FIELDWORK SUPPORT
Fieldwork Coordinators
The following information identifies the members of the Occupational Therapy fieldwork team at Curtin University of Technology.
STUDENT PERFORMANCE ISSUES
The OT supervisor is required to highlight any concerns at the earliest possible time directly and objectively to the student, Academic Supervisor and/or on-site Fieldwork Manager.
During all fieldwork placements, two tiers of support are available for OT supervisors.
Tier 1 Support –
is indicated when students are progressing adequately during the placement and are considered as passing the fieldwork placement. Contact with the OT supervisor will generally include:
- phone or email contact with the OT supervisor prior to the midway evaluation and the final evaluation;
- if the student is progressing adequately, no further action is taken – unless guidance or advice is requested by the OT supervisor or student.
Tier 2 Support –
is implemented when a student is identified as at risk of failing or under-performing on the fieldwork placement. The process when student performance issues are identified is as follows:
- Discuss the performance issues with the student - as soon as performance issues or problems are identified discuss these with the student, giving specific examples to explain the problem areas.
- Contact Academic Supervisor - the OT supervisor should then contact the Academic Supervisor at Curtin – if unsure who the correct Academic Supervisor is then please contact Nigel Gribble on 9266 3638
- Document concerns - the OT supervisor should advise the student in writing that concerns exist or that they are failing the placement. It is recommended that concerns are documented using either:
- Concerns Exist Form (in the Forms Package);
- Letter;
- Email.
NB: the documentation should clearly state the student’s areas of strength and areas for improvement giving demonstrated examples of where, when and why the student underperformed.
- If the performance issues are significant - then the Academic Supervisor or Fieldwork Unit Coordinator from the university will meet with the student and OT supervisor to discuss the problem areas. Ideally this meeting should occur within 24 hours of the Academic Supervisor being notified of the performance issues. If possible the mid-way evaluation should be brought forward and completed with the Academic Supervisor present.
On completion of this initial meeting, it is recommended that the following be utilised (although not mandatory):
- The student rewrite their Learning Objectives with an emphasis on specific areas of performance
- The student, OT supervisor and/or the Academic Supervisor will devise and write an Action Plan to address the concerns identified. An example development plan is included below:
Area for Development |
Action Plan |
Measurement of Performance |
1. Demonstrate effective time management skills on a daily, weekly and monthly basis |
1. Purchase a diary
2. Schedule appointments with clients and colleagues using diary
3. 8:30am Monday morning meeting with supervisor to discuss time management for the week ahead
4. Demonstrate flexibility in scheduling your time with clients during core clinical hours |
1. Appointments and treatment sessions are scheduled in diary without double bookings or missed appointments.
2. Appointments and treatment sessions are not missed due to incorrect scheduling. |
Following any performance issue, it is recommended the following occur:
- Regular contact between the student, OT supervisor and Academic Supervisor is maintained by phone, email and site-visits for the remainder of the placement;
- If significant performance improvement is not demonstrated, the placement can be terminated and the final evaluation brought forward with the Academic Supervisor in attendance and a Fail grade provided;
- if required, the Academic Supervisor will attend the final evaluation;
- All relevant documentation is placed on the student file by the Academic Supervisor.
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