Higher Education in Flanders

Occupational therapy

Introduction

The department of Health Care of the Artesis University College of Antwerp offers a transparent, powerful and qualitative learning environment that requires close involvement of all students and focuses on the individuality of each student. Proceeding from that vision the occupational therapy education offers its students an individually designed study path: each student is coached individually, with mutual reflection as the basic principle, but is responsible for his own learning process.

The occupational therapy education consciously aims at a balance between knowledge and competence based learning, which means that there is a constant alternation between theory and practice. Moreover, all teaching activities are given from a national, international and multicultural point of view. The main goal of the occupational therapy education is to develop each student into a competent and successful occupational therapist.

Education

The occupational therapy education programme of the Health Care department of the Artesis University College of Antwerp consists of three year college in one cycle (professional bachelor) and has a workload for the student of 180 ECTS. The programme is divided in six semesters of 30 ECTS. Each semester includes an examination period, but also during the semesters, students are evaluated through permanent tasks.

The occupational therapy education is based on a broad understanding of occupation and the unique integration of empirical and phenomenological knowledge from social, technological, human, biological and life sciences. Occupational therapy contributes to and is influenced by the development of the emerging discipline of occupational science.

The objectives of the occupational therapy education programme are as follows:

·         to acquire theoretical basic knowledge and insights;

·         to acquire knowledge and insights in occupational therapy evidence-based practice;

·         to acquire therapeutic, practical and communicative skills;

·         to assemble and to process (scientific) information;

·         to stimulate personal development;

·         to develop a critical attitude.

These objectives are translated in four learning approaches upon which the entire programme is built:

·         professional skills,

·         communication skills,

·         personal development,

·         scientific skills.

During the education programme, fieldwork is an integral component and accounts for 45 of the 180 ECTS. It offers students the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience within the field of occupational therapy practice and their preferred field of expertise. The competences related to practical training are, amongst others, the capacity for applying knowledge into practice and to apply the occupational therapy process in a client centred way, the ability to work in interdisciplinary teams and problem solving. Fieldwork starts in the first year of the programme. Students complete a minimum of 1000 hours engaged in fieldwork placements during their studies. The bachelor thesis in the third year accounts for 13 ECTS and gives the student the opportunity to learn to apply scientific skills in occupational therapy practice.

Profession and employment

The occupational therapist assists and treats people having a temporary or permanent limitation in order

to get them functioning autonomously in their living, work and social situation. The limitation can be sensomotorical, cognitive and/or psychosocial. The occupational therapist will train the basic functions and/or concrete skills of daily life in each of these fields. The purpose of the training is to decrease the limitation or, in other cases, to support the patient in living more adequately with his limitations. The aim of occupational therapy is to increase the patient’s independence/autonomy and to make him as full a member of society as possible, even in case of a serious permanent handicap. Besides training specific skills, the occupational therapist also gives advice, which concerns choosing and designing assistive devices and adaptations which will enable or facilitate the patient’s reintegration in the living and/or working situation. Graduates find work easily in settings for mental healthcare, developmental disorders, elderly­ care and physical rehabilitation.

• Postgraduate of Care Management

• Bachelor of Care Management
• Bachelor of Creative Therapy
• Bachelor of Psychiatric Nursing
• Bachelor of Public Health Nursing
• Interdisciplinary postgraduate elderly care
• Postgraduaat in de massage en bewegingsleer
• Postgraduaat methodische (be)handelingsconcepten bij leer- en ontwikkelingsproblemen
• Postgraduate autism: from understanding to intervention
• Postgraduate Housing for Life
• Postgraduate Methodical concepts of treatment and intervention in learning and developmental problems

• Bachelor of Education: special education
• Bachelor of Education: Special Needs Provision and Remedial Education
• Bachelor of Psychosocial gerontology
• Postgraduate elderly coaching

• Master of Science in Environmental and Prevention Management

• Master in de gezondheidsvoorlichting en bevordering
• Master of Arts in Philosophy and Moral Sciences
• Master of Educational Sciences
• Master of Management and Policy of Health Care
• Master of Management, Care and Policy in Gerontolgy
• Master of Philosophy and Moral Sciences
• Master of Psychology
• Master of Science in de gezondheidsvoorlichting en -bevordering
• Master of Science in Educational Sciences
• Master of Science in Educational Studies
• Master of Science in Management and Policy of Health Care
• Master of Science in Management, Care and Policy in Gerontolgy
• Master of Science in Psychology
• Master of Science in Sexuology
• Master of Sexuology
• Postgraduate Pediatrische revalidatie bij neurologische aandoeningen