In this course, you will develop the practical skills needed to begin working confidently and safely as an emerging occupational therapy practitioner. Through hands-on workshops, simulation-based learning and applied case scenarios, you will learn to assess occupational performance, plan intervention strategies and apply core therapeutic techniques that support safe participation in meaningful everyday activities. 

You will deepen your understanding of how occupational therapists gather and interpret information about occupational performance, and how assessment and intervention planning are shaped by context, culture and lived experience. Building on earlier learning, you will apply occupation-centred models and professional reasoning to guide structured, collaborative and goal-focused decision-making that is safe, ethical and responsive to individual needs. 

Practical learning activities will develop skills in interviewing, observation, activity analysis, intervention planning, documentation and professional communication. You will practise grading and adapting activities, using assistive strategies and clearly justifying your clinical decisions. The course emphasises respectful, culturally responsive and ethically grounded practice, encouraging you to consider how assumptions, language and assessment tools influence understanding and outcomes. 

Simulation-based learning activities form part of the program’s Work Integrated Learning (WIL) model and support the development of safe, evidence-informed and ethically responsible occupational therapy practice. 

By the end of the course, you will be able to apply a structured occupational therapy process, demonstrate emerging competence in core practice skills and communicate your professional reasoning clearly, safely and ethically. This prepares you for more advanced practice-focused courses and future practice education placements.