What will I learn on this module?
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.
How will I learn on this module?
Through practical, experiential and sometimes immersive approaches, you will practice specific skills (such as facilitating sensitive conversations or undertaking a range of assessments) with opportunities for repetition, reflection and feedback.
Technology enabled approaches (such as the use of video or Virtual Reality scenarios) will be used to enable you to experience close-to-life occupational therapy situations and practice your own skills in similar scenarios. Practical workshops will be used to try out specific techniques; for example, undertaking different types of assessment or adapting an environment for people with specific needs. Individual and group reflection will be an important part of your skill development.
Experts with lived experience will be involved in your learning to help you to reflect on specific practice skills. We will focus increasingly on tailoring our professional skills to the uniqueness of individuals, their families, their cultures and contexts.
Practice Placement will also be an integral part of learning on this module where you will engage with an identified practice area and work alongside service users/carers and a qualified Occupational Therapist who will act as your practice educator to facilitate your learning, link theory to practice and support your development of occupational therapy skills. Tutorial sessions will also form part of your module learning, specifically to support you with the placement process. Tutorial sessions may be in the form of individual or small group tutorials, in university, online or in practice.
How will I be supported academically on this module?
The identified module tutor, alongside the module teaching team, will structure a blend of face-to-face and on-line learning opportunities to support your learning within the module and to assist you to work towards the module assessment. The module handbook, the reading list, and information communicated throughout the module within sessions and via Blackboard (Northumbria University’s Virtual Learning Environment) will all signpost you to resources to support your academic development.
A formative assessment opportunity with staff and/or peer feedback will assist you to evaluate your own progress within the module and identify areas for development. Assessment preparation with the module teaching team will also be an integral part of the module.
You will also have an identified practice educator (a qualified Occupational Therapist) who will facilitate and support your learning in practice. In addition, you will be supported to identify and learn from other professionals, team-members and people who use services in the particular practice area. At key points before, during and after placement, academic staff will assist you to link placement learning to your module learning and to your wider continuing professional development.
What will I be expected to read on this module?
All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)
What will I be expected to achieve?
Knowledge & Understanding:
1. Critically analyse core occupational therapy practice skills and their application to a range of practice contexts
2. Critically analyse the skills used to involve individuals and communities in all aspects of occupational therapy.
Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
3. Critically evaluate occupation-focused interventions for individuals, families and communities.
4. Critically analyse the application of technology to occupational therapy practice skills
Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
5. Show a commitment to safe, effective, ethical and legal practice in all aspects of learning and practice.
How will I be assessed?
Formative assessment:
Part A: Students will have the opportunity to share a short presentation and receive peer and tutor feedback.
Part B: Ongoing formative assessment on practice placement where strengths and areas for development are identified. This will be supported through regular supervision meetings between the student and the practice educator and will be summarised during a mid-point contact with an academic tutor. Both weekly supervision and the mid-point contact will be summarised in writing.
Summative assessment:
Part A: Students will deliver an oral presentation focussed on critical analysis and evaluation of professional reasoning and practice skills. Individual written feedback will be provided following the summative assessment highlighting strengths and areas for development.
Part B: Students will be assessed on a pass/fail basis in line with Supported practice-based learning outcomes and will receive written feedback from the practice educator regarding strengths and areas for development. Placement must be passed in order to pass the module.
Parts A and B will promote achievement of all MLO’s (1-5)
Your summative assessment mark and feedback will be returned to you within the University standard of 20 working days, normally accessed through the module Blackboard (Northumbria University’s Electronic Learning Platform).
Your placement grade and feedback is given to you at the end of your placement before being submitted to the University.
Module abstract
In this module you will develop practice skills across three broad areas: building relationships; occupational therapy assessments; and occupational therapy interventions. You will develop skills to build relationships in situations which require adaptability and different approaches – including asking sensitive questions, having conversations about change and intentionally considering different roles and facilitation approaches within groups.
You will become increasingly familiar with a range of occupational therapy assessment approaches and practice assessments in close-to-life contexts and scenarios. Through increased practice of analysing a range of activities and environments, you will identify opportunities for grading, adaptation and enabling positive risks.
The module includes a period of practice-based learning to enable students to apply knowledge, skills and attributes in University modules to occupational therapy professional practice. Placement hours completed on this module contribute to the 1000 hours of supervised practice required to be eligible to register with the HCPC on completion of the programme.
