Occupational therapy is a healthcare profession where practitioners use their skills to improve and manage a wide range of health conditions. Occupational therapists take a ‘whole-person approach’ to manage health and wellbeing, enabling individuals, groups and communities to achieve their full potential.
Occupational therapists work with adults and children of all ages with a wide range of conditions. These include mental health illness, physical illness or learning disabilities, empowering people to facilitate recovery and overcome barriers which prevent them from doing the activities or occupations that matter to them.
Occupational therapists can work in a variety of settings including the NHS, social services, housing, education, prisons, voluntary organisations or as independent practitioners. The unique skills of an occupational therapist also enables contemporary roles such as disaster management, foster care and emergency services.
An Occupational therapist can make a huge difference to an individual’s life by working alongside them to overcome the effects of disability caused by illness, ageing or accidents so that they can carry out everyday tasks or occupations.
All of the patient’s needs – physical, psychological, social and environmental are considered by occupational therapists. This support can make a real difference, giving people a renewed sense of purpose, opening up new horizons, and changing the way they feel about the future. As an Occupational Therapy student you will be making the start on your professional journey. You are therefore expected to demonstrate professional standards and behaviour throughout the course and beyond. HCPC Guidance on Conduct and Ethics for students can be found here
Study style
On this course you’ll study the core areas of occupational therapy and apply these to clinical situations in a hands-on programme. Your will study will include placements in a variety of NHS, social care, charitable and private / contemporary settings to give you a diverse experience to prepare for your future career as an occupational therapist. The course benefits from using state of the art facilities including rehabilitation spaces, a hospital ward, a skills laboratory, and a simulated ‘home’ environment.
There is a combination of online and face-to-face teaching. Students can expect 10 – 18 hours of contact teaching time per week and will have additional self-directed study to complete. This may be reading articles, watching video clips, planning assignments, but all contributes to the successful completion of the modules.
In level 4 students will learn about core theories which underpin occupational therapy practice, such as anatomy and physiology, psychology, occupational science and occupational therapy specific theory. In level 5, students start to think about occupational therapy in relation to groups and communities, the structure and sustainability of healthcare provision. The final year sees students further developing research and leadership skills and considering the future of occupational therapy practice.
Inter-professional learning is embedded throughout each year with students within the health and social care department and beyond. Assessments are varied to meet a range of learning styles, and students can expect to receive formative feedback on all modules to help prepare them for their final submission.
Methods of teaching and learning will include:
• Lectures and seminars
• Group work and discussions
• Tutorials
• Skills practice
• Clinical placements
• Reflective logs
• Self-directed study
Students’ academic year will be split into blocks of taught delivery interweaved with blocks of placement activity. Teaching and placement activity will run Monday to Friday throughout the academic year
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