A time study of staff and student activities in a level II fieldwork program

Area of Science:

• Occupational Therapy Education
• Clinical Education
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Occupational therapy (OT) Level II fieldwork programs are essential for training future clinicians.
• Annual contractual agreements necessitate understanding the financial implications of these programs.
• Evaluating the cost-benefit ratio of student programs is crucial for academic and clinical partnerships.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the costs and benefits associated with the occupational therapy Level II fieldwork program at University of Michigan Hospitals.
• To quantify the resources allocated to and the productivity generated by OT students.
• To validate the financial equilibrium between program expenses and student contributions.

Main Methods:

• A tally sheet with 34 tasks was employed for staff (therapists, assistants, clerical) to record time spent on the student program (cost).
• Students documented independent treatments provided, serving as a measure of benefit.
• Cost and benefit were equated to full-time equivalent (FTE) staff positions for comparison.

Main Results:

• Staff time dedicated to the OT student program was equivalent to 1.33 FTE workload.
• Treatments provided by students equated to 1.35 FTE production.
• The study found that the benefits derived from student production at least balanced the costs of the clinical program.

Conclusions:

• The findings support the established assumption that occupational therapy clinical education programs are financially balanced by student productivity.
• While costs and benefits are comparable, the quality of student treatment may differ from that of experienced staff.
• This study provides empirical data on the resource allocation and output of OT fieldwork programs, informing institutional decision-making.