What can be done about home health fieldwork?

The literature indicates that health care is moving away from institutional care and specialization to the community and home where providers need generalist competencies. As educators strive to prepare students for this environment, fieldwork experiences in the community and home are opportunities for students to develop generalist competencies. Because of the current scarcity of fieldwork sites, in general, scheduling placements is difficult. As educators seek new sites, home health settings and therapists who provide home health care as a component of their service need to be considered. Home health occupational therapy requires a practitioner to adopt a holistic perspective in order to assist clients to function optimally in their home environment. Because a large number of students work in addition to taking classes, they can be encouraged to find jobs as home health aides or chore providers as part-time employment before and during their didactic education. This work experience can help them to acculturate to the home setting. By encouraging students' participation in home health experiences, educators are helping to facilitate generalist competencies.