Bachelor of Occupational Therapy

2019 Deakin University Handbook

Note: You are seeing the 2019 view of this course information. These details may no longer be current.

Year	2019 course information
Award granted	Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
Course Map	This course map is for new students commencing from Trimester 1 2019. Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser..
Campus	Offered at Waterfront (Geelong)
Cloud Campus	No
Duration	4 years full-time or part-time equivalent Students who meet eligibility requirements will enrol in H455 Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) for their fourth year of study.
Deakin course code	H355
Approval status	This course is approved by the University under the Higher Education Standards Framework.
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition	The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 7.
This course has changes for 2020 - please refer to the 2020 handbook entry

Course sub-headings

Course overview

Through the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy, you will receive a cutting-edge and practical education that provides you with over 1000 hours of real-world experience. This course will prepare you to improve people’s quality of life, and to educate them on how best to transition back into the occupations that are meaningful to them. We will give you the expertise to provide personalised strategies to work collaboratively with people who have a range of health limitations including those caused by injury, health conditions, delayed development or the effects of ageing. Take the next step towards a rewarding career helping people from all walks of life.

Want to promote good health and wellbeing and improve people's lives at home and work?

Occupation refers to everything that makes up a person’s life, not just their job. As a qualified occupational therapist, you will work collaboratively with people who have a range of health limitations, including those caused by injury, health conditions, delayed development or the effects of aging.

This course will enable you to assist people of all ages to engage in aspects of daily living. You will help them achieve independence at home, at work and in the community, and help them enhance their quality of life. You could also work with children with physical or intellectual disabilities, with people who have had accidents or are suffering from medical problems, or people in aged care.

Starting in your first year, you will take part in a series of supervised placements, giving you over 1000 hours of practice education placement in a range of occupational therapy practices. You will gain insight into what it means to be an occupational therapist from day one. All-up, you will engage in eight different placement opportunities, more than any other occupational therapy course in Victoria. Deakin’s Bachelor of Occupational Therapy is the only course in Victoria to provide extra placement hours over the 1000 minimum standard.

Make the most of our new world-class facilities, such as our on campus clinical skills laboratory, which simulates real-life settings to prepare you for your work placements and beyond.

You will be learning from our expert occupational therapy staff who are leaders in their fields of research and have extensive experience in a diverse range of occupational therapy specialisations.

During this course, you have the option to complete a study tour to countries including Denmark, India, Sri Lanka and Sweden, to put your acquired skills into practice and learn about the occupational therapy profession from different perspectives.

Indicative student workload

As a student in the Faculty of Health you can expect to participate in a range of teaching activities each week. This could include classes, seminars, practicals, online interaction and practicum placements. You can refer to the individual unit details in the course structure for more information. You will also need to study and complete assessment tasks in your own time.

Professional recognition

The Bachelor of Occupational Therapy is accredited by the Occupational Therapy Council (Australia and New Zealand Ltd) and the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, which means you will be able to practise professionally in Australia and overseas.

Career opportunities

Occupational therapy has experienced one of the strongest growth rates in the health industry over the past 10 years, with available jobs increasing from 8100 in 2007 to 16,700 in 2017.*

Through this course, you could find employment in areas as diverse as:

acute, psychiatric or rehabilitation hospitals
community health organisations
government departments or agencies
mental health services
private practices
research institutes
primary and secondary schools
workplace wellbeing, occupational health and safety, and rehabilitation services.

Our graduates have found employment with the following organisations, as well as many more:

Alfred Health
Barwon Health
Bellarine Community Health
Department of Education
genU
private occupational therapy practices
primary and secondary schools
Western District Health.

*Australian Government Job Outlook 2017

Participation requirements

The course involves compulsory professional practice education (clinical placements) in each year of the course. The requirement of at least 1000 hours of professional practice during the course is essential for the course to meet national and international accreditation standards. These placements may require travel to rural areas. Students must meet requirements for police records, working with children regulations and immunisation status.

Placement can occur at any time, including during the standard holiday breaks listed here: https://www.deakin.edu.au/courses/key-dates.

Elective units may be selected that include compulsory placements, work-based training, community-based learning or collaborative research training arrangements.

Reasonable adjustments to participation and other course requirements will be made for students with a disability. Click here for more information.

Mandatory student checks

Department of Human Services policy - Police Record Check and Working With Children Check

In accordance with Department of Human Services policy, all students are required to undertake a National Police Record Check prior to clinical placements in each calendar year of their course.

In accordance with the Department of Justice 2007, Working with Children Act 2005, amended 2017, all students are required to undertake a Working with Children Check at the commencement of their course. Students who fail to obtain a Police Record Check and a Working with Children Check prior to the commencement of clinical placement will not be able to undertake clinical placement and this will impede progress in the course.

Students may also be required to declare their immunisation status to satisfy the requirements of health organisations where they will be undertaking their clinical learning experience. A health organisation may refuse to accept a student for placement if the student’s immunisation status is not satisfactory to the health organisation.

Pathways

This course provides a pathway to higher degree by research courses and other postgraduate coursework programs.

Fees and charges

Fees and charges vary depending on your course, your fee category and the year you started. To find out about the fees and charges that apply to you, visit the Current students fees website.

Course Learning Outcomes

Graduate Learning Outcomes	Course Learning Outcomes
Discipline Specific knowledge and capabilities	Apply specialised knowledge about occupation and health across the lifespan; and knowledge of research principles and methods, to provide person centred occupational therapy services for individuals, groups, organisations, communities or populations and to conduct an occupationally relevant research project.
Communication	Communicate effectively, professionally and respectfully with clients, families, carers, co-workers and colleagues using clear and appropriate language and communication modes. 2.2 Effectively communicate the implication of research findings for occupational therapy practice
Digital Literacy	Seek out and critically evaluate information located and accessed from digital and other technologies to inform occupational therapy practice, support continuing professional development, research projects and promote participation for people with diverse abilities.
Critical thinking	Critically assess, interpret, and evaluate information to plan and implement appropriate, person-centred occupational therapy intervention and to inform research ethics and activity.
Problem Solving	Effectively apply problem solving skills using critical thinking, professional reasoning, decision making and reflection to the design, implementation and evaluation of person centred occupational therapy service, research and scholarship.
Self-management	Demonstrate high professional standards through identification and implementation of independent learning and professional development strategies for the benefit of clients, families and others, colleagues and the profession.
Teamwork	Establish and maintain occupational therapy practice within inter-professional teams that is ethical, evidence based, professional, respectful and collaborative, and assume leadership, supervisory and management roles as appropriate.
Global Citizenship	Apply ethical, culturally relevant, professional and appropriate decision making which is respectful of the diverse social, cultural and environmental contexts within Australian and global communities. Justify the position of a research project within a national and international context.

Course rules

The Bachelor of Occupational Therapy comprises 32 credit points, including 29 credit points of core units, 1 selective unit and 2 credit points of elective units.

To be awarded H455 Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) a person must

achieve at least a distinction average upon completion of level 3 studies;
successfully complete HSO302 Evidence-Based Occupational Therapy Practice 1
complete the four honours units at level 4 (listed under course structure H455 below).

Failure of a fieldwork component in the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy will normally lead to exclusion. Students will be required to complete at least one fieldwork component in a regional area of Victoria or adjacent areas.

All commencing Faculty of Health Undergraduate and Postgraduate course work students are required to complete HAI010 Academic Integrity in their first trimester of study (0 credit point compulsory unit).

Students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements. Click here for more information.

