1. The role of occupational therapy in [insert your placement setting]
[insert your name]
Occupational Therapy Student
[insert the name of your university]

2. Overview An explanation of occupational therapy
The role of the occupational therapist
The importance of occupation to health and well-being
How occupational therapists work
Plans for the placement

3. Occupational therapists are concerned with how people spend their time
What you do to ‘occupy’ your time (your occupation) is fundamental to your health and well-being

4. Occupational therapists seek to understand…
What people want to, need to, or are expected to do
Why people do what they do
Where people do what they do
When people do what they do
How people do what they do
With whom people do what they do

5. The role of occupational therapy
How people fill their time is what occupational therapists describe as ‘occupations’. This might be things like self-care (getting ready to go out, eating a meal, using the toilet), being productive (going to school, work or volunteering), and leisure (socialising with friends or doing hobbies).
Occupational therapists help people who may need support and advice if they are not able to do occupations due to illness, disability, family circumstances, or as a result of changes in their lives as they get older.

6. The importance of occupation
Occupation should be considered a basic need and human right, like eating, drinking and breathing (Dunton 1919). There is a renewed understanding of how engagement in occupation is therapy and fundamental to health and well-being (Wilcock 2006).
The focus of the practitioner in any setting, with any service user group is to maximise occupational performance and participation (World Federation of Occupational Therapists 2012).
Royal College of Occupational Therapists (2017). Available at:

7. Care home setting
For example:
Leisure
Participating in group events (e.g. Bingo, pub quiz)
Going for walks
Attending lectures, shows etc.
Reading
Watching television
Craft activities
Productivity
Volunteering at local hospice shop
Gardening
Cooking
Self-care
Going to the toilet
Using the hairdressing services
Getting ready to go out
Moving around
Finding the way to different areas within the care home
Moving around own room
Going shopping or on trips
Meals and refreshments
Preparing / eating meals
Social participation
Participating in ‘small talk’ with other residents
Talking with familiar and unfamiliar people (e.g. carers, health care staff)
Talking with visitors (family members or friends)
Example occupations in a care home setting [include relevant occupational examples from your placement setting]

8. How occupational therapists understand how people do their occupations
Person
Occupation
Environment
Occupational performance
Adapted from Law et al., 1996

9. How occupational therapists work
In collaboration with the person, group or community (and with an appropriate awareness of risk):
Occupational strengths and needs (as identified by the person, family and relevant others) are identified
Priority occupations are assessed
Goals are set in collaboration with the person and relevant others
Reasons for problems of occupational performance are clarified (considering the person, environment and occupational influences on performance)
Intervention enables occupational engagement and performance
Outcomes are measured in relation to satisfaction, engagement, occupational performance, participation and well-being.
Adapted from Fisher (2009). Further information is available at:

10. Changing the way an occupational is done
Altering the environment / using equipment
Compensation
Grading the occupation
Teaching different techniques
Skill development
Importance of routines and doing for health and wellbeing
Workshops / public health messaging
Education
Types of support used by occupational therapists [talk about examples of each type relevant for your setting]

11. Plans for the placement
About me
Ideas for my work
[insert year of study]
[insert length of placement]
[insert where you will be based]
[insert educator’s details]
[insert other relevant information]
[insert any areas of work you plan to do]
Do you have any other ideas?
Would you like to be involved?
Would you like to be kept informed?

12. Thank you! Any questions?
References
[update as needed]
Royal College of Occupational Therapists (2017) Occupation-centred practice. Available at:
Dunton WRJ (1919) Reconstruction therapy. Philadelphia: WB Saunders. Available at: Accessed 01/03/17
Fisher AG (2009) Occupational therapy intervention process model: a model for planning and implementing top-down, client centred and occupation- based interventions. Fort Collins, CO: Three star press.
Law M, Cooper B, Strong S, Stewart D, Rigby P, Letts L (1996) The person- environment-occupation model: a transactive approach to occupational performance. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63(1), 9-23.
Wilcock A (2006) An occupational perspective on health. Thorofare, New Jersey: SLACK Incorporated.
World Federation of Occupational Therapists (2012) What is occupational therapy?, Available at: Accessed 01/03/17
[insert your name and contact details]