HSC OccTherapy Pre-registration Occupational Therapy

Pre-registration Occupational Therapy

MSc Occupational therapy for general information

HS140-4-FY : Professional & Interprofessional Skills for Practice

The aim of the module is to introduce the concepts of professional and interprofessional practice and provide opportunities to develop understanding of the role of continuing professional development for health professionals.

HS171-4-AU : Occupational Being

This module will introduce you to the core knowledge and skills of occupational therapy, enabling you to develop an understanding of the occupational nature of human beings.

HS173-4-FY : Informing Sciences

This module is designed to introduce students to the basic sciences that inform professional practice, including anatomy, physiology, psychology and sociology.

HS174-4-__ : Informing Sciences 2

HS175-4-__ : Engagement in Occupation

This module will enable you to draw on the introductory occupational therapy knowledge and learning, to explore how people engage in their occupations and identify the influences on their performance.


The module runs all day on a Thursday during the Spring term alongside the modules HS173- Informing Sciences 1, HS140- Interprofessional Working and Development and HS176 Concepts of Therapy. In the summer term there will be 1 session per week on a Wednesday morning following practice placement 1, alongside the modules HS174- Informing Sciences 2, HS140 -Interprofessional Working and Development and HS176 - Concepts of Therapy. You will draw upon the learning from previous modules, as well as experiences you have gained from your first exploratory placement in order to develop your understanding of the occupational nature of human beings. You will consider the potential influences upon occupational engagement and performance, in order to further progress your understanding of the theoretical framework that underpins occupational therapy.   Therefore there is greater emphasis on your self-directed learning and engagement, which is supported by tutor-led and small study group activities.

HS176-4-__ : Concepts of Therapy

This module will enable you to develop an understanding of the relative role, value and impact of therapy within multiple contexts and environments.

There are many concepts and skills that are common between interprofessional colleagues. This module is designed to explore some of these common concepts and skills in order to further develop your understanding of your professional role and the role of others. Your learning will be enhanced by the contribution of multidisciplinary health professionals and service users to the learning environment.

This module runs one day a week across the spring and summer term. Your first exploratory placement falls in the middle of the module giving you the opportunity to apply some of your learning in practice  and develop your knowledge and understanding of the concepts of therapy that are shared interprofessionally.

The emphasis of this module is on further developing your self-directed learning and engagement, which is supported by interactive lectures and small group activities.

HS256-5-SP : Practice Placement 4

In this second 8-week module, students have the opportunity to experience work with a third client group and to draw upon previous knowledge and experience to manage a small caseload, or take equivalent responsibility, under supervision. Professional judgements will be based upon sound theoretical knowledge. Professional suitability and development are assessed using a pro forma and submission of reflective work which demands increased levels of professional skills and increasingly critical appraisal of students' practice from a sound knowledge base.

HS272-5-__ : Professional Reasoning in Practice

All health professionals are required to demonstrate sound decision making skills in the process of developing appropriate outcomes. This module is designed to introduce and further develop your understanding of the concepts of reasoning, problem-solving and decision making, in preparation for the third practice placement.  You will develop your ability to articulate your professional reasoning within this module and further into the placement. 

There is only one formal lecture (to launch the module) and the course is taught through a series of seminars using case studies and background reading.

HS274-5-__ : Therapy and Occupation

This module aims to develop your knowledge and skills in delivering occupational therapy.

This module is designed to focus specifically on the practice of occupational therapy. You will draw on previous learning and placement experiences, to further develop your understanding and skills in areas specific to occupational therapy practice.

This module runs in the autumn/spring/summer terms, directly after 'Practice Placement 2 – Initiate'. The interactive nature of the learning within this module will provide opportunities for you to apply your theoretical knowledge in developing evidence based occupational therapy skills and practice.

HS352-6-PS : Contexts of Professional Practice

This module aims to develop students skills in relation to leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship. Through completion of the module learning students acquire an understanding of the legal, political and cultural contexts in which occupational therapy practice occurs. Students consider occupational therapy practice in relation to developing societal trends, government policy, research evidence, legislation and ethics. Such learning is then extended by supporting students in identifying and exploring novel and emerging areas of occupational therapy practice. Leadership, management and business development are all included in the module teaching, in order for students to explore different service delivery structures and models (for example, social enterprise). Student learning them culminates in the completion of a patchwork text, which is focused around students chosen innovative area of occupational therapy practice, for the module assessment.

