DA5121 - Occupational Therapy Practice Skills

The module will be delivered through a hybrid approach of online learning, workbook activities, and group work. Clinical colleagues and experts by experience (service users) contribute to the teaching ensuring that you are able to make apply theoretical concepts to a practical environment. You will utilise your work-based experience to consolidate your learning through a range of reflective activities and discussions with peers and your work-based mentor. A mix of online workshops, lectures and directed learning will be utilised to introduce you to key module concepts. Peer led seminars will also be utilised to explore how a range of professional knowledge (such as research evidence, professional guidelines and legislation) informs how an Occupational Therapist applies their skills. You will also engage in peer learning activities during practical group work, simulation of occupational therapy interventions and reflection. Campus based sessions will be utilised during consolidation weeks , enabling you to synthesise work-based learning, practice based learning alongside the theoretical and practical university-based sessions You will maintain a reflective learning journal documenting significant practice experiences, critical incidents, and clinical decisions, analysing these using theoretical frameworks studied within the module demonstrating that practical occupational therapy skills are developed through complementary learning in both workplace and university settings. In your workplace, you develop skills through authentic client interactions, applying assessment techniques, interventions, and professional reasoning within real-world practice demands. Your daily work provides continuous opportunities to practice core occupational therapy skills including therapeutic rapport building, activity analysis, environmental modification, collaborative goal setting, and outcome measurement within your specific service context.

The module team will structure learning opportunities to support your learning within the module and to assist you to work towards the module assessment. The module guide, the electronic reading list, and information communicated throughout the module within sessions and on the e-learning portal will all signpost you to resources to support your academic development.

Ongoing reflection during the module and within APTEM will encourage you to develop key learning plans and goals aligned with the apprenticeship standards enabling you to review and evaluate your development and learning at regular points throughout the module. Assessment preparation with the module teaching team will also be an integral part of the module. You will also be supported by your workplace mentor who will help you to identify learning opportunities to apply your developing knowledge and practice your skills with your day-to-day work. This will be reviewed during the progress review meetings with your mentor and the apprenticeship coach.

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)

Knowledge and Understanding
1. Understand and discuss core Occupational Therapy practice skills and their application to a range of practice contexts
2. Understand and apply a range of professional knowledge to demonstrate the ability to practice safely and within your scope of practice

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
3. Utilise a range of assessment skills to identify and prioritise occupational need, and to include the assessment of risk and safeguarding
4. Develop skills in activity and occupational analysis to select, adapt and grade activities
5. Develop communication and collaboration skills in order work in partnership with a range of individuals, groups and service-providers

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
6. Demonstrate an understanding of, and commitment to, principles of person-centered health and care practice placing the interests of services users at the forefront of practice
7. Demonstrate ethical reasoning to optimise occupational participation for individuals and groups whilst considering a range of policy, legislation, evidence and professional guidelines.

Formative assessment
Open book exam reviewing key concepts of the module. This will be an online exam focusing on the OT process applied to the tutor generated case studies that you work with throughout semester.

Feedback for the formative assessment will enable you to develop a learning development plan for your summative assessment and will be provided via gradebook within 2 weeks of submission. This is in addition to ongoing feedback and feedforward that will be provided weekly on your reflective journal that is uploaded to blackboard.

Summative assessment 2500 words
You will create a detailed anonymised 1000-word case study from your workplace setting identifying key occupational need and areas for OT assessment and intervention. This will be supported with a 1500-word reflection of the application of how you utilised the OT process with your identified case study identifying the application of core skills of occupational therapy practice within your workplace setting.

Feedback will be provided via gradebook within the university standard of 20 working days.

All level 4 OTDA modules

N/A

The skill of breaking down activities and occupations in order to understand how they are patterned and performed and then modify and adapt them to promote and maximize engagement, is essential to Occupational Therapy practice and will be learnt, practiced and applied throughout this module. This module will help you to learn these skills through interactive and experiential ways.

Alongside developing core occupational practice therapy skills, students will be required to integrate and practice wider professional skills which would enable them to practice safely and effectively. For example, skills in risk assessment, record keeping, delegation and communication.

Teaching and learning will mainly focus on practical, experiential and simulated learning. Formative assessment will provide an opportunity for each student to demonstrate their knowledge and skills linked to an identified scenario and this will lead into the summative assessment for the module. For the summative assessment students will be required to submit a written report based on the occupational therapy process for an identified case study of their choice identified from your workplace setting. This assessment is designed to utilise your workplace context as the primary site of inquiry and application, ensuring that assessed work is directly relevant to your professional role and contributes meaningfully to your practice development. Assessment tasks are intentionally structured to allow you to draw upon your specific client population, service delivery model, workplace policies, and local resources, enabling you to demonstrate learning outcomes through analysis and application within your authentic practice setting.