When the novel coronavirus pandemic forced students in the University of New England’s Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (M.S.O.T.) program to forgo their traditional field work placements this fall, Jessica Walton, M.S., OTR/L, BCG, assistant clinical professor and academic fieldwork coordinator for the program, knew what to do.
She called Dawne-Marie Dunbar, M.S.N./Ed., RN, CNE, CHSE, director of UNE’s Interprofessional Simulation and Innovation Center (ISIC) and clinical professor of nursing, to devise a way for the students to complete their level-one Mental Health field work requirements using simulated patient actors.
“A lot of organizations opted for prefabricated, online computer program simulations, but we really wanted to go above and beyond that because we know our students were excited about those in-person experiences,” Walton said. “We wanted to try to do our best to meet their needs and their desires.”
Walton and Dunbar worked with Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy Jan Froehlich, M.S., OTR/L, and Assistant Professor Carol Lambdin-Pattavina, OTD/OTRL, who, together, developed case studies for the patient actors to simulate, to lead first year M.S.O.T. students in a simulated field work experience — a first for the program.
In the simulation center, and working in pairs or small groups, students spent five days compiling their clients’ occupational profiles and identifying their needs, conducting formalized assessments of their patients’ symptoms, and developing interventions for treatment — a process, Walton said, that likely was more hands-on than the students’ work in the field would have been.
“The students were able to do an activity with the simulated patients based on all of that information in the occupational profile. At our actual field work sites, the students probably would not have gone through that entire process or be as actively involved,” she remarked.
Class of 2022 student Julie Geldner agreed.
“The amount of time and support that was available to us to be able to take charge and be responsible for a client would not be as available in a workplace field work experience, and I feel fortunate to have had this opportunity,” she said.
Samantha Auriemma (M.S.O.T., ’22), one of Geldner’s groupmates, said the experience made her more comfortable with the administrative side of her chosen profession.
“This simulation allowed us our first real opportunity to complete the therapeutic process from start to finish, and the simulated environment put me at ease and I was not scared to fail or ask questions because I was surrounded by peers and faculty who were all there to help me succeed,” said the Kennebunk native. “The simulation helped me better the therapeutic process and the documentation involved in planning an intervention activity for a client.”
Joining Geldner and Auriemma was Samantha Binnie, who said an added benefit of the simulation was the ability for them to view their interactions, which were recorded, after each session.
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December 21, 2020 at 07:00PM
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UNE Occupational Therapy students complete simulated field work experience - University of New England
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