Coursework & Fieldwork Field work

[OTseeker]

Hello everyone,

I'm currently a first year OT student and im in the process of selecting field work.
I have chosen my first 3 month FW at an out patient Hospital setting and have one more to choose. Being new to the field of OT, is there another setting that you would recommend?
I haven't been expose to any specialty areas here at the program yet but I have shadowed hand therapy, school settings, SNF, and in and out patient clinics prior to the program.

Any suggestions about settings you thought were great insights to the field or settings that would be beneficial to experience in would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Your fellow OT

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[beestrng]

acute as a 2nd site.

 

[OTseeker]

acute as a 2nd site.

acute care is the same as in patient correct?

 

[beestrng]

acute care is the same as in patient correct?

yes.

Its fast paced compared to other settings so having some OT experience before going into it would be good for you.

Some acute care sites requires some experience (level 2A).

 

[thebiggestsky]

acute care is the same as in patient correct?

Not always. Acute care is fast paced and requires seeing a lot of patients in different departments sometimes, like beestrng said, but I have shadowed at a hospital that considers inpatient to be distinct from acute care (and I was able to observe both sides). Acute care seems like it's focused more on people either in the ICU or who have *just* had intensive surgery to assess where they go next--whether they will need further rehabilitation services or if they're good to go once they leave the hospital. Inpatient seems more long term and intensive.

Different hospitals might operate differently. If anyone would like to further clarify, that would be great. I'm solely going based off my shadowing experiences.

 

[Bokonomy]

Not always. Acute care is fast paced and requires seeing a lot of patients in different departments sometimes, like beestrng said, but I have shadowed at a hospital that considers inpatient to be distinct from acute care (and I was able to observe both sides). Acute care seems like it's focused more on people either in the ICU or who have *just* had intensive surgery to assess where they go next--whether they will need further rehabilitation services or if they're good to go once they leave the hospital. Inpatient seems more long term and intensive.

Different hospitals might operate differently. If anyone would like to further clarify, that would be great. I'm solely going based off my shadowing experiences.

I might be wrong, but I've been told what you're referring to is acute impatient, and slightly more long term is inpatient rehab or acute rehab (both are the same). They need the potential for notable rehab, and be able to tolerate 3 hours of rehab a day. If not, it's either a SNF or LTAC.

I'm currently doing my level 1 in acute inpatient though, so I'm not an expert on all things inpatient.

 

[thebiggestsky]

I might be wrong, but I've been told what you're referring to is acute impatient, and slightly more long term is inpatient rehab or acute rehab (both are the same). They need the potential for notable rehab, and be able to tolerate 3 hours of rehab a day. If not, it's either a SNF or LTAC.

I'm currently doing my level 1 in acute inpatient though, so I'm not an expert on all things inpatient.

Cool. Thanks for the clarification. And yes, I shadowed "acute" and "inpatient" at one location, but acute rehab does seem to mean the same as inpatient where the patient gets the three hours of therapy services a day.

 

[OTseeker]

Thanks so much for all the input. One of the biggest growth of OT is in this setting. I will put acute as my second site.

 

[beestrng]

Not always. Acute care is fast paced and requires seeing a lot of patients in different departments sometimes, like beestrng said, but I have shadowed at a hospital that considers inpatient to be distinct from acute care (and I was able to observe both sides). Acute care seems like it's focused more on people either in the ICU or who have *just* had intensive surgery to assess where they go next--whether they will need further rehabilitation services or if they're good to go once they leave the hospital. Inpatient seems more long term and intensive.

Different hospitals might operate differently. If anyone would like to further clarify, that would be great. I'm solely going based off my shadowing experiences.

Generally speaking you will be seeing people in the hospital. Anywhere in the hospital including ICU, inpatient and outpatient clinic (if they have one in the hospital system).

You will see drug addicts and guys who came for a sandwich.

This at hospitals where I live, but it has been the same with friends. Bigger systems may have enough work just to do acute exclusively idk.

 

[deleted517237]

Hello everyone,

I'm currently a first year OT student and im in the process of selecting field work.
I have chosen my first 3 month FW at an out patient Hospital setting and have one more to choose. Being new to the field of OT, is there another setting that you would recommend?
I haven't been expose to any specialty areas here at the program yet but I have shadowed hand therapy, school settings, SNF, and in and out patient clinics prior to the program.

