Occupational Therapist Apprenticeship

Job responsibilities

On completion of the Occupational Therapy Degree Apprenticeship programme the following purpose, duties and responsibilities will apply:

Job Purpose:

To hold responsibility for and organise own caseload, within delegated areas of the service, with on-going support from a more experienced Therapist.

To provide assessment, treatment and management of babies, children and adolescents who present with diverse physical, developmental and learning needs.

To work closely with the multi-disciplinary team.

To continue own professional development.

Duties and Responsibilities

This list of duties is not intended to be exhaustive, but indicates the main areas of work and may be subject to change after consultation with the post-holder to meet the changing needs of the organisation

Clinical:

To plan, prepare and undertake assessments for a designated caseload, working in collaboration with child and carers/involved agencies.

To identify areas of occupational performance and skill deficit in all functional activities of daily life.

To work with the child and/or carers to identify goals as part of an overall care plan in co-operation with the multi-disciplinary team

To accept clinical responsibility for a designated caseload, highlight areas of concern and managing own time under the supervision of more experienced staff.

To plan and implement client centred individual and/or group interventions, evaluating treatment in order to measure progress/outcomes.

To contribute to decisions about the most appropriate setting for interventions to take place e.g. Child Development Centre, school, nursery or home, acting as a lone worker when appropriate.

To ensure joint / multiagency working occurs where appropriate, with health colleagues and partner agencies, attending reviews and clinical meetings as required by clinical responsibility

To undertake joint assessments and interventions with therapy colleagues where clinically appropriate.

To actively prepare and plan for supervision.

Professional:

To apply evidence based practice.

To develop a working knowledge of existing national policies and guidelines and work to professional guidelines/standards.

To demonstrate a sound understanding of clinical governance and risk management and apply to work situation.

To identify personal training needs and develop clinical expertise by using appropriate learning opportunities.

To develop practical clinical skills in area of paediatrics

To participate in the staff appraisal scheme and personal development review as an appraisee.

To participate in protected learning time, reflective practice, clinical supervision and in-service training.

Organisational:

To accept clinical responsibility for a designated caseload of patients and to organise this effectively with regard to clinical priorities and use of time.

To work as a lone practitioner with access to and support from an experienced therapist.

To organise appointments, manage daily workload, paper and computer administration tasks making / receiving patient related phone telephone calls.

To be responsible for equipment used in carrying out occupational therapy duties and to adhere to departmental and Trust policies including competence and safe use of equipment

To actively participate in the collection and inputting of appropriate data and statistics for audit and the use of the service.

To contribute to the organisation and development of the service. To assist in implementation of new working practices.

Communication:

To communicate effectively with carers, multi-disciplinary team and partner agencies.

To provide occupational therapy reports relevant to clinical responsibility with support of experienced staff.

To assess capacity, gain valid consent and have the ability to work within a legal framework regarding consent to treatment.

To maintain up to date written/electronic records and statistical data, documenting/registering these in line with professional and Trust requirements.

To use communication skills effectively and sensitively with a flexible approach. To ensure understanding of conditions, prognosis, consent to treatment and rehabilitation outcomes, these will include explanations re chronic/disabling conditions and possible poor outcome and response to treatment.

To appropriately refer on to other health care professionals.

The post holder is required to overcome barriers to communication using a range of verbal, non-verbal and listening skills. This will include patients with hearing difficulties, visual difficulties, memory loss and confusion, behavioural problems, limited English and patients/carers unable to accept diagnosis.

To use communication skills to motivate and encourage child and carers to ensure active participation in home/school/nursery programmes.

Experience

Essential

• Knowledge and experience of working in a health care setting.
• Understanding of the role of an Occupational Therapist
• Awareness of illness and disability.
• Enthusiasm to work within Community Therapy field.
• Working collaboratively with other health / social care professionals.

Desirable

• Experience of work in a Community setting such as a special school, nursery school, sure start centre.
• Experience of service delivery in a lone working environment
• Previous Occupational Therapy Assistant experience

Skills & Attributes

Essential

• Evidence of self-directed learning.
• Evidence of excellent interpersonal skills.
• Able to recognise and work within own personal limitations.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a team
• Effective communication skills with patients, healthcare professionals
• and other agencies.
• Good organisational, planning and time management skills
• IT skills e.g. word processing and data inputting
• Ability to work in a variety of positions, kneeling, sitting standing on the floor.

Desirable

• Awareness of standards of record keeping
• Previous use of Electronic Patient record systems

Additional Criteria

Essential

• If you are related to a director, or have a relationship with a director or employee of an appointing organisation, please state the relationship:

Qualifications

Essential

• GCSE/O Level Mathematics and English Language at grade C/4 or above or equivalent Functional skills level 2 qualifications in maths and english
• 120 UCAS tariff points (Typically from A Levels or equivalent BTech Level 3 extended diploma)
• OR
• Access to Higher Education in a relevant subject (allied health, professions allied to medicine) at least 40 credits at level 3 distinction level
• OR
• Evidence of study within the last 3 years to A-Level standard (level 3) alongside a profile of longstanding relevant experience.
• Willingness to commit to undertaking 3-year Occupational Therapy pre-registration degree level apprenticeship

Desirable

• Level 5 Foundation Degree in health-related subject
• Previous degree level study in health or science related subject
• Evidence of relevant courses and CPD

Right to Work

Essential

• Do you have the right to stay and work in the UK without sponsorship (share-codes will be checked if applicable)

Additional Criteria

Essential

• Ability to travel independently across the Trust as required.
• Ability and willingness to travel independently to additionally attend both University and practice placements as required.
• The ability to work flexibly in accordance with service needs

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).