Occupational Therapy (Pre-Registration) MSc
2 Years Full-Time | September Start

You will develop your understanding of academic conventions in UK higher education aligned to your level of study, including expectations around critical analysis, structure, argumentation, evidencing, and referencing. The module focuses on developing communication strategies that will help you express your ideas clearly and coherently in written assignments and spoken activities. You will also reflect on your current academic and language skills and develop strategies for development ahead of your assessments.

In this module you will develop core knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings of occupational therapy alongside an appreciation of how occupational therapists apply these principles to practice. You will explore the academic discipline of Occupational Science which studies the links between meaningful activities, health and wellbeing. Topics in this module will include:

• The use of theoretical frameworks and foundational sciences to analyse occupation, health and wellbeing
• The consideration of contextual factors, including global and public health challenges, that influence occupation
• The therapeutic use of the self in creating collaborative relationships with people who use occupational therapy services
• The application of theory to practice within a range of health, social care, education and community contexts (practice placement A)

Your university learning will be consolidated and developed by a period of practice-based learning where you will be supported to apply theory to practice and develop your occupational therapy knowledge and skills with support and supervision of a qualified occupational therapist. You will engage with people and communities with lived experience to gain insight and appreciation of a range of health, social and/or environmental factors that influence occupational participation and engagement.

The preparatory period in university prior to placement will help you to understand the professional conduct required in practice as set out by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
The target placement hours for this module are 262.5 hours of supervised practice, contributing to the 1,000+ hours of supervised practice required for HCPC registration. 100% attendance on placement is expected in order to meet required practice hours. Absences will be reported to the placement area and the University, and if required, opportunities to catch-up with missed time negotiated at the next most appropriate opportunity.

Occupational therapists use a range of practical skills when working with individuals, groups and communities. Building on the ‘Foundations of Occupation and Practice’ module and your first experience of practice-based learning on placement, you will develop skills used when building relationships with others, assessing activities and environments and when making changes to activities and environments to help people achieve their goals.  
 
To develop skills in building relationships, you will learn how occupational therapists adapt their approaches and relationships to different situations. You will think about what makes change difficult for people and develop flexible and adaptable interpersonal skills in both 1:1 and group situations.
 
You will continue to learn about a range of assessments used in occupational therapy. Furthermore, you will continue to analyse how people engage in a range of self-care, productive and leisure occupations, developing skills in adapting and modifying these occupations to help people to do what they want and need to do in everyday life. We will increasingly focus on the development of skills in close-to-life contexts.   

The target placement hours for this module are 337.5 hours of supervised practice, contributing to the 1,000+ hours of supervised practice required for Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration. 100% attendance on placement is expected in order to meet required practice hours. Absences will be reported to the placement area and the University, and if required, opportunities to catch-up with missed time negotiated at the next most appropriate opportunity.

This module will support your understanding and development of research and evidence as a basis for the knowledge and skills required to undertake your MSc research project. Occupation Therapy will feature as a strand running throughout the module. This will form a vehicle to develop understanding of different research methods and critique, but to also develop awareness of how occupation influences individual and community health and well-being.

This module will introduce some of the complexities associated with occupation for health and wellbeing, enabling you to critique some of the research approaches used in investigating occupation and its role in the health and well-being of both individuals and communities in contemporary society.