Course structure

Core units

Level 1 - Trimester 1

HAI010

Academic Integrity (0 credit points)

HBS107

Understanding Health

HBS109

Human Structure and Function

HDS101

Communication and Diversity

HSO102

Foundations of Occupational Science and Therapy A

Level 1 - Trimester 2

HSE102

Functional Human Anatomy

HSE208

Integrated Human Physiology

HSO104

Foundations of Occupational Science and Therapy B

Plus select one unit from the following choices:

HBS110

Health Behaviour

HPS111

Psychology A: Fundamentals of Human Behaviour

HPS121

Psychology B: Individual and Social Development

Level 2 - Trimester 1

HSO202

Impact of Health Conditions On Occupational Performance

HSO205

Occupations in Childhood Development

HSO207

Neurological Structure, Function and Plasticity

plus one elective unit

Level 2 - Trimester 2

HBS108

Health Information and Data

HSO206

Occupation Across the Lifespan

HSO208

Analysis of Occupational Performance

plus one elective unit

Level 3 - Trimester 1

HBS345

Collaborative Practice in Healthcare

HSO302

Evidence-Based Occupational Therapy Practice 1

HSO305

Occupational Performance: Evaluation and Intervention 1

HSO307

Psychosocial Influences on Occupational Performance

Level 3 - Trimester 2

HSO303

Evidence-Based Occupational Therapy Practice 2

HSO304

Work Integrated Learning A

HSO306

Occupational Performance: Evaluation and Intervention 2

Level 4 - Pass stream

Trimester 1

HSO401

OT Practice Applying Knowledge and Reasoning

HSO403

Promoting Occupational Engagement Through Assistive Technology

HSO405

Work Integrated Learning B

Trimester 2

HSO408

Transition to Practice

HSO417

Occupational Therapy Professional Development

HSO418

Innovation and Evaluation in OT Practice

Level 4 - H455 Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours)

(CRICOS code: 088320A)

Trimester 1

HSO403

Promoting Occupational Engagement Through Assistive Technology

HSO405

Work Integrated Learning B

HSO411

OT Honours Proposal Ethics and Literature

Trimester 2

HSO414

OT Honours Analysis and Critique

HSO416

Honours Research Project

Course structure

Elective units

Elective units may be chosen from any faculty in the University provided that prerequisites are met. A maximum of two elective units may be studied at level 1.

Sociology elective unit:

ASC206

Sociology of Health

Course structure

Work experience

Work Integrated Learning

You will undertake a variety of practicum placements throughout the four years of the course, commencing in your first year. Practice Education provides you with the opportunity to gain valuable skills and experience under the supervision of qualified practitioners, which will enable you to practise confidently as an occupational therapist. You will complete a minimum of 1000 hours of practical experience. Practice Education is conducted in a range of settings including schools, hospitals, clinics, community health organisations and industry, in metropolitan, regional and rural locations. In a host agency, you can play a meaningful role in a variety of activities, including planning programs and events, undertaking needs assessments, developing evaluation tools, counselling, group work, completing literature reviews and producing promotional materials. Placements begin shortly after you commence your first year of study.

Practice Education

Students are required to undertake practice education placements throughout the course of their degree. A schedule detailing these placements is developed in advance of the commencing academic year. Click here to view the 2019 OT Practice Education Schedule

Our Occupational Therapy team welcomes new placement partners. If you are interested in supervising Deakin students on placement, please contact hsd-otpraced@deakin.edu.au. Further details relating to placement can be found at the School Practice Education page.

Other course information

Course duration - additional information

Course duration may be affected by delays in completing course requirements, such as accessing or completing work placements.

Other learning experiences

Students are encouraged to take on voluntary learning experiences offered by community organisations. These opportunities are promoted through the course website.

Students are also encouraged to undertake international learning experiences offered through Deakin. Many students use elective options to undertake study tours offered by the School, including those offered by the occupational therapy team.

Research and research-related study

The Bachelor of Occupational Therapy Honours consists of an 8 credit point sequence. 5 credit points are specifically related to a research project. Proposal, ethics and literature review: 1 credit point; Analysis and critique: 1cp, implementing project, data collection and presentation of results: 3 credit point. The remaining 3 credit points relate to study of assistive technology in occupational therapy practice (1 credit point), and a 2 credit point professional practice education placement.