Occupational Therapist Assistant / Physiotherapist Assistant

Placement Requirements

Please be aware that although a COVID-19 vaccination is not required to attend St. Clair College, some of our placement sites may require students to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 to be eligible to attend. Unfortunately, we cannot predict if a placement site will begin to require full vaccination and as such, we are encouraging all students to consider vaccination. If the requirement of your placement sites changes at any point, you will be notified immediately by the College.

It is important to note that if placement sites do require students to be fully vaccinated to attend their place of business, students who are not fully vaccinated cannot be provided with a placement for their program and therefore will not be able to complete their programs.

If you have any questions about the COVID-19 vaccines, please contact our St. Clair College Health Centre at 519-972-2727 ext. 4484 (in Windsor) or 519-354-9100 ext. 3729 (in Chatham)

Occupational Therapist and Physiotherapist Assistant (OTA & PTA)

As an OTA&PTA, you will work for such healthcare providers as hospitals, family health teams and community clinics, mental health facilities, long-term care facilities such as Nursing Homes, Residential Care and Senior Assistive Living facilities, rehabilitation centers, and children's treatment centers. Graduates will work under the supervision of a Physiotherapist and/or Occupational Therapist to assist in the implementation of rehabilitation plans and programs to enable a client's optimal performance. This will help clients effectively cope with their limitations in daily movement and activities.

If you are the type of individual who welcomes a challenge and enjoys being with people of all ages, a career as an occupational therapist and/or physiotherapist assistant is a great career path to choose.

Field Placement Overview

Clinical placement is undertaken for a total of 525 hours in two placement blocks during semesters three and four. Placements occur for two seven-week blocks and attendance is 5 days per week (est. 37.5 hours /week). The first placement in semester 3 is typically from early November to mid-December and the second placement in semester 4 is from mid-March to the end of April. The purpose of the placement is for students to have hands-on contact with patients under the supervision of a qualified OT, PT, OTA or PTA during which their skills can be practiced and developed in vivo. It is the intention of this program to provide each student with both OT and PT-based input wherever possible. It is expected that the student will receive theoretical input and coaching from their supervisor as well as take opportunities for research into specific clinical issues that may arise. The level of supervision will be dependent on the student’s progress through the program and will be discussed below. Students are required to provide descriptive and reflective journals during the placement to enhance the process. In semesters three and four each placement block is provided immediately after the 8-week course element of the program to allow enrichment of skills and to allow utility of students in each placement agency.

Placements may be on day, afternoon or weekend shifts anywhere within Chatham-Kent and Windsor-Essex. If students wish to complete their placements at an alternate location (eg their home town) it is their responsibility to secure a suitable facility and supervisor. Approval of each facility and supervisor is at the discretion of the college placements clinical supervisor and generally, the facility must be appropriately registered and the practitioner a Reg. OT or PT or an OTA or PTA supervised by a Reg. OT or PT.

Students are required to provide their own transportation to the clinical placement location. The College is not able to guarantee placements in every student's desired location or on a bus route.

It is expected that students will most usually work 37.5-hour weeks over a Monday-to-Friday schedule. The exact start and finish times will however be reflective of the hosting agency. However, if the student and the Field Work Supervisor agree that another day or time period would be more beneficial, this is acceptable to the College as long as it does not conflict with scheduled classes and the student will achieve all required hours. Such alternative arrangements MUST be reported to the field placement site supervisor and Program Coordinator and agreed upon before implementation.

Lunch hours may be counted as part of the student’s placement hours ONLY if the student is working through their lunch hour as a necessary or expected part of their placement. Students are encouraged to take lunch hours as a part of a professional approach to managing self-care.

Students who miss placement hours due to sick time or other valid personal reasons must make up the time in order to complete the required number of hours to receive credit for the placement. If sick/ personal time is taken such absences must be accompanied by a doctor's note or official documentation validating the absence.
Students may take the regular College holidays and relevant religious holidays that fall during the placement semester.

Unexplained or unaccountable absences from field placement are not acceptable conduct and may potentially result in dismissal from the placement setting.

Placement Evaluation

Formal placement evaluations are required and the evaluation form can be found at the end of this document. The completed evaluation should be submitted to the college placement supervisor during the last week of placement and uploaded to the Final Year Capstone Portfolio.

Police Record Check

Employers who provide our field placement settings require a clear POLICE RECORD CHECK for criminal offences with vulnerable sector screening before accepting a student into the field placement setting. A police record check MUST be obtained by the student prior to EACH placement and at the student's expense and must be no more than SIX MONTHS OLD for the entire placement. Students are expected to obtain this police clearance in a timely fashion as without the clearance the opportunity to complete field placements will be jeopardized. The process can be lengthy and students should contact their local police well in advance of the beginning of placement in order to ensure that this document is in place. A copy of the police check must be uploaded to SIS (or taken to registration) as part of certification for placement and the original must be available to the placement site should they require it. PLEASE NOTE: WITHOUT THE POLICE CHECK STUDENTS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ATTEND PLACEMENT AND THIS MAY DELAY GRADUATION.

Placement also has a number of health-related requirements which are listed below.

Health Requirements

• Medical Requirements Form
• A satisfactory medical exam.
• An up-to-date immunization record including tetanus and diphtheria, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella (chicken pox), Hepatitis B (incl. Hep B titre within the last 24 months) and TB skin test.
• Flu Shots (while not mandatory for ALL facilities MUST be completed prior to placement or as soon as the shots are available for a number of locations). Flu shots are strongly recommended. Students without flu shots may be temporarily prohibited from participating in placement in residential and LTC settings should flu outbreaks occur. Students are required to make up hours missed due to flu outbreaks in the placement setting.

Additional Health Requirements

• Standard First Aid (online courses are NOT acceptable).
• CPR - BCLS with AED for Health Care Providers (online courses are NOT acceptable).
• NIOSH N95 Respirator Mask Fit Test.
• Other placement requirements as required by specific placements facilities (It is the student's responsibility to determine if there additional requirements).

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL DOCUMENTATION MAST BE TAKEN TO REGISTRATION IN CHATHAM (OR UPLOADED TO SIS) TO OBTAIN CLEARANCE. IF USING THE REGISTRATION OPTION PLEASE TAKE COMPLETED REQUIREMENTS ONLY ONCE WHEN EVERYTHING IS COMPLETE AND NOT DURING THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF ANY SEMESTER.