Advanced Occupational Therapy MSc at University of Northampton

If you are a qualified occupational therapist and want to advance take your professional knowledge and skills to an advanced level to enhance your career prospects and extend your perspective on professional practice, then this course is for you.

Full-time delivery of the MSc Advanced Occupational Therapy is one calendar year. The part-time route can be studied up to 4.5 years and therefore be tailored to your needs and other commitments.

Course Details

As one of the longest established Occupational Therapy Schools in the UK, we have a very highly regarded professional reputation. The course will be delivered by our teaching staff and a range of external speakers, bringing their own experience and current research to your learning.

This course will equip you with the professional thinking to advance your occupational therapy practice by embedding occupation, critical use of evidence, research and leadership skills. Course content is designed to help you shape contemporary and emerging communities of practice for the profession of occupational therapy.

The award recognises the value of lifelong learning as a cornerstone of excellence in service delivery and is underpinned by the Royal College of Occupational Therapy career development framework. The award structure ensures that the modules are both contemporary for current service needs and innovative promoting engagement with emerging communities of practice underpinned throughout using high-quality evidence base.

The course content is as follows:

OTHM003 – Occupation for occupational therapists

The purpose of this module is for students to explore, debate and evaluate their understanding and application of the concepts of occupation within professional and practice contexts. This will enable them to critically evaluate the use of occupation within current and future occupational therapy philosophy and practice.

OTHM022 – Embedding evidence in practice

The purpose of this module is to enable occupational therapists to evaluate the evidence base, knowledge and drivers of their professional practice. Students will evaluate the context of evidence based practice and practice based evidence within the scope of their professional development. This development of this advanced professional thinking will be transferable across other skills there by empowering practitioners to advance their own professional practice; contributing to the quality of service provision within contemporary setting.

OTHM009 – Implementing innovative change in practice

This module will enable you to analyse the changing work environments and to examine the reasons for and consequences of change. Problem solving and strategic planning to meet and manage change will be fundamental principles underpinning the teaching and learning within this module.

OTHM023 – Contemporary communities of practice

This module will enable students to critically evaluate global demographic and social drivers relevant to contemporary communities of practice. Students will explore the value of co-production as part of person centred practice and evaluate the contribution of occupational therapy to meet the needs of groups in diverse settings.

SLSM004 – Research methods philosophy and design

This module is designed to introduce students to a range of research methodologies relevant to health and social care contexts.  Students will have the opportunity to explore both qualitative and quantitative methods and to consider how a variety of approaches may impact on the interpretation of research findings for practice.

PODM007 – Leading people in health and social care organisations

Every health and social care organisation is made up of individuals whose behaviour, individually or collectively will impact on its ability to succeed and develop. This module considers a range of theories, tools and techniques with consideration of contemporary political and social influences, to help students understand and lead people working within health and social care organisations.

OTHM010 – Professional Project

The module provides an opportunity for the student to acquire appropriate evidence, to critically reflect on the evidence, apply knowledge, concepts, and research techniques to a professional question or problem and make recommendations to improve professional practice. Students are required to identify an area of current practice and to identify potential developments using recognised techniques from health and social care (i.e. audit or evaluation, primary research or systematic review). Where relevant, this project can be tailored to address service/employer priorities. This module develops project specific skills relevant to the method of inquiry selected.

Methods of Learning

The course begins in September each year and takes approximately 12 months to complete full-time. Part-time route can be studied up to 4.5 years and therefore tailored to your needs and other commitments. You will attend lectures, seminars and workshops throughout three taught trimesters, with a period of supported independent study in trimester three whilst you complete your Professional Project. You will have the support of an allocated supervisor that practices within your specialist area throughout the duration of the course.

Assessments

A range of assessment strategies are used on this course to develop your critical thinking and the way you apply theory to your practice setting. Typical assessment methods include essays, case studies, critical reflections and presentations.

Scholarships

TD Lewis Scholarship

The T D Lewis Scholarship provides both undergraduate and postgraduate students with financial awards of up to £1,000.  This scholarship is awarded on educational excellence…

The Chancellor's Fund

The Chancellor’s Fund is a bi-annual fund providing students with awards of between £100 and £1,000. You must be a current student to apply.  The…