Hi everyone,

I am a COTA employed at a retirment community in South Carolina. In a month, I will have my first official OTA student coming for Level II fieldwork. I'm trying to come up with some good, somewhat challenging but not overwhelming assignments for my student but I'm drawing a blank for something good. Right now, all I have is a list of healthcare abbreviations, plan for them to do an inservice to the therapy team near the end of their assignment, make a therapeutic activity of some sort, and plan a group activity. Does anyone have any suggestions? I want this to be a good experience for my student and I want them to learn and have fun with it all. I appreciate any input you can provide. I can be reached directly at sarahe703@yahoo.com

 Thanks!

I think it's a good idea to give your student assignments, it's all part of the fieldwork process.  But in my experience as an OTR I would say that doing some assignments but then focusing on the clinical aspect of things more is the most beneficial.  I was great at doing "projects" in school and did very well in the academic portion of it.   I am in my third year as an OT and I am just looking back on things and I wish I had more clinical type experience.  Some projects are beneficial as you can take those "projects" completed in school and on fieldworks into practice, but for me I wish that my fieldworks had less of the "assignment" type of things to do and more of the treatment planning, etc.  I don't know if this makes any sense at all.  Just my opinion.

As an almost 10 yr OTR I can say that projects and assignments are a true waste of time. When I hit my fieldwork I was so unprepared for actually seeing patients it wasn't even funny. I had been "projected" and "assignmented" to death. Luckily when I got to my first fieldwork site my mentor did the best thing for me. He wouldn't let me touch a patient until I had reviewed ALL of his patients records and come up with my plan of care and why I felt it was appropriate for that patient. Now I understand COTA's don't write plans of care, but that doesn't mean they can't give their opinions on each of your patients. That real world shock to there system is really what they need to understand what it takes to be a good COTA or OTR.  It will make a students brain begin the transformation into a therapists brain.

Have your student shadow you to start and hopefully he/she will be a sponge and learn from you before you let them on their own to do hands on.

Don't assume they know what you think they should know, go over all the basics.