Encourage your student to develop their own style

As we approach the end of this placement, your student should be feeling more confident and competent with his/her skills.   

It is likely that your student has done a lot of “copying” of how you do things.  When I think back to when I have been an educator I think I unknowingly tried to mold my students into a version of me as it almost felt easier to mentor/evaluate a student who was a “mini-me”.   I think it takes a real conscious effort to allow the student to develop their own style.

Now allowing students to develop their own style doesn’t mean you throw everything out the window. There are still expectations that need to be met.  But we all bring different styles to the table: how we use humour (or not), how we communicate, how we write etc.  I think these quotes from one of our educators speaks to this:

“Always ask yourself if your feedback is coming from a place of personal preference or necessary to ensure the integrity and ethics of an OT role…” 

When a student is doing something in a way that is different from you, you need to ask yourself, “Is it 'wrong?’” and/or “Are there are any negative consequences to this?”

Here are some comments from other educators in our community on allowing the development of style: 

“When it comes to writing reports and chart notes, I don't expect perfection. If the information is there and spelling/terminology is correct, I don't try to make too many changes. I believe everyone has their own writing style and I think it's important that students learn to develop their own and not just write how I do -I'm not the queen of report writing!”

“I try to be positive by encouraging independence and the student’s personal style.  I allow them the time to meet their client’s and work on their ability to communicate, not just ‘get the work done’”.

      "Encourage students to find their own style rather than trying to clone yourself!"

 

Thanks to the OT educators who provided this feedback to share.

Lisa 

Searching for evidence: How your student can help

I have noticed a real shift in my “OT lifetime” when it comes to evidence-based practice (EBP).  I have gone from not thinking about seeking out research to guide my practice —to wondering what this whole EBP thing was about—to finally  pushing OT students by frequently  asking “What’s the evidence for that?”

“The argument for EBP is simple: If there is a better way to practice, therapists should find it.”

                                                                (Law & MacDermid, 2008, p.5)

The tricky thing is that for many OTs there are often barriers to looking for, evaluating, and integrating the evidence.   Sometimes there is not enough time to look for evidence.  Sometimes there isn’t access to libraries and databases.  Sometimes the barrier is not knowing how or where to search to answer clinical questions.

Whatever your barrier, talk to your student about how they might be able to help.  While we want students to have placements that are as "hands on" as possible, having them search (or teaching you how to search) for evidence can be a win-win situation.  After all, you have real-life clinical questions; they have experience in searching for and evaluating the evidence.  You will hopefully receive some useful information for your practice; students will be able to see the real-life application of their academic skills. 

Don’t have access to a library?

If you graduated from the U of M you are able to receive a library card free of charge. 

What you need to do:  First you must obtain an alumni number. http://libguides.lib.umanitoba.ca/c.php?g=297462&p=1985606

 

What the card offers: You can access a limited number of on-line journals (from home/work). You can also go to the library to do full online searches and review/take out their resources.  If it is more convenient you, you can also use the Fort Garry campus.  

There are a number of OT Assessment Tools in the library.  You aren’t able to remove the assessments or use them on clients, but you can definitely look at them in the library if you are interested in learning more about them.

For more information on the library click here.

Law, M. & MacDermid, J. (2008). Evidence-Based Rehabilitation: A Guide to Practice. (2^nd ed.). Thorofare, NJ: Slack Inc. 

(The 3^rd edition came out in 2013, you can borrow it from the library or if you are close enough you borrow mine!).