Clinical Education Spring 2022

School of Occupational Therapy Students Offered New Ways of Learning During the Pandemic

Written by Lil Crump

Chris McWilliam, OT Reg (NS) and Alum

When it comes to Covid-19 there are few educational programs that have not been impacted in one way or another. Whether it’s shifting to online programming, scrambling to find PPE, or installing ventilation systems in labs and classrooms - innovation and adaptation has played a key role in overcoming Covid-19 barriers to move forward.

As many health care organizations cancelled fieldwork placements to adhere to pandemic safety guidelines, Dalhousie’s School of Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Placement team looked for ways to ensure student completion of fieldwork placements to advance them through the MScOT program.  

Chris McWilliam, an occupational therapy professional practice lead at Nova Scotia Health's Mental Health and Addictions Program in the Central Zone, as well as a frontline clinician in the Community Mental Health and Addictions clinics in the Halifax Regional Municipality - understood Dalhousie’s MScOT students could benefit from the wisdom and experience of his occupational therapy colleagues across Nova Scotia.

McWilliam organized an environment that allowed MScOT students to interview occupational therapists in the Mental Health and Addictions Program in all four zones (50 occupational therapists and five occupational therapy assistants in all). The students were asked to report on the variation in roles of occupational therapists across Nova Scotia to learn about the positive impacts clinicians across the province are making in the lives of people living with addiction and mental disorders.

Because of Chris McWilliam’s efforts, MScOT students were able to glean in-depth understanding of the mental health and addiction programs being offered within the occupational therapy profession throughout Nova Scotia.  

For his innovation and initiative, Chris McWilliam was presented with the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapy (CAOT) Fieldwork Educator Award of Excellence. The purpose of the CAOT Fieldwork Educator Award is to acknowledge the contribution of a practice educator who demonstrates exceptional performance in student practice teaching and in student mentoring in the workplace, and who represents a gold standard in inspiring students to passionately pursue professional practice.

The School of Occupational Therapy congratulates Chris on this achievement, and we thank him for many years of service and commitment to student learning!