In 2024, University of Pittsburgh Department of Occupational Therapy (OT) Assistant Professor and Academic Fieldwork Coordinator Ann Marsico and Assistant Professor Cara Lekovitch took the lead in advancing fieldwork education for clinical fieldwork educators by developing a series of an annual virtual professional development sessions. Their work has focused on enhancing the skills of practitioners who guide students through the fieldwork process.
The series began with “Mission Possible: Teaching Workplace Behaviors During Fieldwork,” which provided strategies for fieldwork educators to instill essential professional behaviors in their students. Following that, “Stop, Talk, Roll: Navigating Challenging Situations with Fieldwork” addressed how to handle difficult scenarios that can arise during clinical placements. Their third session in the series, “Level I Fieldwork Evaluating & Scoring,” offered insight into effectively evaluating student performance in early fieldwork stages, ensuring consistent and fair assessments.
This virtual continuing education series has been well-received by clinical educators across the country, with each session providing practical tools and methods for success in the field.
Earlier this month, Marsico and Lekovitch presented the fourth and final session of the 2024 series titled Performance Evaluation in Level II Fieldwork. This session provided fieldwork educators with the tools to evaluate and score student performance in Level II Fieldwork.
The dates for the 2025 Fieldwork Educator Series are available, with titles coming soon. All sessions are free of charge and open to those who are interested. Each session provides a one-hour continuing education (CE) credit for OT practitioners to utilize for licensure and certification professional development.
Be on the lookout for information about the topics and dates of the 2025 Fieldwork Educator Series coming in December!