OCCT13009 - Professional Occupational Therapy Practice 1

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This 18 credit point unit is a clinical unit where you will complete your first long block of work integrated learning. Successful completion of the professional practice hours will contribute towards your accreditation requirements of completing a minimum of 1000 work integrated learning hours. This unit aims to foster your ability to consistently utilise the occupational therapy process when working with clients. Through integrating and applying the academic concepts, professional reasoning and professional behaviours you have developed throughout your course you will ensure the ethical and legal responsibilities of your professional practice are met. You will be allocated to one work integrated learning opportunity, which will be selected by the practice education manager from a variety of settings and client groups. You may also be required to undertake your work integrated learning away from your home town at your own expense. Work integrated learning opportunities will vary in start and finish dates and it is important to plan on being available for commencement from the end of Term 1 until 31 December of the same year. Additionally you will participate in a compulsory residential focusing on preparing you for the work integrated learning experience through a variety of seminars and workshops.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 18
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.375
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

To enrol in this unit you must be enrolled in CB84 Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) and meet the following pre-requisites:

OCCT13001 Enabling Work Participation

OCCT13002 Enabling Strategies in Neurological Rehabilitation

OCCT13007 Enabling Mental Health

ALLH13011 Rural and Remote Practice for Health Professionals


Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School Compulsory Residential School
View Unit Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2024

Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Bundaberg
Rockhampton
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Bundaberg
Rockhampton

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 18-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 37.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 450 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Professional Practice Placement 0%
2. Portfolio 0%

This is a pass/fail (non-graded) unit. To pass the unit, you must pass all of the individual assessment tasks shown in the table above.

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 21.95% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Student feedback and unit coordinator reflection
Feedback
Student feedback highlights that being well prepared prior to placement commencing is very important to support learning.
Recommendation
It is recommended that during the pre-placement briefing students are allocated more time to prepare strategies for academic and personal progression on placement. For example, strategies to support time management, wellbeing and beginning to progress applications for scholarships.
Action Taken
Strategies for academic and personal progression on placement were addressed during the pre-placement residential. Additional time was spent on this topic and wellbeing strategies were reinforced by the CQU counselling team.
Source: Student feedback and unit coordinator reflection
Feedback
Student feedback highlights the stress and anxiety associated with placement has on student health and wellbeing which can be detrimental to their learning.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the CQU counselling team and Academic Learning Support team are invited to present a workshop at the pre-placement briefing that supports the development of student health and wellbeing skills as they prepare for their placement and managing other university education requirements.
Action Taken
The CQU counselling team and Academic Learning Support team presented at the pre-placement residential. Their contact details were also listed on the Moodle page.
Source: SUTE comments, student feedback and unit coordinator reflection
Feedback
Student feedback highlights the financial challenges and “placement poverty” when completing practice placement, which is exacerbated for students who have had to travel to attend placement and cannot engage in their part-time employment.
Recommendation
It is recommended that information regarding potential scholarships and financial assistance is discussed during the 3rd year Residential (held six months before the first placement block) as well as throughout the duration of the CB84 course.
Action Taken
Potential scholarships and financial assistance were discussed during the 3rd year pre-placement residential. This information was also included in the unit's Moodle page.
Source: SUTE comments, Student feedback, clinical educator feedback and unit coordinator reflection
Feedback
Student feedback highlights challenges with the length of long block placements and expected university requirements for ALLH14002 during OCCT13009 practice placement.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the duration of long-placement blocks is reviewed, and reduced where possible, whilst still ensuring that 1000 hours of work integrated learning is achieved throughout the course. It is also recommended that the weekly hour expectations for students on placement are reduced to account for OCCT13009 and ALLH14002 running simultaneously.
Action Taken
The OCCT13009 long block placements were reviewed and adjusted from 10 weeks to 7 weeks in length. The weekly hour expectations for students on placement were also reduced from 40 hours to 38 hours.
Source: Student feedback and unit coordinator reflection
Feedback
Student feedback highlights the importance of the unit-coordinator providing regular communication with students throughout the placement to support their learning.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the unit-coordinator continues to provide regular communication with students on practicum through email check-ins (first week, halfway and at the completion of placement), phone calls and site visits.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student feedback and unit coordinator reflection
Feedback
Student feedback highlights the benefits of including Portfolio content examples to support the students' professional development and understanding of assessment requirements.
Recommendation
It is recommended that additional examples of Portfolio content, particularly evidence of learning, be available for students to review on Moodle. A tile named "Placement Resources" is to remain on the unit Moodle site to improve accessibility of resources for students.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Utilise the occupational therapy process when working with clients
  2. Apply sound professional reasoning within a client-centred professional practice approach
  3. Demonstrate professional behaviour that meets ethical and legal responsibilities
  4. Demonstrate critical reflection of learning experiences during professional practice and relate this to relevant work integrated learning experiences, published sources and professional development

The World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT) stipulates that all occupational therapy education programs must meet the requirements of offering students a minimum of 1000 hours of work integrated learning within a variety of settings. WFOT also requires that students in consultation with their practice educator develop and complete learning goals to support their professional practice requirements.

Students will continue to be meet external accreditation requirements of an honours course, as well as meeting AQF Level 8 requirements, through both learning and applying research and Evidence Based Practice (EBP) skills across the curriculum as well as completing the new Allied Health research units.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Professional Practice Placement • • • •
2 - Portfolio • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Communication • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • •
5 - Team Work •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • • •
8 - Ethical practice •
9 - Social Innovation •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Professional Practice Placement • • • • • • • •
2 - Portfolio • • • • • • • •