DA6104 - Transition to Practitioner and Professional Development

This module will focus on professional development as you make the transition from student to qualified practitioner with an emphasis on reflection and continuing professional development. The module requires you to draw continuously on your experiences as an emerging practitioner, bringing authentic clinical scenarios, ethical dilemmas, and practice questions from your workplace into your academic learning. Your workplace mentor plays a central role in facilitating your learning throughout this module, working in partnership with university staff to support your application of theory to practice. Through regular supervision, they help you discuss module content in relation to your caseload, identify appropriate learning opportunities, and develop your professional reasoning. They contribute to your assessment through workplace observation and feedback, verifying your achievement of practice-based learning outcomes. This tripartite relationship between you, your workplace mentor, and the apprenticeship coach creates a supportive learning environment that bridges academic and practice settings, ensuring coherence in your professional development.
You will learn through a range of hybrid learning opportunities including online workshops, interactive lectures, seminars and work-based learning designed to help you make the transition to practice with its requirement for life-long learning and continual professional development. An introductory lecture will be utilised to introduce you to key module concepts and the RCOT career development framework to guide a process of self-assessment and action planning for your transition into practice. You will work in small groups and independently to facilitate autonomous learning. Sessions will be led by the module team with contributions from expert clinicians. The apprentice led seminars will promote critical exploration and discussion of learning journey to date. Practical workshops will revisit and consolidate practical practice skills and tutorials will focus on developing your skills in leading a professional discussion underpinned by theory and evidence relating to your chosen area of practice / work area. Classroom based sessions will be utilised during consolidation weeks enabling you to synthesize work-based learning, practice based learning alongside the theoretical and practical university-based sessions. These consolidation weeks serve as integration points where you synthesise work-based experiences with theoretical knowledge and develop complex practical skills requiring hands-on guidance.

The identified module tutor, alongside the programme team, will structure 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. Your work-based mentor will provide guidance and support in the development of the portfolio alongside the academic team, 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 professional development. following the conclusion of your programme.

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 & Understanding:
1. Critically discuss key concepts and knowledge base relevant to occupational therapy.
2. Critically analyse and evaluate theoretical concepts underpinning occupational therapy and occupational science, specifically the functional nature of humans, critically debating the impact of culture, equality and diversity on practice.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
3. Identify and critically evaluate level of an occupational need using specific occupational focused enquiry and theoretical models and consistently apply occupational therapy knowledge, skills and experience in partnership with the person to improve their occupational balance and performance.
4. Critically debate the relationship between occupation, health and wellbeing and the factors that facilitate or challenge participation in occupation.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
5. Critically appraise own performance and service delivery, taking account of political, social and economic contexts. Demonstrating a commitment to continuing professional development through proactively engaging in a range of directed and self-directed learning opportunities
6. Establish collaborative working relationships with others, using occupation to promote participation, health and wellbeing.

Formative assessment
Peer presentation of your development across the 4 pillars of the Royal College of Occupational Therapy Career Development Framework.

You will receive feedback and feedforward to enable you to develop your summative assessment via blackboard within 2 weeks of submission, this is in addition to weekly formative feedback provided via Blackboard on your weekly reflective journal.
(MLOS 1-6)

Summative Assessment
You will undertake a 30 minute viva examination demonstrating your professional development across the 4 pillars of the RCOT career development framework and the KSBs from the apprenticeship standard.

Feedback will be provided via gradebook within the university standard of 20 working days.
(All MLOs)

All level 4 and 5 OTDA modules

N/A

In this module you will consolidate your understanding of Occupational Therapy in preparation for your transition to a qualified and registered professional. You will be supported by the academic team and your work-based mentor to increase your confidence in further developing your own knowledge and skills of occupational therapy this will be achieved through the structure of the RCOT Career Development Framework, with particular focus on reflecting on your knowledge and skill acquisition to date and the development of an action plan to support you continuing professional development in your first few years as a qualified occupational therapist. To achieve this, you will reflect on and critically evaluate your own knowledge, skills and values, identifying areas for your professional development and planning/managing your own learning with support and guidance. This module will equip you with skills and experience of self-assessment and Professional Development Appraisal for continual professional development as required by Professional and Regulatory Bodies (HCPC and RCOT). This module will enable you to consolidate your learning as an apprentice to demonstrate the professional knowledge, skills and behaviours required to practice and a registered occupational therapist. The module provides opportunities to critical discuss current and future occupational therapy practice based on your university and work-based learning experiences, consolidate your practical skills, underpin theoretical knowledge and professional judgement and reasoning. This module will provide you with the opportunity to explore the critical cultural, ethical and sustainability issues that impact on contemporary occupational therapy practice and consider how you plan to engage with continuing professional development throughout your future career.