| CODE | OCT4010 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Block Practice Placement | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 04 - Years 4, 5 in Modular UG or PG Cert Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 10 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Occupational Therapy | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This is the final practice block placement designed to provide students with the opportunity to actively participate and apply academic concepts and professional skills in a practical setting (under minimal supervision). Practice settings, could be but are not limited to government services, hospitals, schools, NGOs, the community, home and private health care services. Students will attend the placement site for a minimum of 250 hours spread over one semester under the supervision of a practice educator. Students and their practice educators will be supported by an appointed university link tutor, who will be involved in monitoring and moderating the placement and the student assessment, mid-way and at the end of the placement. This will also ensure accessible lines of communication between university and the practice site throughout the practice placement. The link tutor will also be present during the case presentation that will be held at the very end of the placement. Both the practice educator and the academic link tutor will mark this presentation and a joint mark will be issued. Two practice placement seminars will also be carried out to set the scene, set out placement logistics and help students to reflect on their practice placement experiences . A part of one of the seminars will be dedicated to helping students understand the requirements for the case study presentation to be held at the end of their placement. The students are expected to keep a logbook documenting the hours spent in the particular site. Study-unit Aims: The aim of this study-unit is to provide the student with the opportunity to function as a pre-entry level occupational therapist using evidence, reasoning and problem solving skills to determine appropriate actions. The student will take responsibility for assisting the occupational therapist with the OT process, and discuss this during supervision. The study-unit aims to provide: - opportunities for supervised practice; - support student practice and performance in a setting or settings which enables the exercise of the range of skills expected of an entry-level clinician; - constructive feedback to develop and consolidate competence in the range of practice requirements and professional behaviours, both with clients seeking services and staff. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Demonstrate knowledge of assessment and treatment planning rationales; - Understand the implications of the disease process on occupational function, roles and routines; - Demonstrate knowledge of a variety of treatment techniques, modalities and how these are adapted and modified; - Demonstrate knowledge of conceptual models and frames of reference which can be applied in the particular clinical context; - Demonstrate the ability to be autonomous, taking responsibility for own practice; and - Plan the transition into the workplace to ensure the highest quality of safe and ethical practice in a graduate's first placement. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Obtain, interpret (including identification of goals), and document the data necessary to make initial and subsequent treatment decisions (Occupational Therapy Process: Assessment); - Use evidence, reasoning and problem solving to determine appropriate actions so as to maintain, improve, restore, or maximise function and compensate for dysfunction (Occupational Therapy process: Treatment); - Draw on appropriate knowledge and skills in order to make professional judgements in organizing solutions to difficulties. (Occupational Therapy Process: Problem solving); - Monitor and review the on-going effectiveness of intervention and modify it accordingly by reflecting on and critically evaluating own practice (Reflective Practice). This may include patient intervention; - Demonstrate verbal and non-verbal communication skills which articulate clear thinking as well as skills in managing and resolving potentially difficult situations or conflicts (Communication); - Maintain accurate and legible documentation to professional and service standards (Communication); - Recognise the need for the effective self-management of workload and be able to practice accordingly (Organisational skills); - Justify the occupational therapy role and critically analyse its contribution to the team and other services (Professional relationships); - Demonstrate at all times personal behaviour congruent with professional status that adheres to the Maltese Code of Ethical Conduct (Professional standards); - Understand and demonstrate the need to maintain the safety of service users and those involved in their care and are able to assess and manage risk (Safe Practice). Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: This is an example of suitable literature only, as students should be able to select their own sources at this stage of the study-unit. - Alsop, A., & Ryan, S. (2000). Making the most of fieldwork education: A practical approach. Chapman & Hall. UK. - Clark, G. F., & Handley-More, D. (2017, January 1). Best Practices for Documenting Occupational Therapy Services in Schools. - Costa, D. M. (2015, October 1). The Essential Guide to Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Education. AOTA Press. - Davis, L., & Rosee, M. (2015, January 1). Occupational Therapy Student to Clinician. Slack. Evidence Based Practice In Occupational Therapy. (n.d.). Pdf-online.Website. https://pdf-online.website/evidence-based-practice-in-occupational-therapy.pdf - Gateley, C. A., & Borcherding, S. (2017, January 1). Documentation Manual for Occupational Therapy. Slack. - Iliff, S. L., Tool, G., Bowyer, P., Parham, D., Fletcher, T. S., & Freysteinson, W. M. (2019, January 1). Occupational Therapy Student Conceptions of Self-Reflection in Level II Fieldwork. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2019.030105 - Napier-Tibere, B. (2011, January 1). Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Survival Guide. American Occupational Therapy Association, Incorporated. - Sladyk, K. (2002, January 1). The Successful Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Student. Slack. |
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| RULES/CONDITIONS | Before TAKING THIS UNIT YOU MUST TAKE OCT3015 AND TAKE OCT3016 AND TAKE OCT3023 AND TAKE OCT3026 AND TAKE OCT3027 AND TAKE OCT3028 AND TAKE OCT3055 | ||||||||||||
| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Please note that a pass in each assessment component is obligatory for an overall pass mark to be awarded. | ||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Fieldwork and Seminar | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Marjorie Bonello |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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