‘Micro-doses of wisdom’

The numbers say occupational therapist Clark Heard has given more than 30,000 hours as mentor to more than 150 work-placement students across 25 years of professional practice.

But Heard, who works at St. Joseph’s Health Care London’s Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care (Southwest Centre), has a different number in mind. 

“These mentorships have made my career 1,000 times better,” he says. “It’s such a joy, I often think the main beneficiary of this teaching has been me.”

Recently, staff celebrated his being a preceptor to his 150th occupational therapy student, trainees he works with as they gain clinical experience before graduating.

As preceptor, his role officially is to guide them towards independent and team practice. But he says it goes well beyond practical skills or preparing them to be entry-level clinicians.

“These students are brilliant. They’re motivated, they’re smart,” he says.

That’s why much of his mentoring includes things they won’t learn in a classroom: teamwork, managing unpredictability, discernment, interviewing skills, small-business advice, career pathways.

These were particularly valuable to occupational therapist Nargiz Nasibova, whose student placement at Southwest Centre in 2024 helped form the impetus for her current work in geriatric mental health in Calgary.

“Clark was someone who didn’t see the profession as just a job. He guided us through the demands of the work, collaborative relationships with staff and patients, healthy team dynamics and balance outside of work. I bring those lessons and views into each patient interaction.”

“I had no desire to work in mental health until I came here as a student. And, thanks to Clark’s inspiration, it became my career,” says Terri-Lynn Timmermans, clinical manager of forensics – and Heard’s sixth student 20 years ago.

Heard says, “As educators, there’s a tendency to oversell the importance of very specific skillsets, the things they do today, and undersell the importance of potential and what they can do six months from now. That’s why I tell students, ‘you are built for greatness. You’re not built for average. So let’s explore how you cultivate greatness. What makes you exceptional?’ ”

Heard has been invited to students’ graduations, weddings and baby showers. Some former students work in mental health, as Heard does. Others work in clinics or private practice. Some are now teachers themselves.

Heard credits St. Joseph’s values of respect, excellence and compassion for creating an environment where this approach is not only possible but is encouraged.

“At Southwest Centre, and at St. Joseph’s, people in professional practice are part of a much bigger circle that starts and ends with organizational supports:  information technology , security, nurses, admin staff. There are so many moving parts.”

Heard is an adjunct professor at Western University’s School of Occupational Therapy and winner of the Barbara Sexton Lectureship. Awards include national recognition by the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, winning a Distinguished Alumnus award-winner at McMaster University, and receiving the St. Joseph’s Sisters of St. Joseph’s Award for Excellence in Care.

“I got into occupational therapy to provide the best care possible for patients. I got into teaching so students could experience what success as a whole team looks like.”