Introduction / Rationale: Fieldwork failure can be a significant challenge for occupational therapy (OT) students, impacting their confidence, academic trajectory, and mental well-being. This presentation describes a novel course created to enable student success by combining personalized learning strategies with faculty mentorship to foster growth, emotional intelligence, professional behavior, and overall well-being.
Objectives: This presentation provides OT practitioners and educators with a creative model and strategies to support students who are at risk of failing fieldwork. This model inspires positive change in the curriculum and enhances student success.
Methods / Approach: An individualized course was created for OT students following Level II fieldwork failure to address areas needing improvement based on feedback from the clinical educator and the specific needs of the student. Structured mentorship was provided for development of emotional intelligence skills with timely feedback and a safe space for reflection and professional growth. A retrospective study was conducted to determine if participation in this individualized course after fieldwork failure led to success in a future fieldwork placement.
Results / Practice Implications: Results indicated that students who completed the course after a learning contract was implemented passed their future fieldwork placement in comparison to students who received only a learning contract. This study supports combining a learning contract with a course tailored to a student’s individual needs.
Conclusion / Contribution to the occupational therapy profession: This study demonstrates that integrating academic support with emotional intelligence and wellness strategies can significantly improve outcomes for OT students who fail Level II fieldwork. This innovative model fosters resilience, self-efficacy and professional growth, leading to student success.