The Discipline of Occupational Therapy, Trinity College, Dublin. Study of Occupation Practice. Junior and Senior Freshman Years.

by Sarah Quinn & Sarah McCobb (smaccobb@tcd.ie)
The Study of Occupation Practice (SOOP) module has developed connections with numerous community partners across the years. These partners work with and for people with disabilities or people who are socially disadvantaged. As future healthcare professionals it is essential that occupational therapy students learn to develop relationships with people generally and also with those who are vulnerable or in some way disadvantaged. Students are presented with a choice of community settings (e.g. settings with children, adults or older adults; with people with physical, intellectual or mental health disabilities); once assigned to a community partner students are required to facilitate occupational engagement and performance for two hours per week across two 12 week semesters with an individual who is connected to this community partner and who has agreed to work with the student. Examples of the facilitation of occupational engagement within this module are: bringing and 80 year old nun, who lived in a three storey apartment and was housebound, to church; facilitating a pool-group for homeless men who had mental health difficulties – the men played pool better than the students but would not have attended the group without the student input; teaching an older adult living in residential care how to use Skype to keep in touch with relatives. Facilitation of a meaningful occupation (activity that holds meaning to the person) is an essential element of the module – the nature of the actual occupation/activity is not important, but students’ understanding of occupations’ health-giving components is later assessed.

Discipline:	Occupational Therapy
Institution:	Trinity College Dublin
Activity:	Service Learning/Community Based Learning

Additional Information

Academic Discipline:	Occupational Therapy
Module Title:	Special Study Module Option in Community Learning – Teaching Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation to School Children
Typical number of students:	90 students
Year(s) of Programme:	All freshman students (OT)
Credits (ECTs):	5
Mandatory:	Yes
Assessment method:	Assessment is required (through reflective reports and oral presentation)
First established:	2008
Typical number of hours:	In Junior Freshman year, 48 hours of community participation is expected from each student; 12 hours of review in a small group setting and 24 theory teaching hours underpin the Study of Occupation mo
Learning outcomes:	Rationale for service-learning in the Study of Occupation This course was born out of a need to provide students with opportunities to get to know people as people rather than as those with problems and it achieves this by increasing students’ exposure to people in their everyday environments across an extended period of time. Students are encouraged to regard people as occupational beings and the module considered to be is very distinct from their clinical practice hours. Reflection within the Study of Occupation Practice module Students attend small group debriefing sessions where group discussion and personal reflection are required. These sessions are designed to address practical difficulties students are experiencing and to integrate their experiences with occupational therapy-specific knowledge and theory. Additionally, students complete reflective worksheets that progress developmentally from descriptive accounts of experiences and opportunities for engagement to explanations of the relationship between their experiences and health and well-being. An on-line discussion and reflection forum is planned for September 2010 where students will post weekly comments describing their experiences, personal queries and responses to questions posed by course co-ordinators. The module is assessed via presentation where students must demonstrate their achievement of module aims and integrate their learning with occupational therapy theory. The SOOP module is the students’ first engagement as students with people in the community and forms the basis of their understanding of people as occupational beings, the impact of the environment on occupational engagement and the importance of meaning in engagement – all of which permeates and supports learning in other courses.
Case study website/link:	–
Community Partners:	Over 20 community partners