Level IA Fieldwork at Pacific University is a two week course. This is a fulltime (40 hours x 2 weeks) fieldwork experience in a practice setting. Students will observe occupational therapy practice in a setting to support and expand their knowledge acquired in first semester course work focusing on clients with occupational dysfunction. This fieldwork will also provide context for the second semester’s coursework. (Details via "Description of Level 1 Fieldwork Courses, 2014")

My Experience

     This first fieldwork experience was incredibly insightful.  It was very well timed between our first semester, during which we began learning the foundations of occupational therapy, and our second semester, when we dove deeper into the philosophy and models of practice for the field.  After the first semester, I felt that we hadn't learned much practical OT knowledge since the curriculum is designed to get everyone on the same page for kinesiology, mental health, neuroscience, and basics of OT.  However, during the first fieldwork, things really solidified and fell into place for me.  I realized how much we had truly learned and the information from all five classes from the first semester combined to form an amazing lens through which I could view OT practice in my setting.  
     Furthermore, I could look back on my pre-application observation experiences to make sense of much of what I saw. In school, we learn the most idealistic version of Occupational Therapy (as we should), but it was very helpful to get - and then carry with me into the next semester - a substantial experience with OT in the real world.  As we learn the basics and then the details of OT philosophy and interventions, it is invaluable to have a context for how we can implement what we learn in practice. Gaining insight into the obstacles OTs face - such as productivity goals, scheduling, billing and coding issues, etc - is just as important as learning the foundational knowledge.