Preparing for Placement

Placement Preparation 

Students will prepare for their fieldwork placement by: 

• attending all meetings announced by their fieldwork instructor 

• reading the entire fieldwork course outline for the specific fieldwork course 

• reviewing the Fieldwork Site-Profile about their assigned placement site, if available, on InPlace under Shared Documents 

• Communicating with the assigned placement site coordinator and preceptor(s) 

• Making arrangements with employers from part-time roles to minimize work requirements/expectations during placement timeframe 

• Preparing family members and friends for your responsibilities during fieldwork, as applicable 

• Reviewing relevant classroom course materials and resources 

• Adding to student calendar any fieldwork-related due dates (e.g., introduction email, onboarding module completion) to ensure that they are completed on time

Preceptor Pre-placement Information

Prior to each placement, pre-placement information is sent out to all facility Fieldwork Coordinators who forward it on to the fieldwork preceptors. Curriculum issues are discussed in addition to specific objectives for the placement and evaluation procedures. Slides and the fieldwork course outline are attached to the email and are also posted in Fieldwork Partner Resources. 

Student Communication with Assigned Placement Site 

All students are expected to write an introductory email to the facility to which they have been assigned a fieldwork learning experience. Students will receive the contact name(s) and email addresses of the person to whom the introductory email should be written. In the case of a role-emerging placement, the student must contact both the on-site contact and the off-site (occupational therapist) preceptor.  

Students must use their University of Toronto email account for all correspondence with sites as emails from other accounts may be automatically filtered into junk mail folders. 

The purpose of the introductory email is to provide information to the facility so that they plan more effectively for the student’s placement and for the student to understand how to best prepare for the placement. The introduction email should:  

• summarize the student’s previous fieldwork or other relevant experiences,

• identify personal strengths,  

• outline specific interests related to the placement,

• ask questions the student may have regarding dress code, health requirements, criminal record check and how they can best prepare for the placement (i.e. suggested readings). Current information regarding fieldwork placement sites is obtained and maintained by the Fieldwork Office and is made available to the students via InPlace. Students are required to read all information pertaining to their assigned facility prior to writing the introductory email.

It is the responsibility of the student to send the introduction email to the site fieldwork coordinator as directed by the University Fieldwork Instructor, and typically within 4 days of the site’s receipt of student names.