Occupational Therapy (Part-Time)

Occupational therapists work to empower people to develop, maintain or improve a diverse range of activities that are relevant and meaningful in their daily lives, from basic self-care at home to work-related activities, hobbies and more.  Throughout this integrated course, you will learn the skills to help people overcome difficulties caused by illness, disability, accidents or ageing.  This could involve the use of aids and adaptations, modifying tasks or developing new skills.

The course follows a spiral design based around 5 key curriculum themes to help you develop the knowledge, skills, understanding and confidence required to be eligible to apply to the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) to become a registered occupational therapist:

• Occupational Concepts for Well Being and Practice

• Enhancing Occupational Therapy

• Practice Placement

• Professionalism and Leadership

• Research, Enquiry & Digitalisation

Timetabling
The programme will be timetabled one day a week over 4 years with 90 academic credits typically being delivered each year. This day may vary from year to year but will stay consistent within that year. When attending university based modules, learners are recommended to have at least one additional day each week for self-directed study time. All placement blocks involve full time attendance - 8 weeks in year 1, 10 weeks in year 3 and 12 weeks in year 4. When any academic term does not contain a placement, part time learners will be required to attend one full time week in addition to the weekly part time attendance. This is to enable more intense focus on some aspects of the programme. In year 4, one term requires a 2 week full time block for the module SHT304P: The Specialist Practitioner.

Modules include:
• Occupational theory, techniques and skills
• Professional practice
• Digitisation in health and social care
• 8-week placement

• Complex occupational theory, techniques and skills
• Evidence-based practice
• Engaging with communities
• 10-week placement

• Specialist areas of Occupational Therapy
• Leadership
• Group research project
• 12-week full-time placement

Assessment is designed to use integrated academic skills that demonstrate professional reasoning and problem solving – the skills required in practice. There are a number of coursework submissions including essays and reports to help develop confidence in handling evidence, literature and written expression, academic posters as would be seen at professional conferences, presentations designed to mimic the challenges of responding to questions about case work and written examinations. Research is assessed through a small group research project, reflecting the teamwork approach to handling and generating evidence to support practice following qualification and placement competency will be assessed by your practice educator during formative learning such as simulation and clinical skills delivery in specialist areas.