Unit rationale, description and aim
Students in this professional practice unit complete a 10 week, 1 day per week placement to develop advanced occupational therapy skills in a specific occupational therapy area of practice. The placement runs in conjunction with the unit ‘Advanced Occupational Therapy Practice (OTHY404)’. Students will engage in an advanced occupational therapy practice project. Project management skills will be developed and applied to a project which contributes to the occupation-focused, person-centred, evidence-based practice of a host agency. Students will draw on and apply attitudes, skills and knowledge acquired over the course of the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy. Students will require advanced skills in the following areas: organisation and time management, written and verbal communication, collaboration, teamwork, searching and synthesising evidence, and professional reasoning.
The aim of this professional practice unit is for students to develop life-long learning skills and to apply advanced skills and knowledge to practice in responding to a real-life professional practice issue.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Demonstrate professional behaviours and conduct th...
Learning Outcome 01
'OTHY405 - Professional Practice Education 4 - Graduate Capabilities v2 - '
Engage in diverse communication processes with ser...
Learning Outcome 02
'OTHY405 - Professional Practice Education 4 - Graduate Capabilities v2 - '
Plan, develop and evaluate an evidence-based proje...
Learning Outcome 03
'OTHY405 - Professional Practice Education 4 - Graduate Capabilities v2 - '
Content
Topics will include:
Preparation for advanced professional practice education
- Goal setting and learning contract
- Project management knowledge and skills
Enhancing skills in occupational therapy practice implementation
- Application of evidence-based practice
- Utilising professional reasoning skills
- Utilising reflective practice
- Evaluation and outcome measurement
Professional behaviours and ethical practices
Assessment strategy and rationale
Assessment procedures have been selected which meet the unit learning outcomes and assess graduate attributes consistent with university assessment requirements. Assessment tasks reflect attributes which are required in professional practice. The SPEF-R2 is used to inform students, professional practice educators and academics about student progress in meeting attributes required for practice. The project plan provides the vehicle for developing project management skills, negotiation, prioritisation and evaluation of outcomes. The oral presentation, deliverables and handover summary report demonstrates the capacity to synthesise material of relevance to professional practice and report back to stakeholders. To pass this unit, students must demonstrate achievement of every unit learning outcome and pass hurdle tasks. Students are offered one attempt to achieve a pass on the SPEF-R2 and two attempts to achieve a pass on each of the other hurdle tasks.
Overview of assessments
Hurdle: Preparation and submission of a Project M...
Hurdle: Preparation and submission of a Project Management Plan
Pass/Fail
Hurdle: Submission of SPEF-R2 and Timesheet via C...
Hurdle: Submission of SPEF-R2 and Timesheet via CANVAS as evidence of having passed the placement and met the requirements for placement hours (as signed by placement supervisor or authorised agent).
Pass/Fail
Hurdle: Oral presentation and handover summary r...
Hurdle: Oral presentation and handover summary report as signed off by placement supervisor. Submit a written handover summary report outlining the project aims, processes, outcomes and impact for occupational therapy and deliver an oral presentation of the content to the placement agency.
Pass/Fail
Hurdle: Pass grade on the Student Practice Evalua...
Hurdle: Pass grade on the Student Practice Evaluation Form – Revised (SPEF-R2) for domains 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7 as determined by Lecturer in Charge and Practice Educator in order to meet AHPRA registration requirements at the end of program of study.
Pass/Fail
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Professional Practice Education 4 provides students with 80 hours of professional practice experience. The placement runs in conjunction with the unit OTHY404 ‘Advanced Occupational Therapy Practice’. This professional practice experience is a project placement. Most students will work in pairs to complete a project nominated by the professional practice agency in response to an identified need. The professional practice experiences in this unit are supplemented by on-campus learning activities which may include workshops, tutorials, group discussions, meetings with tutors and self-directed learning activities in small groups. Students will apply aspects of evidence-based practice, such as searching for, locating and appraising evidence focused by a clinical question in PICO format. Students will also be introduced to concepts and practices of project management. They will assimilate this knowledge with theory, knowledge, skills and attitudes acquired over the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy and apply it in a real-world professional environment.
Australian Occupational Therapy Competency Standards (AOTCS) 2018
In connection to the learning outcomes, Australian occupational therapy competency standards (AOTCS) 2018 developed within this unit are: