Occupational Therapy – Inherent Requirements

Behavioural stability is required to function and adapt effectively and sensitively in a demanding role.

Student demonstrates behavioural stability to work constructively in a diverse and changing academic and clinical environment.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Behavioural stability is required to work individually and in teams in changing and unpredictable environments. Occupational Therapy students will be exposed to human suffering in the clinical setting and will be required to have behavioural stability to manage situations objectively and professionally.

Adjustments must support stable, effective and professional behaviour in both academic and clinical settings.

Exemplars:

• Being receptive and responding appropriately to constructive feedback.
• Coping with own emotions and behaviour effectively when dealing with individuals in clinical, school, work and community settings.
• Maintaining effective professional boundaries so as to not impact directly or indirectly on the mental and emotional wellbeing of individuals they are working with.

Consistent and effective knowledge and cognitive skills must be demonstrated to provide safe and competent Occupational Therapy services.

Student demonstrates:

• Capacity to locate appropriate and relevant information.
• Ability to process information relevant to practice.
• Ability to integrate and implement knowledge in practice.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Safe and effective delivery of Occupational Therapy is based on comprehensive knowledge that must be sourced, understood and applied appropriately.

Adjustments must ensure that a clear demonstration of knowledge and cognitive skills is not compromised or impeded.

Exemplars:

• Ability to conceptualise and use appropriate knowledge in response to academic assessment items.
• Appropriately applying knowledge of policy and procedures in clinical, school, work and community settings.
• Know and correctly interpret a wide range of clinical findings to provide safe occupational therapy.

Foundational literacy skills are essential to provide safe and effective Occupational Therapy.

Student demonstrates the ability to:

• acquire information and to accurately convey messages.
• comprehend a range of literature and information.
• construct clear written communication appropriate to the circumstances.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• The ability to acquire and comprehend information from multiple sources and to accurately convey messages is fundamental to ensure safe and effective Occupational Therapy.
• The ability to read, decode, interpret and comprehend multiple sources of information is fundamental for safe and effective delivery of Occupational Therapy.

Adjustments to address literacy issues must demonstrate a capacity to effectively acquire, comprehend, apply and communicate accurate information.

Exemplars:

• Conveying a spoken message accurately and effectively in a clinical setting.
• Communication of clinical requirements and treatments, with the completion of documentation, in accordance with the level of practice and clinical setting.
• Paraphrasing, summarising and referencing in accordance with appropriate academic and practice conventions in written communication.

Foundational numeracy skills are essential for safe and effective care.

Student interprets and correctly applies data, measurements and numerical criteria.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Competent application of numeracy skills is essential to facilitate the safe and effective delivery of Occupational Therapy.

Adjustments must demonstrate a capacity to interpret and apply concepts and processes appropriately in a timely, accurate and effective manner.

Exemplars:

• Performing accurate calculations (e.g. range of motion, prescribing home modifications).
• Critical analysis of relevant literature, including numeracy in statistics.

Adequate visual acuity is involved in providing safe and effective Occupational Therapy.

Student demonstrates sufficient visual acuity to function within the scope of practice of Occupational Therapy.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Sufficient visual acuity to ensure the performance, coordination and prioritisation of assessment and intervention and to maintain consistent, accurate and safe Occupational Therapy and to protect the safety of self and others.
• Visual observations, examination and assessment are fundamental to safe and effective Occupational Therapy.

Adjustments must address the need to perform a range of tasks involved in clinical and community practice. Any strategies to address the effects of vision impairment must be effective, consistent and not compromise assessment, intervention or safety.

Exemplars:

• Accurately observing signs of developmental and occupational adaptation or need, postural abnormalities, range of motion, occupational performance, engagement, level of independence.
• Ability to observe issues which may compromise the safety of any individual they are working with during clinical skills.

Adequate auditory acuity is involved in providing safe and effective Occupational Therapy.

Student demonstrates sufficient auditory acuity to function within the scope of practice of Occupational Therapy.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Sufficient auditory acuity to ensure the performance, coordination and prioritisation of assessment and intervention and to maintain consistent, accurate and safe Occupational Therapy and to protect the safety of self and others.
• Use of audition during observations of daily living activities, examination and assessment are fundamental to safe and effective Occupational Therapy.

Adjustments must address the need to perform the full range of tasks involved in clinical practice. Any strategies to address the effects of the hearing impairment must be effective, consistent and not compromise treatment or safety.

Exemplars:

• Accurately interpreting verbal cues from clients.
• Accurately interpreting client statements, requests, concerns and comments.

Adequate tactile ability is involved in providing safe and effective Occupational Therapy.

Student demonstrates sufficient tactile ability to function within the scope of practice of Occupational Therapy.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Sufficient tactile ability to ensure the performance, coordination and prioritisation of assessment and intervention and to maintain consistent, accurate and safe Occupational Therapy and to protect the safety of self and others.
• Tactile examination and assessment are fundamental to safe and effective Occupational Therapy.

Adjustments must address the need to perform a range of tasks involved in clinical and community practice. Any strategies to address the effects of tactile impairment must be effective, consistent and not compromise assessment, intervention or safety.

