MSc-OT Course Descriptions
Anatomy 9524
OT9511 - Foundations of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
- Through a variety of experiences, students will be introduced to the practice of occupational therapy and foundational concepts of occupation and occupational science, health and rehabilitation sciences, critical social and cultural theories, and concepts, models, and frames of reference that underlie occupational therapy practice. Students will explore occupation in relation to health, well-being, and justice, as well as the attitudes, skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to begin their role as evidence-based practitioners in occupational therapy.
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OT9512 – Foundations of Practice
- This course will enable students to develop foundational abilities and skills required for practice. Students will apply knowledge of human occupation, health and rehabilitation science, clinical/professional reasoning, and client-centred practice to occupational therapy. They will explore the process of practice in relation to a range of client conditions and the basic skills necessary for successful practice implementation informed by evidence.
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OT9531 – Conditions and Occupational Performance
- In this course, students will gain knowledge of a diverse range of clinical disorders applicable to the study of occupation and occupational therapy practice, and their impact on cognitive, affective, and physical occupational performance. The primary focus will be on neurological disorders and additional conditions that are commonly seen in occupational therapy practice. This course will enable students to develop an understanding of basic nervous system anatomy, physiology, and neurological principles that underlie many of the conditions that will be addressed.
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OT9532 – Movement in Context
- Students will learn about movement characteristics that underpin occupations. Students will explore the different movement difficulties that can be the result of an individual having been born with or acquiring a disability with a movement difficulty component. Students will be provided with an understanding of the basis of observing movement difficulties and learn some of the strategies that can be used by occupational therapists to teach movement, thus enhancing the opportunities for some individuals to participate in occupations. The environment, or context, in which movement occurs influences the movements required by an individual. The contextual features of the environment will therefore also be learned by the students.
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OT9541 – Foundations of Research
- This course addresses foundational knowledge and skills contributing to the development of students as scholarly practitioners. In this course, students will develop an understanding of the importance and role of research in occupational therapy, and gain an in-depth understanding of research needs related to understanding occupation and informing occupational therapy practice. Students will examine various ways that research, theory and practice are linked, and will critically reflect on various models of evidence-based practice in relation to occupational therapy practice. Students will explore the philosophical assumptions underlying qualitative and quantitative methodologies, develop an appreciation of the potential contributions of various types of research, and reflect on their own assumptions and values regarding what they view as credible knowledge and ways of knowing. Students will discuss essential research elements, ethical principles and quality criteria relevant to qualitative and quantitative methodologies and designs, and will begin to develop critical appraisal skills.
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OT9542 – Evaluating Occupation in Context
- This course will engage students in examining human occupation and occupational participation in contexts across the lifespan with a focus on children, adults and older adults. The primary emphasis will be on approaches to assess, understand and evaluate primary occupations performed relevant to the lifespan stage. Evaluation tools will focus on standardized and non–standardized instruments, information gathering processes such as observations, interviewing, measurement of occupational performance and barriers to participation (resources, skills, and the physical, cognitive, behavioural, and social capacities of the person as well as factors relevant to occupational disruption or losses due to dimensions of illness, workplace, physical or cognitive injuries, physical health conditions, episodic illnesses, and the demands of environments) as well as facilitators of participation (at the level of the person and the supports and resources in the micro, meso, or macro environment). Students will focus on evaluation approaches to understanding aspects and dimensions of the micro, meso, and macro environments that support or hinder human occupation and well-being in occupations of choice and importance to the developmental life stage. Documentation strategies for assessment and evaluation of findings or results, as well as clinical reasoning and critical appraisal processes used to interpret and synthesize findings from evaluation, will be included. This course will help students develop a knowledge base for developing interventions. Students may be introduced to some interventions; however, detailed knowledge of interventions or strategies to improve occupational performance issues or changing environments will not be covered until second year.
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OT9562 – Mental Health in Context
- In this course, students will be introduced to the conceptual foundations of occupational therapy practice in mental health. Societal and cultural aspects of mental health and mental disorders will be discussed to identify cultural norms, values, and beliefs that may influence the opportunities for occupation, as well as the relationship amongst stigma, exclusion, and the impact of occupational deprivation across the lifespan. The current models of intervention in occupational therapy within the mental health field will also be discussed.
