Roles and Responsibilities

The Fieldwork Experience Triad

This fieldwork experience consists of a triad, the fieldwork mentor, the student and the supervising faculty, all of whom play integral roles in the success of this experience.  The following is a summary of the various roles and responsibilities intrinsic to each of the members of this triad. 

Fieldwork Mentor

The fieldwork mentor will share knowledge of leadership with students. This involves:

• • Providing students with the opportunity to participate in meaningful leadership related learning opportunities.

  • Provide students with oversight and guidance as required.

  • Seek assistance from the UofA faculty member immediately if there are any issues related to student behaviours or a workplace incident. 

  • Assess the student’s fieldwork experience and provide brief commentary on the student’s achievements, engagement, areas requiring improvement, and advice related to career development in leadership. 

Students

Students are expected to complete 192 fieldwork hours with an assigned mentor, either individually or in a group. Fieldwork hours will be completed on site or as negotiated with the mentor and faculty member. During this experience, students will consolidate and apply prior learning from clinical and theory courses to observe the influence of evidence, policy, and legislation on decision making in complex health systems and leadership teams. The student requirements will involve: 

• Joining leaders and interprofessional teams to understand and integrate interprofessional competencies in collaborative team environments.

• Working closely with their fieldwork mentors on diverse day-to-day leadership activities. A wide variety of student activities can be experienced depending on the team and context. In addition, students will complete leadership projects situated in the needs and requirements of the leadership team and/or organization. Collectively, fieldwork deliverables ought to be useful to and are negotiated with the hosting organization. 

Supervising Faculty

Supervising faculty members will serve as a resource for both students and mentors. This involves:

• Ensuring that students and mentors are familiar with the fieldwork objectives.

• Be available to students and mentors to support student learning.

• Meet with the student/mentor (typically by phone, email or in person), as needed.

• Reviewing students' monthly field placement activity logs, monthly progress reports, and midterm and final  evaluation of student learning.