Exploring How Integrative Seminars Contribute to Students’ Readiness for Level II Fieldwork

Abstract

The integrative seminar is an evidence-based teaching-learning approach that has recently been used to help prepare occupational therapy students for Level II fieldwork. Integrative seminars provide a dedicated context for students to synthesize their learning across various subjects in a professional curriculum. The seminars also focus on practical application of didactic learning. To explore the students’ self-perceived effectiveness of this innovation in occupational therapy education, post-fieldwork survey feedback was collected from a recent cohort of students who participated in a four-course integrative seminar series. Most students indicated that the integrative seminars contributed to their critical thinking, communication/reporting skills, interpersonal skills, and professional identity. All students reported that the integrative seminar series contributed to their readiness for Level II fieldwork. A qualitative analysis of how students applied skills and insights gained from the integrative seminars during fieldwork yielded three themes: mental readiness, cornerstones of occupational therapy practice, and specific aspects of the occupational therapy process. The findings from this study support integrative seminars’ potential value in preparing students for meeting the common challenges encountered on Level II fieldwork.

Keywords

• integrative seminar
• fieldwork
• occupational therapy education