Madeline Dunlap

Occupation-based Practice: Final Reflection

I never fully grasped the true meaning of occupation-based practice until I
had to apply it every day to multiple patients with varying diagnoses on my Level
IIA fieldwork. Although we spoke about it often in class, had papers and
presentations on the topic, and had the opportunity to apply it to standardized
patients, it was still challenging to fully understand the concept and individualize it
to each patient until being faced with realistic situations. Additionally, my fieldwork
educators forced me to really think outside of the box and consider the use of
occupation-based interventions through the development of intervention plans as
my homework and grading each intervention up and down to meet each patients
needs for the just right challenge. This was difficult for me during my first few
weeks, but after developing multiple intervention plans for many of my patients, Id
like to think I became pretty proficient at it.
Throughout my time at Touro University Nevada (TUN), I have also had the
opportunity to develop this concept over six semesters from the very first
occupational analysis and intervention plan for Dr. Martins class, to Dr. Laus
pediatric class of developing intervention plans and goals for a child with autism, to
writing an occupational profile and intervention plan for both Dr. Martin and
Professor Wrightsman in third and fourth semester, I truly believe that is why I was
so prepared to take on my first Level IIA fieldwork. I was then able to take all of the
knowledge that I had acquired at TUN, and apply it every day to six to eight patients
over a 12 week period. This will help prepare me for my Level IIB fieldwork
placement as well as when I become an entry level practitioner. Prior to my studies
at TUN, I never felt as confident as I am today to explain and advocate what

Madeline Dunlap
occupational therapy is and the efficacy behind why we strive to do occupationbased interventions for all of our patients.
Now, with the experience that I have gained over the last six semesters, I am
confident in my abilities to utilize occupation-based practice at any setting with
every patient to optimize functional outcomes. As noted in my experience at
HealthSouth, working with a patient post-stroke from the initial evaluation all the
way through his discharge from the hospital, I was able to obtain an occupational
profile through a holistic viewpoint of the patient. This influenced the creation of
occupation-based goals and intervention planning. An accumulation of the
knowledge I have gained about the importance of occupation-based practice truly
prepared me for this real life experience. My professors have done a great job
outlining what this concept truly means and it has forced me to be creative and
innovative when formulating treatment plans.