Any suggestions about settings you thought were great insights to the field or settings that would be beneficial to experience in would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Your fellow OT

Hi there! I wanted to try to clear some things up and maybe point you the right direction.

Inpatient refers to a setting where the patient is admitted and stays 24/7, like a hospital. "Acute care" is considered one aspect of inpatient services, and as the name suggests, these patients are acutely ill. They are likely coming straight from the ER, a surgery, or some other major event that requires testing and treatment until their medical condition is stable. OTs working in acute care assess a patient's functional level and recommend either continued therapy while in acute care, continued therapy in a different setting, or a discharge home. As a FW student in acute care, you will learn a lot about different medical conditions, medical equipment, and how to do very efficient evaluations/discharges (most patients are only seen a few times after an evaluation in acute care, if at all). Another aspect of inpatient services is known as "sub-acute", i.e. the patient is now medically stable but still requires intense therapy before they are safe to go home. There are a couple possible places you could do FW in a sub-acute setting. First, "inpatient rehab" (also known as "acute rehab") is where a patient goes after an acute care stay and requires that they be able to tolerate 3 hours of therapy (OT/PT combined). The terminology is confusing I know, but bear with me. An inpatient rehab unit is typically within the hospital as well, so the patient doesn't have to travel far. If you choose this as a FW site, you will learn more about interventions because patients usually stay 1-3 weeks and you have time to actually see progress over time, something you wouldn't typically see quite so easily in acute care. This is my favorite setting to work because patients are motivated to do therapy and go home, and as a student you could try out many of the interventions you learned about in school. Second, another sub-acute rehab setting is a skilled nursing facility (SNF), i.e. nursing home. This setting is usually a separately run facility not connected with a hospital, although some hospitals have a SNF unit. Patient's who cannot tolerate 3 hours of therapy and are not safe to go home will likely end up in a SNF for 1-2 hrs of therapy per day. The length of stay is also usually longer, up to 3 months. Similar to inpatient rehab, a SNF setting is great for trying out interventions and seeing progress over time, although the workload is pretty demanding.

I'd recommend thinking about what areas you may want to work and go from there. Honestly, FW is meant to teach you how to think like an OT, so any FW site will be OK, it just depends on your interests! Good luck!

 

[OTlove91]

Hello everyone,

I'm currently a first year OT student and im in the process of selecting field work.
I have chosen my first 3 month FW at an out patient Hospital setting and have one more to choose. Being new to the field of OT, is there another setting that you would recommend?
I haven't been expose to any specialty areas here at the program yet but I have shadowed hand therapy, school settings, SNF, and in and out patient clinics prior to the program.

Any suggestions about settings you thought were great insights to the field or settings that would be beneficial to experience in would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Your fellow OT

Hi OTseeker! An outpatient setting will be great experience. I think completing a Level II at a large well-known teaching hospital where you have the opportunity to see a variety of diagnoses and programs is a great opportunity. Since you are already set for outpatient is may be a good idea to get experience in inpatient too to see how you like it. Hope this helps!

 

[jdak226]

Hello everyone,

I'm currently a first year OT student and im in the process of selecting field work.
I have chosen my first 3 month FW at an out patient Hospital setting and have one more to choose. Being new to the field of OT, is there another setting that you would recommend?
I haven't been expose to any specialty areas here at the program yet but I have shadowed hand therapy, school settings, SNF, and in and out patient clinics prior to the program.

Any suggestions about settings you thought were great insights to the field or settings that would be beneficial to experience in would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Your fellow OT

Everyone has given great advice so far.. I would just add that if you think you may be interested in pediatrics, you may want to think of adding a rotation in that specialty. In my experience, OT in peds is very different from adults and I am really glad to have had a Level II experience in both. If you don't think you'll want to work with kids, then I think going for one outpatient and one inpatient (or acute) rotation would be great!

 

[OTseeker]

One of the things I like most about OT is that there are so many different areas we can be in. The dilemma of course is choosing which areas to go into with so many choices available. The first of my FW 2 is pretty much set for outpatient, I've talked with my field coordinator and I think an inpatient setting can be beneficial. I have interest in hands as well as peds. I hope my second choice for inpatient wont hinder my ability for future practices in peds.