BUILDING LEADERSHIP CAPACITY IN THE ACADEMIC FIELDWORK COORDINATOR ROLE CARYN JOHNSON, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA

DEBRA HANSON, PHD, OTR/L, FAOTA PATRICIA STUTZ-TANENBAUM, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA CAMILLE SAUERWALD, EDM, OTR

VISION

To develop resources that enable academic fieldwork coordinators (AFWC’s) to embrace and advance in their AFWC role. • Development of management strategies • Recognition for and advancement of leadership skills • Promotion of fieldwork scholarship.

OBJECTIVES The learner will:

Understand the need for building leadership capacity in the AFWC role

Recognize existing strategies/resources Learn about results of one initiative (2014 AFWC

Institute) Discuss implications and future recommendations

UNIQUE ROLE OF AFWC The role of the OT/OTA Academic Fieldwork Coordinator (AFWC) is unique among faculty. Prominence in ACOTE standards Face of the department Diverse set of skills including administration and data management course and program development marketing conflict-resolution understanding of legal and ethical issues professional development of both students and

fieldwork educators (Stutz-Tanenbaum et al, 2015).

THE NEED: AFWC LISTSERV (9/14-9/15)

• Administration (89 entries) • Data Management • Placements • Job description • FW/program policies • SARA • Help finding placements

• Academics (18 entries) • Course content • Teaching

• Standards (15 entries) • Help with compliance

• Student Issues (11 entries) • Professional behavior • Ethical issues

• Scholarship (not determined) • In search of evidence/literature • Collaboration in

research

• Sites/FWEd’s (19 entries) • New models of FW • Emerging practice settings • International FW • Medicare

THE NEED: HIGH TURNOVER

Stutz-Tanenbaum et al (2015) found 50% or more of AFWC’s had five years or less experience in the role and limited mentorship and training for the role.

Imbalance with work and personal life. Lack of AFWC

mentorship and training coupled with job isolation (Salzman, 2009) may be factors contributing to this challenge, resulting in high levels of turnover among AFWC’s.

Scarce opportunities are available to promote leadership development for the AFWC role (McAllister, Paterson, Higgs and Bithell, 2010).

CYCLE OF DISSATISFACTION?

Accept AFWC

position (novice)

Focus on FW placements and management

(“concierge”)

Not very rewarding

Job dissatisfaction

Exit AFWC

position

LIMITED EXISTING RESOURCES AND SUPPORT

• AOTA AFWC Listserv • AOTA Annual

Conference – including AFWC Forum

• 2014 AOTA Institute: Academic Fieldwork Coordinator: Building Our Own Future!

• Fieldwork Educator Certificate program

• Fieldwork publications

Zombies are nuts about brains. http://bentobjects.blogspot.com/2009/09/zombies-are-nuts-about-brains.html

2014 AFWC INSTITUTE

• Overview of 2014 AOTA Institute • Nuts and Bolts of ACOTE Standards • Working with Fieldwork Educators • Laying the Groundwork for Students • Scholarship and Service

• Quantitative Data • 40% OTA, 60% OT • 60% less than 1 year experience; 35% 1-3 years • 90% moderately/highly valuable • 80% would absolutely recommend

AFWC INSTITUTE: QUALITATIVE DATA

Themes from 2014 AOTA Institute Evaluation Hands on learning and practical AFWC resources desired Collaboration, community-building and mentorship

valued as means to gain a vision of role identity Need for resources and content at different levels:

OT/OTA; novice to advanced AFWC; established/developing programs

Too much information and not enough time Specific and in-depth information desired on targeted

topics rather than broad overview

RECOMMENDATIONS (FROM 2014 INSTITUTE)

Hands on and practical learning experiences ACOTE Standards compliance Site retention Student advisement Breakout sessions for specific and in-depth

information on a given topic for various levels of AFWC, standard or issue

AFWC training which spans time Mentoring Multi-day training

RECOMMENDATIONS(CONT’D)

Multiple layers of AFWC leadership training. This might include nuances in the role for: OT and OTA Novice to experienced AFWC Developing and established programs Scholarship and professional development

Networking

Building AFWC community Establishing AFWC identity as educator and

leader

MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE TO SUPPORT:

• AFWC recruitment • Retention • Job satisfaction • Leadership development

(Stutz-Tanenbaum et al, 2015).

POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITIES AND SOLUTIONS

• International efforts (e.g. Australia) • AFWC listserv • Continuing education

DISCUSSION

How are stakeholders impacted?

• AFWC • PD • Faculty • Academic

program/university • Students • FW Educators • AOTA

Other….

Wondering about the future… • What would help novice

AFWC’s stay in the role longer?

• What can academic programs do?

• What can AOTA do?

REFERENCES

• McAllister, L., Paterson, M., Higgs, J. & Bithell, C. (Eds.)(2010). Innovations in allied health fieldwork education: A critical appraisal. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

• Salzman A. (2009). Portraits of persistence: Professional development of successful directors of clinical education. Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 23(1), 44–54.

• Stutz-Tanenbaum, P., Hanson, D. J., Koski, J., & Greene, D. (2015). Exploring the complexity of the academic fieldwork coordinator role. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 29 (2), 139-152 (doi:10.3109/07380577.2015.1017897).