Exploring motivators for rural occupational therapy fieldwork educators: A pilot study

Background Occupational therapy programs require students to complete several clinical fieldwork experiences before graduation and registration. Fieldwork experiences are supervised by fieldwork educators (FWEs), who are practicing clinicians (often occupational therapy practitioners). Many areas, especially rural areas, now face a growing shortage of healthcare workers and higher rates of worker burnout, making it difficult to motivate clinicians to supervise occupational therapy fieldwork students.Objective This qualitative pilot study aimed to explore the essence of the unique dual role of rural occupational therapy practitioners who also serve as FWEs and uncover motivators to serve as an FWE.Methods Data was collected through an initial survey and semi-structured interviews. Data was analyzed through iterative coding until prominent themes emerged. Several measures were taken to ensure trustworthiness and rigor in this qualitative study, including a positionality statement, audit trail, thick description of the participants and work settings, external review of the interview protocol, reflective journaling throughout the transcription and coding processes, and member checking of results.Results Three participants were included in this pilot exploratory study. Five themes of the rural FWE experience emerged: subtle advocacy is a facilitator, relational leadership is important, role strain is prevalent, fieldwork as a tool to strengthen rural occupational therapy workforce, and connection is difficult but desired.Conclusions These findings provide takeaways that may improve the fieldwork experience across stakeholders, including educators, sites, and coordinators.