Entry-level OTD Level I Fieldwork (LIFW)

Public schools and nursing homes, hand clinics and homeless shelters, rehab units, and early intervention centers within the greater Boston area provide Boston University students with a wealth of opportunities to gain clinical experience in a wide variety of settings and roles.

Beginning with Level I Fieldwork – your introduction to OT practice – we encourage you to explore the many areas of practice in order to help you discover your own professional interests.  In each of the academic semesters of the entry-level OTD professional program, you’ll participate in a semester-long LIFW experience. During your first year, you’ll work in two different fieldwork settings: one with and one without an occupational therapist. During the second year, you’ll be actively providing occupational therapy services to individuals and groups in community settings. These LIFW experiences are part of the curriculum’s Integrative Seminar sequence. Using examples from your fieldwork experiences during class discussion will help you make strong connections between course-based learning and clinical practice.

Objectives for the Fieldwork Experience

Boston University’s general objectives for Level I Fieldwork experiences are congruent with the vision, mission, philosophy, and curriculum design of the occupational therapy program. Students are expected to meet these general objectives as they reflect on and apply didactic learning to the particular fieldwork setting to which they have been assigned. These general objectives are:

• Begin to establish and self-monitor professional behaviors and gain comfort interacting with supervisor, program staff, and classmates.
• Gain a deeper understanding of the role of OT in a variety of intervention settings.
• Provide opportunities for direct observation of OTs involved in full range of intervention process: assessment, goal setting, intervention planning and implementation, and discharge planning.
• Begin to develop comfort interacting with clients within a therapeutic setting while engaged in conversation, assisting with activities and assisting with group leadership.
• Enhance understanding of the professional reasoning process, and integration and application of use of theory and evidence.
• Provide opportunities for direct observation of situations, and issues that are relevant to AOTA Code of Ethics.

Download a list of Fieldwork Sites

Sargent Clinical Education Office

To help students arrive at their clinical placement well prepared, BU Sargent College has a dedicated Clinical Education Services office right in the building in room SAR-218. To learn more, please visit Boston University’s Clinical Education website for students (BU log-in required).