JEDI in fieldwork supervision: The next frontier

• Published in: Occupational Therapy Now Vol. 25; no. 5; pp. 27 - 29
• Main Authors: Falcicchio, Karen, Schmitz, Cori, Zafran, Hiba, Lysaght, Rosemary, Jarus, Tal
• Format: Trade Publication Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ottawa Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists 01-09-2022
• Subjects: Education; Field study; Learning; Microaggressions; Occupational therapy; Role models; Students; Supervision; Therapists
• ISSN: 1481-5532

Hybrid, the Conversations That Matter session on fieldwork supervision was collaboratively facilitated by CAOT's Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Practice Network as well as the Research on Education Community of Practice and the Committee on University Fieldwork Education that are both part of the Association of Canadian Occupational Therapy University Programs. Session participants had varied occupational therapy roles (see Figure 1), with 16% identifying as members of equity-denied groups. When discussing challenges, participants acknowledged a major knowledge gap in our field: occupational therapy in Canada has been dominated by persons who are generally not themselves from equity-denied groups-as represented by the session participants themselves-and as a result, we have much to learn about JEDI issues. The result of this education is to reduce the reluctance practitioners may hold with respect to working with students who require accommodations, increase their knowledge and skills to do so, and build trust among learners to foster a culture of inclusion.