Above are pictures of my Level II Fieldwork placements. I have had the opportunity to be a student at a skilled nursing facility, a hospital, and a community mental health site. Each fieldwork site has brought on a new set of challenges, but also new learning opportunities. At my first Level II Fieldwork placement, I was at a skilled nursing facility. I loved being a part of a small team and getting to know all of my clients on a personal level. I had the opportunity to keep a consistent caseload of about 6-7 clients per day, and I usually treated the clients for around 60-75 minutes. This allowed me to come up with a variety of creative interventions. I would have my clients bake cookies, wash clothes, simulate grocery shopping, etc. to prepare them to go home and live independently. I was supervised during every evaluation and screening, and my supervisor was always in the therapy gym while I was implementing interventions. Although this was close supervision, I was still able to function independently as a student and ask my supervisor questions as needed.
At my second Level II Fieldwork, I was at Baptist Memorial Hospital in the acute care setting. I was mainly in the ICU, as this was floor my supervisor typically covered. The first few weeks, I was able to perform evaluations while my supervisor was in the same room or on the same floor, but by week four I was completely on my own. My supervisor usually had a completely different caseload than me, and I only called her if I needed assistance, so I was allowed even more autonomy in this setting. At Baptist, I was also a part of a large team that was willing to help or give me advice whenever I needed it. I could call upon assistance from the nurses in the ICU. My evaluations were typically short (around 23 minutes), and I would normally see around 7-8 clients per day. I enjoyed the acute care setting, as it gave me the opportunity to experience a variety of diagnoses and a fast paced environment.
My final fieldwork at Greenhouse Ministries exhibited a unique service model in our profession, community mental health. Greenhouse is a non-profit organization, so all occupational services are completely free. Although I did not have a very large caseload at Greenhouse, I was allowed to see my clients for as long as I wanted to. Sometimes I would have a quick 25 minute session, while other sessions would last 2 hours. I also had the opportunity to take my clients out into the community to help them with the reintegration process. Going out into the community allowed me to see first hand how clients functioned in their natural environment and what they needed to work on. At this fieldwork site, I was only directly supervised for a few hours a week. My fieldwork educator worked at a different location completely and would call to check in every day or every other day. I had the most freedom at Greenhouse out of all my other locations, and it made me feel like a true practitioner. I am very thankful that all of my fieldwork sites were so different. This allowed me to see the broad array of service models that our career has to offer.
At my second Level II Fieldwork, I was at Baptist Memorial Hospital in the acute care setting. I was mainly in the ICU, as this was floor my supervisor typically covered. The first few weeks, I was able to perform evaluations while my supervisor was in the same room or on the same floor, but by week four I was completely on my own. My supervisor usually had a completely different caseload than me, and I only called her if I needed assistance, so I was allowed even more autonomy in this setting. At Baptist, I was also a part of a large team that was willing to help or give me advice whenever I needed it. I could call upon assistance from the nurses in the ICU. My evaluations were typically short (around 23 minutes), and I would normally see around 7-8 clients per day. I enjoyed the acute care setting, as it gave me the opportunity to experience a variety of diagnoses and a fast paced environment.
My final fieldwork at Greenhouse Ministries exhibited a unique service model in our profession, community mental health. Greenhouse is a non-profit organization, so all occupational services are completely free. Although I did not have a very large caseload at Greenhouse, I was allowed to see my clients for as long as I wanted to. Sometimes I would have a quick 25 minute session, while other sessions would last 2 hours. I also had the opportunity to take my clients out into the community to help them with the reintegration process. Going out into the community allowed me to see first hand how clients functioned in their natural environment and what they needed to work on. At this fieldwork site, I was only directly supervised for a few hours a week. My fieldwork educator worked at a different location completely and would call to check in every day or every other day. I had the most freedom at Greenhouse out of all my other locations, and it made me feel like a true practitioner. I am very thankful that all of my fieldwork sites were so different. This allowed me to see the broad array of service models that our career has to offer.