Three faculty-facilitated, community-based level I fieldwork programs

Finding sufficient placements for students' Level I fieldwork experiences has become a major challenge in occupational therapy education and has led to the increased involvement of faculty members in facilitating these experiences. The conceptualization, site selection, program implementation, and outcome of three faculty-facilitated Level I fieldwork programs, designed for occupational therapy fieldwork students at Eastern Kentucky University, are presented here. The first program involved moving a faculty member and students to a small town in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky for 4 weeks and assigning the students to pediatric fieldwork at local agencies. The second, organized and developed by a faculty member and implemented by faculty members and students, provided an enrichment opportunity to adult consumers of psychosocial services. The third, also organized and developed by one faculty member and implemented by faculty members and students, provided day-care services to persons with Alzheimer's disease. In all three programs, persons receiving services as well as the agencies, students, and faculty members benefited from the experience. The use of faculty role models is recommended to demonstrate and reinforce the application of theory to practice.