HS355-6-__ : Competence in Occupational Therapy Practice

This module will enable the student to investigate professional practice within clinical, ethical, legal and managerial frameworks in preparation for professional practice. There will be an opportunity to explore aspects of practice and examine the influence of current trends. The student is required to demonstrate the ability to integrate theory with practice in order to provide evidence of competence to practice. The student will be expected to manage a small caseload.

HS357-6-AU : Research and Evidence for Practice 2

This module focuses on facilitating the understanding of research design and analysis by examining quantitative and qualitative methodologies. This will be built on the first hand experiences of data collection and analysis from Research and Evidence for Practice 1. The concept of critical thinking will be addressed and linked to assessment through the critical analysis of research papers. Philosophies which underpin research approaches will be reviewed. The implications of the nature and overall quality of professional research literature as evidence to inform practice will also be considered



Indicative Content:

Welcome to the Module: processes, procedures & assessment guidelines
Critical thinking
Literature search and collation of relevant evidence
Critique of literature
The role and relevance of research in practice
Research paradigms, processes and approaches in relation to therapeutic process
Research approaches relevant to practice
Ethics in Research and Practice
Identifying and analyzing research papers that have implications for evidence-based professional and inter-professional practice
Experience of a group-led Journal Club, as part of continuing professional development (CPD)
Review and evaluation

HS358-6-FY : Research and Evidence for Practice 3

HS372-6-FY : Becoming a Professional: Professional Skills

This module aims to prepare you for employment within occupational therapy settings. You will draw upon and utilise transferable and core skills to prepare for employment as an Occupational Therapist. The module provides self-directed and autonomous learning opportunities, which will aid you in identifying further areas of development that will contribute to your Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

HS507-4-__ : Ongoing Recovery Journeys in Mental Health Nursing

HS859-7-FY : Research Activity

This module seeks to further advance students' research and problem solving skills to enable them to undertake research in their future practice and use critically the research of others to inform their practice.

HS892-7-__ : Foundations for occupational therapy

You will be introduced to the foundations for occupational therapy, studying informing theories and sciences of occupation, and learning core skills for professional practice. Theory and practice will be brought together in enquiry-based learning, developing your understanding of professional practice.

HS893-7-SP : Occupational performance and process

This module focuses on the performance of occupation, investigating how the occupational therapy process is adapted in response to professional reasoning about the experiences of people using health and social care services.

HS894-7-__ : Advancing Professional Practice in Occupational Therapy

This module builds on concepts presented in Foundations for Occupational Therapy (HS892), aiming to facilitate your critical evaluation of the use of therapeutic activity and occupation within occupational therapy. You will investigate different therapeutic approaches to intervention and gain experiential knowledge of the professional reasoning required to consider various intervention options. There will be opportunities to focus on grading and adaptation of occupation and environment and change within the individual, enabling you to critically evaluate how service users adapt to new situations and needs.

You will focus on informed, skilled use of occupation as a therapeutic medium for transformation of the lives of individuals, groups and communities. You will critically examine how therapy can be planned, justified, evaluated and communicated; conducting critical investigations of how the self can be used within occupationally-focused approaches and how different approaches to engagement are evaluated in practice.

HS895-7-__ : Mastering occupation

This module focuses on the theories which inform occupational therapy, aiming for a deep critical investigation of their relevance for, and application to, contemporary practice.

HS898-5-AU : Practice Placement Three: LEAD

This placement will offer the opportunity for leadership, where you will demonstrate your practice based on decisions about how you work, using the best evidence, knowledge and understanding of the setting. This placement requires the development of innovative and creative ideas for practice based on sound theories. You will identify an issue arising from the context, generate and evaluate solutions and apply one as a practice innovation. You will also have the opportunity to discover quality monitoring processes and the implications of these in practice. You will demonstrate your learning as you progress through the placement and summarise your achievements using a continuing professional development activity (HCPC, 2012) which has been agreed and negotiated with your educator.