Occupational Therapy Professional Practice 2 PG (10416.2)

Required texts

There are no required texts for this unit.

Recommended Texts

Different practice education placements may have specific recommended texts. The texts listed below contain information that deals with a wide range of practice areas. Students are recommended to read the specific chapters of these books that deal with the practice area in which they will be working

Egan, M. & Restall, G. (2022) Promoting occupational participation: collaborative relationship-focused occupational therapy.  CAOT.

Brown, T., Bourke-Taylor, H., Isbel, S., Cordier, R., & Gustafson, L. (2021). Occupational therapy in Australia: professional and practice issues (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Curtin, M., Adams, J., & Egan, M. (2017).Occupational therapy for people experiencing illness, injury or impairment. (7th ed.) Elsevier Health Sciences.

Learner engagement

This is an industry based professional education placement.  The placement is 8 weeks, full time work hours. The number of hours students spend per day at their placement will be determined by the workplace. Students should record approximately 320 hours for this unit.

Participation requirements

Except in the case of extenuating circumstances, 100% attendance is expected in all placements. It is expected that students unable to fulfil these participation requirements will inform the Unit Convener as soon as practical in writing (email). Absence from external placement activities must also be reported to the practice educator and Unit Convener as soon as possible. Failure to adhere to these requirements may result in failure of the associated assessment piece. Consideration will be given for illness; however, evidence such as a medical certificate will be required.

Required IT skills

The use of Canvas, Mahara, InPlace, web-based communication systems (such as Teams, Webex, Zoom) and library searching skills and word processing skills are necessary for this unit.

In-unit costs

Students are responsible to cover all travel and accommodation costs involved in completing practice education placements.  It is expected that over their course, all students will complete at least one placement in rural, regional or remote Australia.

Work placement, internships or practicums

This unit involves professional practicum and therefore, additional student responsibilities are required in addition to those described in this section. Work integrated learning requires strict adherence to professional practice principles and ethics. Client/patient confidentiality must always be maintained, including for assessment items such as reports or essays. The professional nature of this unit also requires 100% participation in all learning activities (lectures, practicals etc. if scheduled – see Timetable of Activities) for the successful completion of this unit (also see Participation Requirements). If attendance requirements cannot be satisfied (e.g. timetable clash), it is recommended that you meet with your Program Director/Course Convener to schedule this unit for a future semester.

You must ensure appropriate details are recorded in InPlace (inplace.canberra.edu.au), and the relevant student agreements are agreed to and signed prior to your placement commencing.

Additional information

This unit involves professional placements and therefore, additional student responsibilities are required in addition to those described in this section. Workplace learning requires strict adherence to professional practice principles and ethics. Client/patient confidentiality must always be maintained (see site-specific policies), including for assessment items such as reports or essays. The professional nature of this unit also requires 100% participation in all learning activities (lectures, practicals etc. if scheduled – see Timetable of Activities) for the successful completion of this unit (also see Participation Requirements). If attendance requirements cannot be satisfied (e.g. timetable clash), it is required that you meet with your Course Convener.

1.    Occupational therapy requires manual handling. You must complete the online manual handling module and any training specified by your placement and should use the principles at all times to prevent injury to yourself or your client. If you have any injury that may affect your capacity to perform manual handling skills you are required to notify the unit convener at the commencement of the semester. If you obtain a new injury during the semester that may affect your capacity to perform manual handling skills you are required to notify the unit convener prior to the next practical class. In the event of an injury being obtained during the practice of skills in class you are required to notify the unit convener within 24 hours of the event and complete a UC incident form.

2.    As a therapist, your clothing should not prohibit your movements or present in any way as a safety hazard. Hair should be kept short or tied back off your face, and out of the patient's way. Fingernails should be trimmed, so that the white of the nail cannot be seen when looking at the hand from the palm.

3.    As this is an industry based unit, students will be expected to conform to individual workplace policies and procedures.

In the course of studying occupational therapy, students may be exposed to clinical cases and situations that may be stressful. At UC a free Counselling Service is available for all students. All sessions are confidential. The UC Counselling Service is located in the UC Medical and Counselling Centre on Level B in Building 1. For more information please go to https://www.canberra.edu.au/on-campus/health-and-support/medical-counselling

At all times students must be aware of the requirements of client privacy. This requires respect for privacy for clients during clinical visits and when writing case studies, assignments, writing in records or reflective journals. All written and verbal work (other than medical notes) requires de-identification of clients' details. Specifically:

1.    Pseudonyms should be used for the names of clients and organisations in all academic work.

2.    Identifying information, including demographic information, should be modified in academic work, using terminology such as ‘similar to'.

3.    Students should mark all academic work with sensitive information as ‘in-confidence' in the footer.

4.    Students should develop ‘composite' clients based upon their experiences with several patients or clients in one placement experience if possible. Students should note that this is a ‘composite' and not intended to identify a single person.

5.    Students should use the password-protect function on their word programs to further guard sensitive information.

6.    Students should avoid naming other students in academic work, such as reflective pieces or portfolios.

• Practice 1, 2024, Internship, UC - Canberra, Bruce (216847)
• Practice 1, 2023, Internship, UC - Canberra, Bruce (216137)