Occupational Therapy MSc (post-registration)

About the Course

We are very fortunate to be able to provide this high quality programme as Brunel University has one of the largest and most highly qualified occupational therapy staff groups in the world; the expertise is there to teach and supervise at Master’s and Doctoral levels.

It has been acknowledged internationally that we need to show the benefits of our special approach to health and everyday living through research. Master's level study is essential if you want to gain the skills to evaluate your interventions, build professional confidence and seek out (and develop) existing theories, which inform your practice.

Every module assignment can be focussed on a topic you or your manager wants to investigate. The assignments are practically useful; write an evidence based protocol or care pathway for your clients, plan how to improve the effectiveness of your service, evaluate and debate research in order to decide if the evidence is worth incorporating into practice, reflect on how central occupational engagement is for enhancing the health of your clients, or take a topic of interest to you.

The course does not further clinical skills, nor does it lead to registration from the UK professional governing bodies, but rather focuses on developing the occupational therapist’s ability to evaluate and enhance professional practice. Up to 60 credits of academic taught module exemptions can be offered for students holding a PG certificate in Occupational Therapy, relevant PG modules from other Universities, or substantial relevant post professional periods of study e.g. AMPS, Sensory Integration.

Download Course Leaflet (PDF)

Aims

This course is aimed at occupational therapists wanting to continue their professional development and develop evidence-based practice.

Enquiries

Christos Nikopoulos
Course Director
School of Health Sciences and Social Care
Brunel University
Tel:+44 (0)1895 268773
Email Christos.Nikopoulos@brunel.ac.uk
Web Occupational Therapy subject pages

Related Courses

• Occupational Therapy (Pre-Registration) MSc

Special Features

This Brunel Master's is one of the few in the UK specialising in occupational therapy, and it has been especially designed to meet your needs as a practising therapist, helping you to gain greater mastery in your chosen area of occupational therapy.

The programme has been praised by the University validating committees as a model Master's degree for professional practitioners, for it brings theory to the workplace.

Based on a sound approach to adult education, the course invites students to bring issues from practice to analyse in class.

The programme was rated top out of all postgraduate programmes at Brunel University with regard to its capacity to promote personal development.

Course Content

Key Features

• Encourages a theoretical underpinning of occupation, occupational therapy and research.
• Nationally recognised for excellence in teaching and research.
• Meets the needs of occupational therapists who wish to enhance their current practice in their workplace.
• Provides academic learning experiences in a supportive environment.
• A modular programme that can be studied full-time, part-time or as an associate student. (Associate enrolment: studying a one off-module - this is very appropriate for continuing professional development.)
• Facilitates reflective practice.
• Develops research competencies for using and developing evidence-based practice.

This course will broaden and deepen your knowledge and understanding of the value of occupational therapy in today's changing world. Each module’s content is embedded in practice and overall the programme aims to develop your skills in analysing evidence, implementing and evaluating occupational therapy research.

Typical Modules

Core

Occupational Science

Main topics include: occupation defined and classified: theoretical perspectives; occupation as means of promoting and sustaining health and well being; occupational risk factors as barriers to occupational justice; historical perspectives on occupation; the theory base for occupational science: paradigms, frames of reference and models of occupation; occupational science in context.

Evidence-Based Occupational Therapy 

Main topics include: conducting literature searches; examining the structure of research papers; comparing results and interpreting outcome measures; understanding the purpose and process of meta analyse; examining published outcomes measures

The Art of Professional Practice

Main topics include: key models of reflection; modes of clinical reasoning in occupational therapy; judgement, decision making and expertise development; the work of key occupational theorists; historical foundations of occupational therapy.

Research Design

Students will work within a current research activity in an area relevant to the students’ identified field of interest relevant to each MSc programme area. By means of the construction of a research proposal, students will explore the options of the research process by considering the possibility of quantitative projects focusing on the measurement and analysis of data relevant to a question from within the discipline of their major, a qualitative project focussing on an inductive approach relevant to the discipline of their major, or a systematic review of the evidence relevant to a question from within the discipline of their major. This latter approach may itself be either qualitative or quantitative. Refinement of the identified topic will be done by way of a literature search. Topics of study might include: search tools, the parameters of a research literature, research questions, and the ethics of research, timelines and the planning of research, costing research, and the research proposal.

Research Methods

Main topics include: philosophical underpinnings of research methodology; proposal design; searching and reviewing the literature; ethical issues in research and research governance; surveys and longitudinal studies; questionnaire design; experimental and quasi-experimental designs; n of 1 studies; statistical analysis and using spss; depth interviews; focus groups; observation; use of documentary sources; qualitative analysis.

Dissertation

Recent examples of dissertations by students taking this course include:

• Parent-child play interactions; perceptions and experiences of children with autism
• Therapists’ perceptions of the use of outcome measures in stroke rehabilitation

Elective Modules (two from)

Occupational Therapy for Children, Young People and their Families

Main topics include: analysis of aspects in child development and study of common problems and disorders in childhood; review of the research based current evidence on occupational therapy theory and practice for children and adolescents; review the clinical reasoning process in paediatric occupational therapy practice; examine a selection of experimental methods appropriate for assessing and evaluating clinical practice or service delivery in children’s health; exploration of effective ways of incorporating the family into their child’s assessment and treatment; exploration of relevant current children’s health policy and legislation.