Exemplars:

• Accurately interpreting tactile cues from client.
• Conducting a physical assessment and detecting movement challenges eg Manual Muscle Testing.
• Accurately interpreting features of client occupational performance through touch.

Occupational Therapy involves physical demands and requires gross motor function and mobility.

Student demonstrates the ability to perform gross motor skills and mobility to function within scope of practice.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Sufficient gross motor skills necessary to ensure the performance, coordination and prioritisation of assessment and intervention. Tasks that involve gross motor skills may include lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, standing, twisting and bending. Students must be able to demonstrate and/or ensure the performance of these tasks consistently and safely to reduce the risk of harm to self and others.
• Personal mobility including travel and negotiation of various physical environments in clinical and community settings.

Adjustments must facilitate functional effectiveness, safety of self and others and a capacity to provide appropriate assessment and intervention.

Exemplars:

• Respond in client safety and emergency situations for example, identifying when CPR is required and responding appropriately.
• Ensure that physical assistance is provided to enable safe occupational performance (mobility, self-maintenance, productivity, leisure and school) in a range of environments.
• Enable safe mobilisation of individuals and use of equipment.

Occupational Therapy is a profession that may require manual dexterity and fine motor skills in a range of practice areas.

Student demonstrates the ability to use fine motor skills to provide safe and effective care.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Sufficient fine motor skills are necessary to perform, coordinate and prioritise care. Tasks that involve fine motor skills include being able to grasp, press, push, turn, squeeze and manipulate various objects. Students must be able to demonstrate and perform these tasks consistently and safely to reduce the risk of harm to self and others.

Adjustments must facilitate functional effectiveness, safety to self and others and a capacity to provide appropriate Occupational Therapy.

Exemplars:

• Tactile identification of tissue texture changes.
• Ability to perform subtle manual diagnostic and therapeutic techniques.

Occupational Therapy involves both physical and mental performance at a consistent and sustained level to meet individual needs over time.

Student demonstrates:

• Consistent and sustained level of physical energy to complete a specific task in a timely manner and over time.
• The ability to perform repetitive activities with a level of concentration that ensures the activity is completed appropriately.
• The capacity to maintain consistency and quality of performance throughout the designated period of duty.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Sufficient physical and mental endurance is an essential requirement needed to perform multiple tasks in an assigned period to provide safe and effective care.

Adjustments must ensure that performance is consistent and sustained over a given period.

Exemplars:

• Participating in tutorials, lectures, skills throughout the day.
• Providing consistent occupational therapy services over a negotiated time frame.

Effective and efficient verbal communication, in English, is an essential requirement to provide safe delivery of Occupational Therapy.

Student demonstrates the ability to:

• understand and respond to verbal communication accurately, appropriately and in a timely manner.
• provide clear instructions in the context of the situation.
• provide clear and timely feedback and reporting.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Communication may be restricted to verbal because of physical limitations of the individual (e.g. injury, disease or congenital conditions).
• Speed and interactivity of communication may be critical for individual safety.
• Timely, accurate and effective delivery of instructions is critical to individual safety, treatment and management

Adjustments for impaired verbal communication must address effectiveness, timeliness, clarity and accuracy issues to ensure safety.

Exemplars:

• Participate productively in tutorial, simulation and clinical discussions.
• Responding appropriately to request in a clinical or community environment.

Effective non-verbal communication is fundamental to Occupational Therapy and needs to be respectful, clear, attentive, empathetic, honest and non-judgmental.

Student demonstrates:

• The capacity to recognise, interpret and respond appropriately to behavioural cues.
• Consistent and appropriate awareness of own behaviours.
• Sensitivity to individual differences.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues assists with building rapport with people and gaining their trust and respect in academic, work and professional relationships.
• Displaying consistent and appropriate facial expressions, eye contact, being mindful of space, time boundaries and body movements and gestures promotes trust in academic, work and professional relationships.
• Being sensitive to individual differences displays respect and empathy to others and develops trusting relationships.
• The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues is essential for safe and effective observation of client responses, symptoms and reactions to facilitate the assessment and treatment of clients

Adjustments must enable the recognition, initiation of or appropriate response to effective non-verbal communication in a timely and appropriate manner.

Exemplars:

• Recognising and responding appropriately to behavioural cues in classroom situations.
• Recognising and responding appropriately to cues in clinical and community environments.

Effective written communication is a fundamental Occupational Therapy responsibility with professional and legal ramifications.

Student demonstrates capacity to construct coherent written communication appropriate to the circumstances.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Construction of multiple essays/assignments to academic standards is required in order to convey knowledge and understanding of relevant subject matter, procedures and professional practice.
• Accurate written communication, including record-keeping and client notes, is vital to provide consistent and safe Occupational Therapy

Adjustments must meet necessary standards of clarity, accuracy and accessibility to ensure effective recording and transmission of information in both academic and clinical settings.

Exemplars:

• Constructing an essay to academic standards.
• Constructing an Occupational Therapy report in a timely manner that meets professional standards.
• Producing accurate, concise and clear Occupational Therapy documentation which meets legal requirements