Page 1 of 5 Syllabus OT9511 Foundations of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy 1 Through a variety of experiences, students will be introduced to the practice of occupational therapy and foundational concepts of occupation and occupational science, health and rehabilitation sciences, critical social and cultural theories, and concepts, models, and frames of reference that underlie occupational therapy practice. Students will explore occupation in relation to health, well-being, and justice, as well as the attitudes, skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to begin their role as evidence-based practitioners in occupational therapy. This course includes 15 fieldwork hours. Course Content 1. Orientation to occupational therapy at Western 2. Introduce occupational science & occupational therapy 3. Introduce occupation, the nature of occupation and the occupational perspective 4. Introduce the concept of disrupted occupation 5. Explore occupation in relation to health, well-being and occupational justice 6. Introduce health and rehabilitation sciences 7. Introduce critical social and cultural theories 8. Introduce theory, nature of concepts, models of practice, and frames of reference in occupational therapy 9. History of OT practice in Canada, historical names and concepts linked to occupation, occupational therapy 10. Introduce conceptual models of occupation and the environment: a. Canadian Model of Occupational Performance and Engagement (CMOP-E), Occupational Performance Process Model (OPPM), Canadian Practice Process Framework (CPPF) b. World Health Organization model of health and its relation to occupational therapy c. eliefs and values of OT d. Introduce the impact of the environment (social, cultural, & physical at a micro, meso & macro level) on occupation 11. riefly introduce areas of practice/practice settings (e.g., community, mental health, physical health, paediatrics, geriatrics, etc.) 12. Preparation for fieldwork (e.g., universal precautions, introduction to consent and privacy issues, observation placements 2 (15 fieldwork hours), etc.) 1 Revised October 2012, January 2013 2 Note that, in order for students to attend observation placements, their Medical & Non-Medical Package requirements must be completed and vetted through the Fieldwork Assistant.
OT9511 Foundations of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy Page 2 of 5 Professional Perspectives The primary foci of this course are to introduce the concepts of human occupation and occupational science and their relationship to the practice of occupational therapy. This course introduces students to the concept of human occupation as a basic human need that provides meaning to life, is therapeutic, and essential to health and well-being. Students will learn that occupational therapy s domain of concern is enabling occupation, including all of the things that people do, and wish to do, in their everyday life. Students will also be introduced to knowledge of enabling human occupation in occupational therapy and that human occupation occurs in context as a result of a dynamic interaction of the person, occupation and environment. In the background, the course will touch on the importance of taking a critical social perspective in occupational therapy and will introduce students to ways in which this is incorporated into selected practice areas. Students will learn about the notion of occupational justice and will begin to see how occupational therapists advocate for the rights of persons to participate in meaningful occupation. Students will be introduced to the notion of integrating best research evidence, clinical evidence, clinical expertise, and client values into practice. Students will also have the opportunity to begin to understand that occupational therapy is a health and rehabilitation science that generates knowledge on functioning, disability and health by taking a bio-psycho-social perspective on disability and functioning. This will help students to develop a conceptual understanding of the effect of contextual factors in the environment and person factors on the ability to engage in occupation. Students will also learn that client- or person-centred practice is one of the basic tenets of occupational therapy. They will be introduced to the concept, as it is applied in selected practice settings. Client Populations OT9511 does not address any specific populations across the lifespan, but will introduce students to various examples of normal occupation, enabling occupation to promote well-being and health and processes of advocating for occupational justice across the lifespan. Objectives The course will introduce some of the core competencies that will be developed in subsequent courses throughout the two years.
OT9511 Foundations of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy Page 3 of 5 Competency E. 2 Competent Communicator E. 2.1 Engage in effective dialogue. E. 2.1.1 Demonstrate active listening. E. 2.1.2 Deliver information in a respectful, thoughtful manner. E. 2.1.3 Use plain language that is understandable. E. 2.1.4 Respond to non-verbal cues. E. 2.1.5 Employ approaches which encourage participation in decisionmaking. Specifically, the student will be able to: a. Demonstrate an understanding of professional terminology including: occupation, occupational therapy, occupational science and occupational justice b. Demonstrate effective clinical observation skills c. Understand and respect the need for client consent and privacy E.5 Competent Change Agent E. 5.2 Advocate for occupational needs related to the determinants of health, well-being, and equity for clients served. E. 5.2.1 Identify the determinants of health of the clients served, including barriers to access services and resources. E. 5.2.2 Identify vulnerable or marginalized clients among those served. Level Attained (, I, A) 3 Specifically, the student will be able to: a. Communicate these issues to the general population in an appropriate and effective manner b. Demonstrate appropriate use of universal precautions E. Competent Scholarly Practitioner E. 6.1 Maintain and enhance personal competence through ongoing learning. E. 6.1.3 Regularly review new knowledge and determine applicability to practice. E. 6.1.4 Integrate new learning and evidence into practice. Specifically, the student will: a. Demonstrate skills for reflective practice b. Demonstrate an understanding of related theories and conceptual models of occupation and the environment including but not limited to: PEO, CMOP-E, and ICF 3 eginner, Intermediate or Advanced
OT9511 Foundations of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy Page 4 of 5 E. 7 Competent Professional E. 7.1 Demonstrate ethical practice. E. 7.1.1 Demonstrate appropriate professional behaviours, including honesty, integrity, commitment, compassion, respect, and altruism. E. 7.4 Contribute to the occupational therapy profession. E. 7.4.1 Demonstrate behaviours which contribute to the profession, including participation in professional organizations. Specifically, the student will demonstrate professional behaviours in the classroom and in clinical settings. Educational Approach This introductory course will take a learner-centred approach wherein learning is facilitated to engage learners in understanding, enact critical thinking, and integrate theory into practice. A variety of teaching methods will be introduced including lectures, case studies, and expert inquiry. Dialogue. Communication of curricular content will begin to develop metacognitive skills and communication strategies through reflection and action. These skills will include, developing self-awareness about communication styles and abilities verbally and non-verbally, presentation skills, and written skill sets for conceptual, research, and practice domains. Students will learn to work and interact effectively and empathically with their peers through teamwork, and engagement with invited experts who are either consumers or purveyors of health services. Approaches to foster professional interactions will include modeling, didactic teaching of professional values and standards, professional experiences in context with opportunities for practice, and through learning by cases, among others. Each class of occupational therapy students will create a set of values underpinning professionalism in the classroom using CLEAR. Responsibility. This course will introduce students to assuming responsibility for ethical decision making using a variety of approaches, including learning by case, learning in context, reflection in action, and artistic expression among others. Students will be introduced to the notion of being a lifelong learner, being able to take responsibility for strategies to synthesize knowledge, and to transfer that knowledge into change in practice. Students will begin to engage in a variety of processes in which they develop an awareness and sensitivity to social-cultural-institutional environmental contexts from both contemporary and historical perspectives. Students will also be encouraged to
OT9511 Foundations of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy Page 5 of 5 provide constructive feedback to peers and faculty as well as to deal positively and effectively with personal and peer setbacks, failures, and/or successes. Experiential Learning. On-site experiential learning within 9511 will take a multiplicity of formats including, among others, an observational experience in a clinical setting, interaction with real and simulated clients, client and clinical experts in the classroom, and case-based learning. This foundational course will lay the groundwork for the development of enabling skills.