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OT9571 - Professionalism I
- This is a full course, offered over three terms. The course introduces students to the concept of professionalism and to the attitudes and values, competencies, and accountabilities associated with being a professional. Students will explore how to enact professional behaviour and responsible practice in relation to the client, the interprofessional team, professional associations, and regulatory bodies. In connection with part of the process of engaging in this course, students are placed into groups. Each group is introduced to an occupational therapist who acts as a mentor. These groups and their mentors will remain in place for the duration of the curriculum. These mentor groups will support student learning throughout the program as well as giving students an opportunity to develop teamwork capabilities.
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OT9580 - Fieldwork: Knowledge Into Action
- Through this course, students engage in practice with the goal of developing problem solving, early competence and skills, as well as increasing their confidence. Students initially prepare for the practice education/fieldwork experience in the fall term with their OT9580 course professor. In January, students enter a four week (150 hours), full-time fieldwork experience that occurs within a practice setting. Here they begin to put occupational therapy knowledge into action by demonstrating application of relevant professional knowledge and skills under the direct supervision of a fieldwork educator/preceptor. Through this and other fieldwork courses, students develop their practice competencies.
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OT9581 – Fieldwork: Reflection On Action
- Students progress along the developmental continuum in this Level Two fieldwork experience. The process of reflecting on their actions in a practice setting is a major focus in this course. Students are expected to generate assessment and intervention options with clients and evaluate implementation. Fieldwork is a cumulative process and the objectives from OT9580 continue to be developed at higher levels of reasoning in this eight week (300 hour) full-time experience. Portfolio development continues.
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OT9595 – Evidence Informed Practice
- Drawing on the foundational knowledge and skills related to research and evidence-based practice developed in OT9541, this course further enhances the development of students as scholarly practitioners. Students will gain in-depth knowledge of a diverse range of research methodologies applicable to the study of occupation and occupational therapy practice. Students will develop expertise in critical appraisal of diverse methodologies and methods through completing critical appraisal papers. In addition, students will gain an understanding of the contribution of various approaches to in-depth reviews to evidence-based practice, and the elements necessary to conduct various approaches to in-depth reviews. Working in groups, students will develop an in-depth review question of relevance to occupational therapy, choose an appropriate review approach, and develop a thorough proposal to carry out the review.
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OT9612 Ethics and Practice in Context
- In this course, students reflect on their own values and ethical commitments as future practitioners and participate in dialogue about the parameters of ethical practice within various practice contexts. This course engages students in critical reflection, with the aim of deepening students’ reflective abilities, moral imagination, and capacities as change agents in future professional life. Students engage in dialogue about a range of topics related to ethical issues in occupational therapy practice. These include professional ethics, ethical dimensions of occupational therapy practice, ethical tensions in occupational therapy practice, ethical principles, narrative ethics, ethics of care, moral contexts of practice, relational ethics, the search for justice, and ethical deliberation. Students are introduced to concepts that foster the capacity for meaningful reflective practice, ethical deliberation, and dialogue with clients and other professionals within health care contexts.
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OT9613 - Consolidation of Practice Knowledge
- In this course, students will have the opportunity to consolidate the competencies they have previously learned in their fieldwork placements and in the classroom. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to prepare for the realities of practice by considering current controversial issues. These topics will prepare students to enter practice.
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OT9631 Practice in Context I
- Clients’ occupational engagement is strongly related to the micro- and meso-environmental features that affect functional performance and engagement. In this course, micro- and meso-environmental features will be explored in depth whereas the macro-environmental features will be addressed to a lesser extent. The course will be delivered in three modules, each addressing a different practice context.
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OT9641 – Enabling Occupation Through Assistive Technology and Environmental Adaptation
- In this course, students will learn how to assess and adapt specific aspects of an individual’s immediate environments in order to maximize occupational performance. Topics will include modifying occupations to meet the needs and abilities of clients in the context of their immediate environments, principles of ergonomics, person-environment fit, occupation-environment fit, and the use of assistive devices and technology. This course includes 10 integrated fieldwork hours.
