www.op.ac.nz/study/health and community/occupational therapy/ Volume 15 Issue 1 Occupational Therapy Postgraduate Study Hi all Welcome to 2015. This is our first issue of Postgrad Post for 2015 and the year is looking busy. We have recently had graduation and it was great to see a number of students cross the stage in person. Congratulations to all our graduates. This graduation saw our newest qualification Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Practice in Health (Specialty) being awarded. Semester 1 is well under way. This semester has our newly developed research course (Research for Practice) being offered and we have had a good level of enrolment into it. The new course offers students an opportunity to explore both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, which will be helpful for those students who would like to progress to a Masters qualification. We have had a number of changes for this year and the most significant is our move to 30 credit courses. You will have seen information regarding this change in our postgrad post s in 2014 in preparation however we received final approval in December 2014 so this change is now implemented. Some of these changes are outlined in the articles in this issue. Look out for the following: A word from Jackie Herkt Reminder about what 30 credits means Congratulations to our graduates Semester two courses Second Semester: We have a number of exciting courses being run in our second semester this year. Our newly configured research course is being offered again in second semester so if you would like to progress to a Masters qualification and haven t yet completed this course you have an opportunity to in our second semester. If you are considering our courses for second semester please enrol as early as you are able. Our courses running are subject to meeting minimum numbers and if you wait till the last minute then we might have already cancelled running a course that would have been confirmed if we had received your enrolment. We prefer students to have completed their enrolment 2 weeks prior to the start of the semester. Please don t hesitate to contact us if you would like any further information Important dates to remember are: 13 July 2015 enrolments required by this date for second semester, 27 July 2015 Semester two begins. I wish all those enrolled in our first semester well with your study and please feel free to contact us should you have any queries. Penelope Kinney
CONGRATULATIONS to our Graduates Honours Frances Cary Aimee Foot-McKay Jennifer Hooker Fenja Jones First Class Postgraduate Certificate (OT) Helen Allen Jasmine Moot Tania Walsh Postgraduate Certificate (Applied) David Attwell Katherine Croft Veronica Howes Sharon Van den Berg Postgraduate Diploma Elizabeth Favel Janeen Richardson Masters Annie Baigent Elizabeth Edens Sally Hollinshead Helen Jeffery Frank I-Chien Lu Tracy Murphy Jackie Herkt Head of School There are some exciting changes happening at the School of Occupational Therapy, I will be stepping down from the role of Head of School and will take up the Role of Academic Leader within the school focusing specifically on the curriculums within the school and their development. The changed role will also allow me to build my research activity. Otago Polytechnic is currently advertising and interviewing for the new Head of School, we are looking forward to the new energy, ideas, and vision this will bring to the school. I have agreed to continue in the role of Head of School until there is a replacement. Like us on facebook www.facebook.com/otagopolyot
Honours Masters Some of the 2014 Honours students presented prior to graduation this month: Fenja Jones presented on the experiences of a group of newly qualified occupational therapists during a working trip to India Frances Carey considered the importance of having an occupational therapist in a primary health care setting working with clients with mild to moderate mental health issues Aimee Foot-McKay studied a café in a residential home for the elderly from the perspectives of the staff of the home These were all great presentations and I hope that we see this research in print in the not too distant future. The whole group was together again when they were joined by Jennifer Hooker and it was fantastic to see all four cross the stage at the graduation ceremony, congratulations and best wishes for the future. At the same time our new (2015) Honours students were just starting on their research; with topics as varied as the Use of Computer Games in Rehabilitation, Services for children of intermediate school age with sensory processing disorders and a study looking at Occupation in the choice of a residential home; it promises to be another exciting year. If you have any suggestions of topics for research by Honours students (these tend to be the size of pilot studies) could you let me know, it is too late for this year but I would like to start collecting topics for students for next year. Sian Griffiths Honours Coordinator The graduation in March was a reminder of how well our Master s program has been going. It is always exciting when clinicians and educators take this step in their academic journey. There were six people graduating three turned up in person (with their families) to have the hard earned experience of walking in the George street parade and across the stage of the town hall. They presented their completed work for the first time to an audience of academics and family members on the Thursday before graduation. These were a fascinating combination of academic rigor within the context of a journey that was both personal and professional. The titles indicate the breadth of the research that has been coming out of the School of Occupational Therapy. This work is all available now at the Robertson library and we look forward to future publications by this group. Choosing to care or was it Hobson s choice? by Elizabeth Edens I didn t realise: An obesity study with an occupational perspective by Sally Hollinshead Just another approach: NZ occupational therapists use of adventure therapy by Helen Jeffery Risk in Occupational Therapy Practice by Tracy Murphy An exploratory study into the use of Perceive Recall Plan Perform System of Task Analysis in Clinical Practice in New Zealand by Frank Lu Spirituality in daily activities of mothers and their young children by Annie Baigent Mary Butler Master s Coordinator
