Fieldwork educator resources

The Virginia Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Council (VOTFWC)

The Virginia Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Council is a community of occupational therapy practitioners, fieldwork educators, academic faculty and scholars who collaborate to enhance the opportunities and the quality of clinical education of future practitioners throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.

​The organization strives to:

  • Provide participants with educational opportunities to advance their knowledge, abilities and skills in clinical education.
  • Build academic and clinical partnerships that strengthen and expand fieldwork opportunities.
  • Respond with agility to evolving trends in clinical practice, academic instruction and clinical education.

​The Council is supported by the fifteen-member occupational therapy programs across the Commonwealth and co-coordinated by Patty Laverdure, VCU, and Lauren Carter Smith, Bon Secours Hospital.  An array of resources for the professional developmentof fieldwork educators are archived and available on the link below.  Web links, articles and book references address communication, supervision, and evaluation.

How are your supervision skills? Are there areas you need to work on? Take this self-assessment tool and reflect on your skills. You can earn 1 PDU for NBCOT recertification by taking this self-assessment.

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2009). Self-Assessment Tool for Fieldwork Educator Competency.

Online and Continuing Education Resources for Fieldwork Supervisors

AOTA has many free resources available on the web for Fieldwork Supervisors.

Sample AOTA resources are:

Virginia Type 2 Continuing Education Units

The supervision of occupational therapy students is a type 2 continuing education activity that can be used toward Virginia license renewal with the Department of Health Professions, Virginia Board of Medicine.  Each hour of supervision is equal to one hour of Type 2 Activity and practitioners can include up to ten hours each renewal cycle.

National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy Professional Development Units 

The NBCOT identifies fieldwork supervision as a professional development activity that may be used towards recertification. One Professional Development Unit per FW I student and 1 unit per 1 week of Fieldwork II supervision is awarded. Clinicians are able to collect a maximum of 18 units over a 3 year period for Fieldwork Supervision.