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OT9642 Practice in Context II
- This course will focus on occupational therapy interventions and their theoretical underpinnings in community practice contexts, taking into account issues that affect intervention, including client and environmental resources needed for change and/or to improve clients’ well-being, occupational performance, competence, and engagement within these environments. Clients’ occupational engagement within these contexts is strongly related to the micro-, meso-, and macro-environmental features that enable or inhibit individual or group participation and also influence occupational therapy practice. The course will be delivered in four modules, each addressing a different practice context.
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OT9662 - Intensives in Occupational Therapy
- This course will offer students an opportunity to explore certain issues related to occupational therapy in greater depth. Students will take four Intensives. Two Intensives: Leadership, and Culture and Diversity, are mandatory. The other Intensives available in any given year will be dictated by availability of someone to teach them, a minimum enrolment, and scheduling. In the winter term of year 1, students will be asked to rank order preferences among the other topics proposed for the following year. Information sheets will be available for each proposed Intensive to assist students in making an informed choice. Every effort will be made to enable students to take their preferred Intensives from among the array. Mandatory Intensives are scheduled for 18 hours each. Optional Intensives will include 9-12 hours of classroom time each and may be offered in a variety of formats (e.g., workshop, weekly classes, etc.). Each Intensive will outline its own learning outcomes.
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OT9671 - Professionalism II
- This is a full course, offered over three terms, which follows OT9571, Professionalism I. The course has three major thrusts: (1) Students will integrate knowledge about professionalism and the attitudes, values, competencies and accountabilities associated with being a professional, concepts that were introduced in OT9571. Through this course students will continue to develop their competencies in enacting professional behaviour and responsible practice in relation to self, clients, the interprofessional team, support personnel, professional associations, and regulatory bodies in order to make the transition into the professional community at the conclusion of the course, (2) Students will continue to work with their mentor in the supported self-study groups that were organized in OT9571 for the duration of OT9671; within the mentor group, students are expected to continue to develop their competencies in teamwork, their professional portfolio and their personal learning plan, and (3) As part of the process of developing professionalism, this course incorporates approximately 75 integrated fieldwork hours focused on advocacy at a social systems level, an important component of professionalism. Fifteen of these hours are allocated for advocacy for the profession in the form of marketing and promotional activities. For the remaining 60 integrated fieldwork hours, students will engage in a community-development project with a community-based service agency as a client. Students’ work with the service agency will be supervised using a consultative model, whereby the course instructor(s) (and mentors as appropriate) provide guidance to students, but have no direct contact with the community-based service agency unless absolutely necessary . This aspect of the course focuses on development of professional competencies in enabling occupation by focusing on issues of occupational justice and social determinants of health.
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OT9680 – Fieldwork: Towards Reflection In Action
- Students will reflect on their actions in the practice milieu by analysing the occupational therapy process and their role in it. Students will be encouraged to articulate their clinical reasoning. Students initially prepare for the practice education/fieldwork experience in the fall term with their OT9680 course instructor. Fieldwork is a cumulative process and topic/areas from OT9580 & OT9581 continue to be developed at higher levels of reasoning in this seven week (263 hours) full-time fieldwork experience. Through this and other fieldwork courses, students develop their practice competencies. Portfolio development continues.
Click here to read the syllabus (PDF)
OT9681 – Fieldwork: Reflection In Action
- Students will demonstrate the ability to reflect in action by evaluating and modifying professional activities on an ongoing basis. Upon completion of this fieldwork experience, the student will demonstrate independence in reflective, evidence-based practice, at a level comparable to an entry-level clinician in that clinical environment. Fieldwork is a cumulative process and topics/areas, objectives and competencies from OT9580, OT9581, and OT9680 continue to be developed at higher levels during this eight week (300 hours) full-time experience. Portfolio development continues, and each student will develop a case study, suitable for teaching purposes, based on a clinical or professional experience from this placement.
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OT9695 – Supervised Research In Occupation (SRO)
- Drawing on the foundational knowledge and skills related to research and evidence-based practice developed in OT9541 and OT9595, this course further enhances the development of students as scholarly practitioners. In this course, students will continue to develop an appreciation of the potential contributions of various types of research, and reflect on their own assumptions and values regarding what they view as credible knowledge and ways of knowing. Working in groups, students will carry out the in-depth review for which they developed a proposal in OT9595 and will write up their results and present their findings at a research conference.
Click here to read the syllabus (PDF)