1000 plus Graduates what are they all doing now? Otago Polytechnic has graduated over 1000 students with a qualification that entitles them to register to practice as an occupational therapist. WOW! We know little about what happens to our graduates of the Bachelors programme. If you are a graduate you are invited to take part in research that is attempting to gain an understanding about graduates careers. We hope you will be willing to complete a survey about your employment and career pathway, whether or not it is as an occupational therapist. If YOU ARE an OTago Graduate? Please use one of these links to learn about and take our survey, whether you are in NZ or overseas, working as an OT or not. OR if you work with an OTago Graduate? Or know any OTago Graduates whether they are here in NZ or overseas, practicing as an OT or not please please send this info to them so they can learn about and take our survey. Otago Occupational Therapy 1000 QR Code Download a QR Code reader on your smartphone or tablet. You can down load i-nigma from itunes store or QR Code Reader in Google play then 1. Open the QR Code reader on your phone or device. 2. Hold your device over a QR Code so that it s clearly visible on your screen. Twitter Otago Occupational Therapy 1000 https://otagopolytechnic.asia.qualtrics.com/se/?sid=sv_4ivzsy7re5fbw8r&q_sm=twitter Full link https://otagopolytechnic.asia.qualtrics.com/se/?sid=sv_4ivzsy7re5fbw8r Tiny URL http://tinyurl.com/occcupational-therapy-1000
Our courses have moved from 20 credits to 30 credits in 2015. So what does that mean? Well our programme sizes haven t changed. They remain exactly the same size as they were 30 Credit Courses: What does that mean? Postgraduate Certificate is 60 credits Postgraduate Diploma is 120 credits What it does mean for students is that you will be required to complete fewer courses to complete a qualification. So for a PG Cert you will complete 2 courses (rather than the previous 3) and for the PG Dip you would complete 4 courses (rather than the previous 6). So what does that mean exactly? 1) Well with the increased size of the course, this means there will be an increased requirement of hours for students to complete, 1 credit equates to 10hrs work. So if you are enrolling into a 30 credit course we will be advising you that you should be allowing (on average) 18-19hrs of work a week (over 16 weeks). This probably seems like a lot however it incorporates everything that you do, including the mulling time we all do after completing readings etc. 2) Individual course costs will increase though the overall cost of the programme will not. In 2015 the cost of a Postgrad Certificate will be $3600. However each course will cost approx. $1800 per course (two courses). 3) We have removed compulsory courses for the Postgrad Certificate. The Postgrad Diploma has one compulsory course Research for Practice. This gives students more flexibility to choose a qualification that suits you. If you want to progress to a Masters in the future however all students are required to have completed a research course at some stage. We are providing transition options for students who have already commenced their study and do not want to complete more credits than they need for their qualification. Please contact us to find out how this change may impact on your study, please do not hesitate to contact us on: Penelope.Kinney@op.ac.nz or Debbie.Davie@op.ac.nz. Accessing your own results Here is how to do it: 1. Follow this link: (OP website) http://www.otagopolytechnic.ac.nz/ 2. Under Students click into Student Hub 3. Then click into My OP (This is where you will find information about your enrolment, timetables, academic results and financial information). 4. Log in using your username and password and follow the instructions. 5. If you are having difficulty accessing your results please contact POLYIT@op.ac.nz Course Plan for Semester Two 2015 Negotiated Study Research for Practice Clinical Reasoning Vocational Rehabilitation OT in Primary & Population Health Motivation & Behavioural Change Important dates to remember: 13 July 2015 Closing date for Semester 2 enrolments 27 July 2015 Semester 2 start date 27 July 2015 Masters School for new students
Postgraduate Team Contact List Our team of staff are ready and willing to help. If the person you contact is unable to help they will forward your query to someone who can. Postgraduate Programme Coordinator Penelope Kinney Penelope.Kinney@op.ac.nz Contact Penelope any queries regarding the individual courses, PG Certificates or PG Diploma. Penelope is happy to help you with your initial queries and discuss possible study pathways. Hours: Monday, Tuesday 1 5.30pm, Wednesday, Thursday 8 12.30, Friday 1 5pm Postgraduate Administrator Debbie Davie Debbie.Davie@op.ac.nz Contact Debbie with any queries about the enrolment process, documentation you are required to provide and any recognition of prior learning (RPL) queries. Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 7.30 3.30pm Masters Coordinator Mary Butler Mary.Butler@op.ac.nz Contact Mary if you are interested in enrolling into our Masters programme. Mary is happy to discuss with you possible research projects you would like to explore. She will be able to tell you what the entry criteria are for this programme. Hours: Monday Thursday 9 pm, Friday 9 5pm Honours Coordinator Sian Griffiths Sian.Griffiths@op.ac.nz Contact Sian if you are interested in completing the honours qualification. Sian will be able to let you know if you meet the entry criteria and discuss your research interests with you. Hours: Full Time Head of School Jackie Herkt Jackie.Herkt@op.ac.nz Jackie oversees the academic integrity of our programmes and is willing and happy to answer any questions if you are unable to make contact with any of the staff above. Hours: Full Time Occupational Therapy Subject Librarian Paula Whitelock paula.whitelock@otago.ac.nz Paula is based at the Robertson Library and is happy to provide assistance to all our students enrolled in our Postgraduate programmes. Please contact her directly by popping into the library or by email. Student Success Team studentsuccess@op.ac.nz Please contact the team of Learning Advisors who can provide support on academic writing, APA referencing and effective learning strategies. These services are provided outside of the Occupational Therapy School for both face to face and distance based learning students.