Therapy Practice Education and other Learning Opportunities

Therapy Practice Placements are a key part of our service delivery at the NRH. Information about the range of practice education opportunities are detailed below:

Occupational Therapy Practice Education

Practice placements are an integral part of the Occupational Therapy Curriculum. Each pre-registration student is expected to successfully complete a minimum of at least 1000 hours practice (World Federation of Occupational Therapists WFOT 2002).

The Occupational Therapy (OT) Department at the NRH is committed to setting a standard of excellence in the delivery and development of practice education, in keeping with principles of best practice as outlined by ‘Therapy Project Office (2008) Guidelines for Good Practice in Practice Education’ and ‘Practice Educator Competencies’, endorsed by the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland (AOTI) and the Health Service Executive.

It is the ethos of the NRH Occupational Therapy Department that OTs contribute to the delivery of quality practice education. The Practice Tutor, in collaboration with the OT Manager is responsible for the strategic development of practice education in Occupational Therapy.

The OT Department is committed to providing 24 Practice Placements every year to three Irish universities including:-

Trinity College Dublin (TCD)
National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG)
University of Limerick (UL)

Based on the distribution of the 1.0 WTE (whole time equivalent) Practice Tutor Post between the three universities, 12 students are facilitated from TCD, six students from UL and six students from NUIG during the academic year.

Each Occupational Therapist is expected to facilitate student placements each year (one student per Staff Grade Therapist, and two students per Senior Therapist. The Practice Tutor provides support in the following ways:-

Unidisciplinary and interdisciplinary tutorials and practical sessions
Support to the Practice Educator
Additional supervision to students if necessary
Liaison with the universities

Interdisciplinary Careers Evening : An opportunity to learn about a career in Occupational Therapy is offered in the form of attendance at the Interdisciplinary Careers Evening which is held bi-annually at the NRH, hosted by tutors and clinicians from a range of disciplines including Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Speech & Language Therapy.