Module overview
This module provides an opportunity to experience current practice in a variety of locations across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Principle providers of placement will be in health or social care settings. You will be supervised by an experienced therapist who will be your placement educator for the entire period of study. You and the placement educator will be allocated a Locality Contact (a member of the academic staff in the School's OT team) who will provide a link to the academic programme and will visit you at least once during the placement. You are supernumerary to the staff on the unit in which you are placed.
This particular placement has a focus on you making an active contribution to the assessment and treatment of service users in a specific area of practice. You will take an active part under close supervision of the placement educator who will prompt you to take responsibility for a selected caseload.
Integration of Service Users
The experience of working closely with service users of all ages, cultural backgrounds and across clinical specialities is an essential ingredient to the learning and assessment of competency within the occupational therapy programme. This placement links to work carried out in other level 5 modules where specific service user groups needs and/or treatment is investigated at a foundation level. You need to be aware of service users' lived experiences derived from narratives, research and evaluation of practice. This will improve your knowledge base and also underpin any self-development activities linked to practice placement. This combination of theoretical evidence and practice-based work will ensure that the needs of service users are dealt with in a proactive and positive manner in all your scholarly and practical activities.
Multi-Professional Learning
The partnership between academic and practice environments is an essential ingredient in the development, delivery and evaluation of the Occupational Therapy programme. During other level 5 modules you will have opportunities to work alongside and learn together in groups of students from different professional backgrounds. This will be replicated in practice placement experiences where different professions frequently work together within practice teams. It is envisaged that these experiences will have an impact on how, and what you explore and in particular will be a feature of aspects of your personal and professional development activities (see learning outcomes).
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Reflect on and critically evaluate recent professional activity, discussing the impact of critical events on personal and professional practice and development.
- Construct management plans for patient/client interventions and manage resources in the light of departmental expectations, constraints and available supporting services.
- Select and apply appropriate occupation focussed interventions, taking into account health and safety issues and modifying interventions in response to evaluation of the outcomes achieved.
- Produce a comprehensive case study/project arising from practice that evidences the application of theoretical and practical skills learnt throughout your academic programme, the current placement and previous placement. Evaluate the effectiveness of the project or of the assessment, intervention and management (for a case study).
- Modify communication styles to develop effective working relationships with patients/clients and other professionals taking account of ethical considerations and respecting their rights, dignity, and confidentiality.
- With prompting from your practice educator(s) assess patients/clients, involving them in the analysis of the information and Identifying problems and strengths, in order to plan appropriate occupation focussed interventions, taking account of individual patient/client needs.
- Manage a caseload as appropriate, prioritising your workload and managing your time effectively.
- Create effective working relationships with members of the multidisciplinary team, providing appropriate professional feedback.
Syllabus
The integration of knowledge, skills and attitudes specific to the speciality area of the placement reflect the five sections of practice: safe conduct, professionalism, interpersonal skills, clinical/therapeutic skills and management skills as defined in the occupational therapy practice placement assessment criteria.
Introduction to the Continuous Professional Development process: including developing learning outcomes/objectives, reflecting on a learning experience and producing a practice case study/project relevant to the placement area.
You will receive prompting from a placement educator and take an active role in, and where appropriate be responsible for a caseload under their supervision. You will have opportunity to work with and learn from other health professionals and appropriate staff within the placement setting as well as the named placement educator, to facilitate understanding of the multidisciplinary and complex nature of health and social care provision.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Your learning will be facilitated by a placement educator(s) who will use a variety of methods, including:
- demonstration by a recognised placement educator in the placement facility
- supervised service user contact using mentorship
- staff and learner led presentations
- case study/presentations
- ward rounds/case conferences/community visits
- attendance at clinics and opportunities to observe specialist treatments such as surgical interventions where appropriate
- departmental in-service programmes
- peer support in the university and practice-based setting
- support from placement educators and visiting academics (locality contacts)
- eLearning resources: blackboard site
- learning resources in practice area
- practice placement handbook
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Placement | 240 |
| Total study time | 240 |
Resources & Reading list
Internet Resources
Guidance on Conduct and Ethics for students.
Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics.
Textbooks
Royal College of Occupational Therapists. Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for Occupational Therapists. London: Royal College of Occupational Therapists.
Higgs J & Jones M (2008). Clinical Reasoning in Health Professionals. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.
McLeod J (2013). Introduction to Counselling. Philadelphia: Open University Press.
Curtin M, Egan M and Adams J (2017). Occupational Therapy for People Experiencing Illness, Injury or Impairment: Promoting occupation and participation. London: Elsevier.
Assessment
Formative
This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.
EvaluationSummative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Evaluation | 100% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Evaluation | 100% |