OTPP 3: Transition to Professional Practice PG (12252.1)

Required texts

There are no required texts for this unit.

Students are expected to access and read professional documents related to occupational therapy practice including:

• Occupational Therapy Board of Australia. (2018). Australian occupational therapy competency standards. https://www.occupationaltherapyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines/Competencies.aspx
• Occupational Therapy Board of Australia. (2019). Registration standard: Continuing professional development. https://www.occupationaltherapyboard.gov.au/Registration-Standards/Continuing-professional-development.aspx

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.

• Brown, T., Bourke-Taylor, H., Isbel, S., Cordier, R., & Gustafsson, L. (Eds.) (2021). Occupational therapy in Australia: Professional and practice issues (2nd ed.). Routledge.
• Curtin, M., Adams, J., & Egan, M. (2025). Occupational therapy for people experiencing illness, injury or impairment. (8th ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences.
• Dancza, K. & Rodger, S. (2018) Implementing occupation-centred practice: A practical guide for occupational therapy practice learning. Routledge.
• Egan, M., & Restall, G. (Eds.). (2022). Promoting occupational participation: Collaborative relationship-focused occupational therapy. Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists.
• Thew, M., Edwards, M., Baptiste, S., & Molineux, M. (Eds.).(2011). Role emerging occupational therapy: Maximising occupation-focused practice. Wiley-Blackwell.

Submission of assessment items

Special assessment requirements

Professional Practice Placement Assessment Requirements

Assessments are viewed as a whole. Students must complete and submit all assessment items to pass the unit.

Moderation Process

In the case of practice education/clinical placements, fieldwork, or other forms of practicums, moderation processes will be outlined on Canvas.

Supplementary assessment

As this is the final unit for the course, a supplementary assessment will be provided for students who do not meet the requirements for the final assessment. This supplementary assessment will be conducted as a viva occurring after final assessment has been completed.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

This is an industry based placement. The placement is 10 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 350 hours for this unit.

It is the student's responsibility to record and maintain evidence (timesheets) that they have completed the required hours for placement.

Some placements may include shift hours and weekend work. Students must view placement information on the Canvas site and communicate with the allocated placement contact for specific hours for specific work sites.

Inclusion and engagement

Any adjustment to the requirements of the practice education placement set out in this unit outline requires approval from the inclusion and engagement office (InclusionUC) and the unit convenor prior to placement allocation.

Reasonable adjustments can be considered through development of a Placement Support Letter with InclusionUC. Students can also apply for consideration of extenuating circumstances.

Placement Support Letters and Extenuating Circumstances applications must be approved prior to the start of the placement. Due dates will be communicated via Canvas. A placement might not be secured when Placement Support Letters or Extenuating Circumstances applications are received after this date.

Participation requirements

Except in the case of extenuating circumstances, 100% attendance is expected in all placements. It is expected that students unable to fulfill 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, Blackboard Collaborate) and library searching skills and word processing skills are necessary for this unit.

To participate in online discussions verbally, rather than just typing, you will need a microphone. For best audio quality, a microphone and speaker headset is recommended. For more information and to test your computer, please visit the LearnOnline Student Help and click on the link to Blackboard Collaborate

In-unit costs

Students are required to cover the costs of travelling to and from the placement and associated accommodation costs incurred during the placement. It is expected that over the duration of their course, all students will complete at least one placement in rural, regional, or remote Australia.

Some placement sites may have specific requirements that will incur extra costs.

Work placement, internships or practicums

This unit involves work integrated learning: Placement. Students must adhere to University policy during WIL activities, including the Student Conduct Rules 2018, the WIL Policy and WIL Procedure, and the Assessment Policy and Assessment Procedure.

This unit has pre-placement requirements (e.g. Working with Vulnerable People registration, immunisation/s). You must complete WIL Ready prior to commencement of your Placement or Internship. You can self-enrol in this module through the UC Learn site here.

You are also required to complete details in InPlace, refer to inplace.canberra.edu.au. If you have any queries related to InPlace please contact placements@canberra.edu.au.

Contact your unit convener if you have any concerns with meeting the requirements of this unit.

Additional information

Workplace 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 at all learning activities (lectures, practicals, workshops etc. if scheduled) for the successful completion of this unit (also see section 6c). If attendance requirements cannot be satisfied, it is recommended that you meet with your Course Convener to schedule this unit for a future semester.

The following applies to all practical classes and placements:

1. Occupational therapy requires manual handling. You must complete the online manual handling training and any further training required for 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 course of 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 Health 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/counselling.

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

Specifically:

1. Pseudonyms should be used for the names of patients 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' patients/clients based upon their experiences with several patients or clients in one clinical 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.
7. Students should attend workshops for health science students on how to change information about patients in line with these recommendations.

• Occupational Therapy Block 2, 2026, Placement, UC - Canberra, Bruce (234355)