time. Your workshop selections will not be saved without a confirmed payment. Registration forms will be processed in the order received, so register early to guarantee your top workshop selections! If you do not have a PayPal account, don’t worry! Just select ‘Don’t have a PayPal account’ to make a one-time online purchase.

Registration will close on February 26th at 5pm. You will be sent an email with your confirmed workshop schedule by March 1st

Please submit only ONE registration form. If you would like to change your workshop selections, please send an email to je1@ualberta.ca

If you have any questions about registration or conference in general, please email Chelsea (cnwong@ualberta.ca) or Kayla (scheersc@ualberta.ca).

We hope to see you there!

UofA MScOT Student Professional Development Committee (PDC)

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

CSCE Clinical Educator Workshops - Challenges to Clinical Education - March 2016

The UofA Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine Collaborative for Scholarship in Clinical Education (CSCE) is offering the following Clinical Educator Workshop in March 2016 at both our Edmonton and Calgary campuses:

Challenges to Clinical Education
This half day workshop will emphasize strategies for establishing student/clinical relationships that deal well with challenges when they arise. Practical strategies for identifying and resolving areas of difficulty will be presented in a participatory format. This workshop will provide information and experiences that can be used to build and sustain relationships as well as resolve differences.
  • In Edmonton on Tuesday, March 8 1300-1600 Room 2-44 Corbett Hall, University of Alberta North [Main] Campus, Edmonton
  • In Calgary on Tuesday, March 15 0900-1200 Room 3-26 University of Alberta Calgary Satellite Campus (located at UofC Downtown Campus), 906 8 Avenue SW, Calgary
Tele-health access will not be available for this particular CSCE workshop. Registration is free for OTs, PTs and SLPs who have or will be supervising a student. Professional development attendance certificates will be issued. A light breakfast or afternoon snack will be served, depending on the location, so please plan to arrive a few minutes early to get settled.

To register click here.

CSCE workshops on a variety of topics will continue to be offered each year in both Calgary and Edmonton and the workshops could potentially be offered in larger rural locations, if there is sufficient interest. Please be in touch with your ideas and requests!
 
We appreciate your ongoing support of the clinical education of our UofA rehabilitation students!

Friday, February 5, 2016

Supervising Students in a Specialized Practice Setting


Alberta's own Jarett Stastny was recently interviewed to learn about how he coordinates and supports student placements within the Traumatic Psychiatry Injury program at the Millard Health Rehabilitation Centre in Edmonton. Jarett offered practical suggestions about how to facilitate student learning in an 'intense' and emerging area of OT practice.

Check out the article in the Shared Perspectives section of the Jan-Feb 2016 issue of OTNow (Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists):

Supervising students in a specialized practice setting: A new Alberta therapist invests in his profession

http://www.caot.ca/default.asp?pageid=4075
  
CAOT members should be able to follow the link and log in to access the article online.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Helping Students Reflect

By now students are nearing or at the halfway point in OCCTH 526.  This practical experience is allowing them to apply Year 1 and Year 2 (Fall Term) academic course work and is promoting their clinical reasoning, analytical and evaluative skills.  According to the educator Professor David Boud, effective learning will not occur unless you reflect (McClure, n.d.).

One definition of reflection is that it is "a process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform learning about practice" (McClure, n.d., p. 3).

There is so much that we could cover on this topic but perhaps, for this week's blog, we can offer a few resources and tips that may assist you in enhancing your students' abilities to reflect.

Consider Schon's (1983) Reflective Practice Cycle:


Consider Three Aspects of Reflection: Stages, Components, Time Dimensions (Plack et al, 2005):

1) Stages of Reflection include:
  • Returning to experience - describing an event or incident that stands out, including who, what when, where, why, and how.
  • Attending to feelings - both your own and perhaps others.
  • Re-evaluation - reappraise the current situation vis-a-vis past experiences.  Possibly link new concepts to pre-existing knowledge, begin to integrate new information, validate insights, thoughts, perception, and work this new meaning into your own way of being.
2) Components of Reflection may be:
  • Content based - exploring the problem/experience to better understand it and consider different perspectives
  • Process based - begin to explore other strategies available for use
  • Premise based - recognize and explore or critique own assumptions, values, beliefs, and biases.
3) There are 3 possible Time Dimensions:
  • Reflection on action (R-O-A) - after the action has been completed
  • Reflection in action (R-I-A) - occurs while in the midst of an activity and a result of conscious decisions made on the spot
  • Reflection for action (R-F-A) - anticipate situations and/or plans for future to improve the outcome

Journalling is suggested as a mechanism to facilitate reflection.  We encourage students to journal and it is a requirement in their mental health placements.  In a future blog we hope to focus on journalling as a reflective strategy.  Stay tuned!

References:
McClure, P.  (n.d.). Reflection on Practice.  University of Ulster: cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415537902/data/learning/8_Reflection%20in%20Practice.pdf
Plack, MM., Driscoll, M., Bliessett, S., McKenna, R., Plack, TP. (2005). A Method for Asssessing Reflective Journal Writing. Journal of Allied Health, 34:199-208.
Schon, D. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. Basic Books: USA.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Call for Offers and Placement Requests for Spring & Summer 2016

THANK YOU to those of you who are currently involved in the education 
and support of our UofA MScOT students! 

We greatly appreciated the generous number of offers that we received for OCCTH 526!

We have just begun recruiting for the upcoming Spring and/or Summer sessions:

·        OCCTH 525: Year 1/Level 1:  May 16 - June 30, 2016 (7 weeks)


·        OCCTH 527, Year 2/Level 3A:   July 4 - August 19, 2016 (7 weeks) 
This placement could start one week earlier or up to two weeks later depending on preceptor preference.

Please consider making a placement offer in one of the following ways:
  •  1.  If you are an HSPnet user, please accept your Placement Request(s) in HSPnet.
  •  2.  If you work for AHS, but are not an HSPnet user, you must notify Tracy Wulff via email with your offer and she will enter it into HSPnet on your behalf: Tracy.Wulff@albertahealthservices.ca 
  •  3.  If you work for Covenant Health, you must notify Stacey Roussel and she will accept or enter your offer in HSPnet:  Stacey.Roussel@covenanthealth.ca

The  placement requests and 'call for offers' for OCCTH 528/Level 3B in September-October will be sent out on May 15, 2016.  These dates and future placement dates can be found on the 'Clinician' page of our OT Department website: 

https://rehabilitation.ualberta.ca/departments/occupational-therapy/clinical-education/clinicians

Thank you for your consideration!

Monday, January 11, 2016

OCCTH 526 begins ...

Happy New Year!

As of today, all of our Year 2 students have started their OCCTH 526 fieldwork placements. We have students being supervised and mentored by OTs in a broad array of practice settings across the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan and even a few students completing placements in British Columbia.

A huge thank you to our OT communities and partners for supporting our students!

At any point during a student placement when support or consultation is needed, students and clinical educators are encouraged to reach out to our fieldwork team. We are here to assist you in navigating the process of supervision and evaluation. Here is the link to our fieldwork webpage & our individual contact information:

https://rehabilitation.ualberta.ca/departments/occupational-therapy/clinical-education/clinicians/fieldwork-dates-and-contacts

While OCCTH 526 is in session, we'll be creating a weekly blog post ... so stay tuned and subscribe below to get weekly updates and access to information, resources and fieldwork tips!