Unit rationale, description and aim
Contemporary occupational therapists work in highly diverse health and disability environments and complex organisational systems. Graduating therapists must work effectively with their managers and other health professionals to plan their professional development and career in line with service requirements and their personal skill set, and to demonstrate leadership appropriate to the level of appointment. Graduates must possess the professional knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviours to practise ethically and effectively in organisations and collaborative interprofessional teams. In this unit students learn about and reflect on concepts of leadership and management that influence organisational culture in health and community services and explore strengths, opportunities and challenges of various practice environments. Students are encouraged to explore and demonstrate professional leadership, to reflect on their personal and professional skills, and to develop a professional development plan in preparation for their transition from student to graduate worker and beyond.
The overall aim of this capstone unit is to consolidate the knowledge, skills attitudes and behaviours required for successful transition to work as an occupational therapist and to prepare students for the opportunities and rigours of interprofessional collaboration in the context of service delivery with people, families, and communities.
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.
Evaluate and reflect on their own professional ide...
Learning Outcome 01
Analyse the impact of contemporary leadership and ...
Learning Outcome 02
IPLO 5.2 Use reflexive practices to develop and ev...
Learning Outcome 03
Analyse and evaluate the impact of current drivers...
Learning Outcome 04
Apply entry to practice professional knowledge, sk...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Transition to Practice:
- Professional reflexivity
- Professional development, and lifelong learning
- Cultural capability and health outcomes
- Emotional intelligence in the workplace
- Self-management and resilience
- Understanding your professional environment and governing bodies
- Professional supervision and mentoring
- Career planning and finding employment
- Working in teams
- Collaborative interprofessional practice
- Working with stakeholders
Understanding the broader service environment:
- Australian occupational therapy competency standards
- Professional ethics, code of conduct and scope of practice
- Marketing and promotional strategies
- Current drivers of change
- Policy and funding models and influences on practice
- Innovation in practice
- Organisational culture
- Theories of Leadership and management
- Quality assurance and accountability
Assessment strategy and rationale
A range of assessments will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with students about to register and commence occupational therapy practice. The assessment strategy for this unit includes a combination of two individual written assessments and a conference style group oral presentation. These assessment strategies reflect expected competencies of final year Bachelor of Occupational Therapy students and will challenge them to consider their place as an individual health professional within organisations, interprofessional teams and the broader health and disability practice environment.
Assessment 1 requires students to generate an individual professional development plan to evaluate and reflect on their own professional identity to date, how they plan to self-manage and engage in continuing professional development to meet the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency & Australian Occupational Therapy Competency Standards. Assessment 2 prepares students to apply for occupational therapy jobs, demonstrate their understanding of current work environment expectations and of how organisations, team culture and related challenges can impact on individual work performance. Assessment 3 requires students to work in collaborative groups to assess current drivers of change within the contemporary Australian context and propose plans to bring innovation to the profession.
In order pass the unit, students must demonstrate achievement of every unit learning outcome, pass hurdle tasks, and obtain a minimum mark of 50%.
Overview of assessments
Assessment 1 Individual written reflective paper ...
Assessment 1
Individual written reflective paper and professional development plan enabling students to reflect on their professional development.
30%
Assessment 2 Individual written paper and job app...
Assessment 2
Individual written paper and job application enabling students to prepare for contemporary practice.
40%
Assessment 3 Conference style group presentation ...
Assessment 3
Conference style group presentation enabling students to promote innovation within the profession.
30%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Learning and teaching approaches for this unit will include lectures, tutorial discussion and self-directed learning and reflection. Consistent with adult learning principles, these modes of delivery will encourage students to consolidate their professional values, knowledge, skills, and attitudes in readiness to begin the transition to practice as reflexive occupational therapists. As final year students they will be expected to take responsibility for their own development, to participate in class discussion and activities and collaborate with their peers as active and independent learners, ready to apply their learning to real-life situations within the allied health environment.
Australian Occupational Therapy Competency Standards (AOTCS) 2018
Australian occupational therapy competency standards (AOTCS) 2018, developed in this unit are: