What will I learn on this module?
This final placement consolidates your occupational therapy knowledge and skills. Building on your previous placements, you will work towards ‘Skilled’ practice-based learning outcomes, taking an increasingly independent role in delivering safe and effective occupational therapy. This module prepares you for your transition to a registered occupational therapist, guided by the standards set by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
The target placement hours for this module are 450 hours of supervised practice, contributing to the 1,000+ hours 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.
With supervision, you will contribute to occupational therapy services, reflect on core values important to service users and carers, and explore how the environment can enable or inhibit participation.
People with lived experience have been involved in identifying core values. You will continue to enact and reflect on these values within your professional practice, developing cultural awareness, collaborative working, and professional behaviours, while strengthening your organisational and decision-making skills. You will also continue to grow as a reflective, evidence-based practitioner, linking practice to theory from across all three years of study.
As part of your inter-professional education, you will reflect on your own role within teams and organisations and think about your contribution to leadership and advocacy, keeping people at the centre of services.
At level 6, you will be skilled at using critical reflective skills to extend your knowledge in complex learning scenarios and will integrate this reflection into your use of the ePortfolio. As part of your transition to registered practitioner, you will determine your own personal and/or group outcomes and take responsibility for your action plans.
How will I learn on this module?
This module has integrated components to teaching and learning:
• Small number of workshops to support preparation for practice placement
• A period of practice placement in a professional area working alongside qualified occupational therapists
• Specific small group training and online training in mandatory skills, e.g. Moving & Handling, Basic Life Support, Safeguarding.
There will be a mid-placement workshop which is an opportunity for peer support during placement, to integrate theory with your practice experiences and to reflect on working together in teams.
You will have the opportunity to gather examples of activities and evidence of your learning, self-appraisal and reflection to contribute to your student ePortfolio. This aims to enhance your learning by taking you beyond the limits of the individual module, and helping foster lifelong learning, as portfolios support inquiry, reflection and integration of learning. Items for your ePortfolio could include placement assessment documents, reflective records, case studies or informal presentations from placement.
At a ‘Skilled’ level, you will have an increasingly active role in your learning on placement, taking a proactive approach to identifying opportunities within the placement environment. You will use a range of support – from your educator, from the team and from peers and wider networks - to operate safely and effectively within your scope of practice and within your delegated responsibilities.
How will I be supported academically on this module?
You will be supported throughout the placement by your module tutor and academic staff, with key contact points before, during, and after your placement. University-based sessions will help you prepare for practice, reflect on your experiences, and plan for your ongoing development.
In practice, a qualified occupational therapist will be your practice educator. They will guide your learning and help you make the most of your placement experience. You will also be encouraged to connect with other professionals and team members in your placement setting to broaden your learning and support network.
Attendance at university mid-placement workshop provides opportunity for peer learning and support.
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. Demonstrate a critical understanding of occupational engagement and performance, and the evolving role of occupational therapy within your practice context.
Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
2. Integrate and apply occupational therapy theories and professional principles to show advanced reasoning and decision-making throughout the therapeutic process.
3. Deliver safe, effective, and person-centred occupational therapy practice with increasing autonomy, meeting the required placement learning outcomes.
4. Critically evaluate and apply research evidence to inform and improve your practice.
Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
5. Demonstrate leadership in collaborative, ethical, and culturally responsive practice, showing awareness of policy, communication, and teamwork in delivering person-centred care.
How will I be assessed?
Formative assessment:
Ongoing formative assessment of practice where strengths and areas for development are identified. This will be supported through regular supervision meetings between you and your 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 and any additional action plans documented and added to the assessment documents as part of ongoing supervision records.
Summative assessment
12-week placement with achievement of all Level 6 Practice Placement Learning Outcomes
You will be assessed by your Practice Educator on a pass/fail basis in line with specified level 6 learning outcomes. You will receive written and verbal feedback on your strengths and areas for development from your Practice Educator. Your placement grade and feedback is given to you at the end of your placement before being submitted to the University,
In the event of a fail outcome, the Occupational Therapy Practice Assessment Document (OT-PAD) will be completed in full, with final assessment summary detailing action plan for resit placement. Your personal tutor will support you to develop your action plan based on the feedback.
The summative assessment will promote achievement of all MLO’s
Pre-requisite(s)
All level 4 and level 5 modules
Module abstract
This is your final practice-based learning module and will support you to take an active role in delivering occupation-focussed practice. This experience will contribute to the 1,000 hours of supervised practice required for professional registration. It begins with university-based learning to help prepare for placement and make links other modules.
This is a year-long module with placement spanning Semester 1 and 2. Other year-long modules run alongside this to enable you to make links between theory and practice and to integrate concepts required for Level 6 learning.
Over 12 weeks, you will work as part of a team in a specific area of practice, learning from and with service users, occupational therapists, and other professionals. This module builds on your previous placements and university learning, helping you integrate theory with practice and demonstrate the learning outcomes expected at this stage of your professional development and as you make the transition to registered occupational therapist. University-based sessions before, during, and after placement will help you prepare, reflect, and plan for your ongoing development.
Throughout placement, your learning will be supported by your practice educator, with regular supervision, feedback, and guidance to help you work towards the required placement learning outcomes. These are assessed on a pass/fail basis.
