Perceptions of Skill Development Among Occupational Therapy Students Who Participated in Virtual Fieldwork: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

Abstract

Occupational therapy fieldwork helps students refine their professional and technical skills to achieve competency required of entry-level occupational therapists. While fieldwork is traditionally completed in an in-person setting, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in some students completing fieldwork in a virtual format. Yet, minimal research has explored perceptions of skill development among students who complete virtual fieldwork placements. This qualitative descriptive study examined the perceptions of skill development among graduate-level occupational therapy students and graduates who participated in a virtual fieldwork placement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight participants from 3 different states completed semi-structured interviews of no longer than 60 minutes duration via Microsoft Teams. Verbatim interview transcriptions were analyzed by the researchers using a constant-comparative data analysis approach. Four key themes emerged: participants initially experienced uncertainty and had concerns regarding the development of their professional and technical skills; professional and technical skills improved during virtual fieldwork but skill development was perceived to be more difficult to accomplish; communication, peer support, online resources, and utilization of their fieldwork educator were primary strategies for facilitating skills development during virtual fieldwork; and virtual fieldwork provides valuable lessons that are applicable to future practice, but students did not recommend it for other occupational therapy students. The results of this study suggest that while virtual fieldwork placements may be valuable in some situations, educators must carefully consider the benefits and drawbacks before placing students in virtual fieldwork placements in the future and ensure that proper support is provided before and during the placement.

Keywords

• occupational therapy
• occupational therapy education
• virtual
• fieldwork
• skill development