Occupational Therapy in Mental Health

Main topics include: overview of occupational therapy in mental health; review of the research based literature on occupational therapy theory and practice in mental health; detailed exploration of current mental health policy and legislation in relation to occupational therapy practice; exploring contemporary issues; examining current evidence and research related to the contemporary mental health issues; exploring a detailed selection of quantitative and qualitative measures appropriate for assessing and evaluating clinical practice or service delivery in mental health.

Functional Neuroscience for Rehabilitation 

Main topics include: nervous system development and plasticity; synaptic physiology – chemical transmitters; modifable synapses: from development, to learning and recovery of function; autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic function; functional neuroanatomy – from pathways to neurological lesions and deficits; cellular mechanisms of neural injury and repair in stroke, injury and brain trauma; genetics of neurodegenerative disorders; brain chemistry, emotions and behaviour; pain and chronic pain management; cortical functioning in sensation and perception; vision and control of gaze; hearing and speech; brain imaging; consciousness: EEG, coma, sleep and epilepsy and cognition; modern neuroscientific tools for the exploration of brain function.

Communicating and Utilising Evidence in Practice

Main topics include; government policy, professional initiatives and their implications for evidence-based practice; making evidence available for practice through effective communication; defining evidence; levels and types; searching for research evidence; critically appraising research evidence; grading evidence based recommendations for practice; strategies for integrating evidence into practice whilst also considering the clients’ values and using clinical judgement and experience; managing change; models; barriers to implementing evidence in practice and strategies for overcoming them; evaluating and monitoring changes to practice.

Occupational Therapy for Active Ageing

Main topics include: Occupations, occupational deprivation and occupational justice for older people; current older persons’ health policy and legislation pertaining to occupational therapy; review of the research based literature on occupational therapy theory and practice for older people; person centred care; quantitative and qualitative measures to assess clinical practice or service delivery for older people; Joint-working across Health and Social care and voluntary contexts; Risk assessment, social inclusion and health promotion.

Functional Assessment of Challenging Behaviours across the Lifespan

Main topics include: human development - a natural science approach to development; learning process - habituation, respondent learning, operant learning; applications of operant learning - increasing frequency of appropriate behaviour (prompting, fading, modelling, shaping, chaining, stimulus discrimination etc.) and decreasing frequency of inappropriate behaviour (extinction, DRH, DRL, DRO, DRA, DRI etc.); essential components and methodological issues for conducting functionally-based assessment - behavioural interviews (indirect assessment), direct observation (direct descriptive assessment), functional behavioural analysis (the function matrix), basic intervention methods, teaching the replacement behaviour, improving the environment, testing the intervention, the behaviour intervention plan; essential methodological issues for reporting and analysing data collected from functionally based assessment - methods of data collection, experimental manipulation, measuring systems and recording procedures; supporting behaviour change for individuals with pervasive developmental disorders (autism), attention-deficit and disruptive behaviour disorders, feeding and, eating disorders, acquired brain injury, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and dementia.

Specialist Practice in Occupational Therapy

This will primarily be related to the topic chosen by the student and subject advisor. Learning contracts: Needs analysis, goal setting, strategies and resources for learning, reflective practice; delineation between networking activities and research activities.

Cognitive and Behavioural Issues in Neurorehabilitation

This module explores psychological processes underpinning perception, attention, memory, and motor planning. The module also investigates how these processes may be disrupted by a variety of neurological conditions. Subjective and behavioural aspects of neurological dysfunction are also discussed, with implications for rehabilitation.

Course Structure

Full-time	Part-time
Year One
Term One	Term One (Tuesdays)	Term Two (Tuesdays)
Evidence Based Occupational Therapy Occupational Science Research Methods Research Design Optional module: Functional Neuroscience for Rehabilitation OR Occupational Therapy for Children OR Occupational Therapy for Active Ageing OR Occupational Therapy for Mental Health.	Evidence Based Occupational Therapy Occupational Science	Occupational Science Art of Professional Practice
Year Two
Term Two	Term One (Wednesdays)	Term Two (Wednesdays)
Occupational Science Art of Professional Practice Research Methods Research Design And one Optional module: Cognitive and Behavioural Issues in Neurorehabilitation OR Communicating and Utilising Research Evidence OR Functional Assessment of Challenging Behaviours	Research Design Research Methods And one Optional module: Functional Neuroscience for Rehabilitation OR Occupational Therapy for Children OR Occupational Therapy for Active Ageing OR Occupational Therapy for Mental Health.	Research Design Research Methods And one Optional module: Cognitive and Behavioural Issues in Neurorehabilitation OR Communicating and Utilising Research Evidence OR Functional Assessment of Challenging Behaviours
Term Three	Year Three
Dissertation	Dissertation

Assessment

A variety of assessments allow students to become proficient in evaluating and questioning their chosen area of practice. Active and adult learning principles are used throughout the course.

Careers

This programme is only for those already qualified as occupational therapists.

Fees for 2013/14 entry

UK/EU students: £5,800 full-time; £2,900 part-time

International students: £15,000 full-time; £7,500 part-time

Read about funding opportunities available to postgraduate students

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements

WFOT- approved Diploma or first degree in Occupational Therapy. If coming straight from a BSc Occupational Therapy programme, a first or upper second class degree is required.

English Language Requirements

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.