Occupational Therapy Abroad: Fieldwork Lessons in Thailand

For their Level 1 fieldwork placement, Occupational Therapy (OT) students have a variety of objectives. Four current Salus University OT students were the first from the program to have an international Level 1 fieldwork experience in Thailand. Not only did students experience traditional learning objectives, there was a higher emphasis on the cultural aspects of the trip such as developing cultural humility and understanding the needs of clients in a different culture than professional students are used to seeing in the United States.

In addition to practicing professional behaviors and being able to describe the role of an OT to clients, their families, and other practitioners outside of the OT profession, Salus students experienced activities including  making mango sticky rice in a Thai cooking class and going on a “poo poo paper” excursion, which is making paper out of elephant droppings (in a hygienic and sustainable process).

“I was excited that this group was willing to step outside of their comfort zone and do something that was unchartered here,” said Anna Grasso, OTD, MS, OTR/L, CAPS, ECHM, associate professor and academic fieldwork coordinator for the University’s OT program. “It was a great intra-professional learning opportunity that we don’t always get to provide our students. The resourcefulness and non-verbal communication skills that they learned will absolutely translate into practice.”

The four students — Meghan Seitter, Kaitlin Costello, Megan Delawder, and Carly Wasson, all Class of 2024 — traveled to Thailand from Oct. 4 through Oct. 17, 2023. There is an 11-hour time difference in Thailand, and it took three flights of 14 hours, seven hours, and 1.5 hours to get there. They left on Oct. 4 and arrived in Chiang Mai on Oct. 6.

The University worked with a company called Therapy Abroad to coordinate the trip. The Salus students were part of a group that included OT supervisors from California and Thailand and four OT assistant students from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Level 1 fieldwork for OTs is an introductory experience where students are expected to observe the profession in various settings, as well as participate in the therapy process as the supervisor deems appropriate. Commonly there’s primarily observation, while sometimes there’s more hands-on learning.

According to the four students, learning the cultural differences and similarities between the U.S. and Thailand were among the biggest takeaways from the trip.

“There was such a language barrier, so we were learning how to communicate with individuals who we are not able to understand,” said Costello. “But we still tried to find ways to integrate what we’ve learned in school and practice and still be able to interact with them.”

In addition to the time difference and the language barrier, the students also observed how Thai people adapted to challenges.

“I think resourcefulness is something that we saw in all of the people in Thailand, especially the parents. They would do anything for their kids. So would parents here, but the parents in Thailand really took it to another level, working with what little they had,” said Wasson. “And, I think it inspired all of us. Some places you work in might not have a lot of resources, which is definitely something we’ll be able to use in our practice.”

In return, the Thai people were willing to learn from the American students as well. “I saw how appreciative the Thai clients and caregivers were of us coming to support and help them with anything they needed,” said Seitter. “They were super excited to learn from us as we were from them.”

The students returned home energized and were anxious to share their experiences with their classmates. “I wanted to tell all my friends and family all about it as well. I wanted to share all the photos and tell them about the food and all the differences. It was just so exciting,” said Delawder.

This was the last short-term experience for the students before they go on more intensive Level 2 fieldwork experiences, which runs from January to June 2024 and includes working in two different fieldwork settings.

Grasso said the OT department is planning to work with Therapy Abroad again for the next cohort of students in the Class of 2025. Currently, an international Level 1 fieldwork experience is being planned for the Caribbean.

“It was a notable experience seeing how grateful and stress-free the people of Thailand were,” said Seitter. “It pushes you to come back home and see how our work is having an impact on others.”