FYB2000 Physiotherapy for Health Conditions - I Course description

Physiotherapists come into contact with people with unique life stories and different health conditions. The practice of professionally sound physiotherapy requires knowledge about the progression of illness and how illness affects cells, tissue and organs, as well as how to live with injuries, illnesses and/or loss function.This course addresses congenital or acquired injuries and illnesses with different prognoses of the nervous system, respiratory system and cardiovascular system. The competence to decide what measures to initiate to strengthen the patient’s health condition and restore functioning and participation is also contingent on the physiotherapist being able to integrate and critically assess knowledge from different sources. Person-centred physiotherapy also requires an understanding of the patient’s life story, perspective, experience and resources, as well as facilitation for user participation and shared decision making. Through practical training, the students will acquire clinical experience of cooperating with patients.

Passed first year of the programme or equivalent

After completing the course, the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence (learning outcomes marked with three asterisks (***) are assessed in connection with the practical training):

Knowledge

The student can

• describe pathological processes in metabolic conditions and for injuries and diseases of the nervous system, respiratory system and cardiovascular system, and describe casual mechanisms and recognise risk factors
• explain different clinical conditions and relate them to injuries and diseases of the nervous system, respiratory system and cardiovascular system

;Skills

The student can

• establish an alliance with the patient through cooperation and communication***
• obtain relevant information about the patient’s health condition, personal factors and experience through conversation/subjective assessment and the the examination***
• give grounds for the choice of methods of examination and standardised assessment tools for persons in different life phases with injuries or diseases in the nervous system, respiratory system and/or cardiovascular system, and how to apply these.
• discuss and stipulate goals, and plan physiotherapy measures in cooperation with the patient and the practical training supervisor***
• propose and justify treatment- and rehabilitation methods for people with disease/injuries of the nervous system, respiratory system and cardiovascular system, in different life phases and in cooperation with other relevant professional groups.
• implement and evaluate planned physiotherapy measures in consultation with the practical training supervisor and explain their clinical reasoning***
• apply knowledge about mastery and utilise the patient’s resources in supervision and measures***
• document information in the patient records in accordance with the Patient Record Regulations, and can adjust the patient records on the basis of the feedback of fellow students and lecturers
• obtain information regarding technical and orthopaedic aids, and, from case histories, justify aid and environmental adaptations to promote movement, activity and participation.

General competence

The student can

• obtain research-based knowledge related to a clinical issue
• carry out tasks in line with requirements for professional responsibility, the practical training establishment’s regulations (including clothing, hygiene and infection control) and Norwegian Physiotherapy Association (NFF) work ethics and guidelines***
• identify and reflect on professional and ethical dilemmas on the basis of experience from practical training and discuss the safeguarding of patient rights.

Students who complete the programme, which has a scope of 180 credits, are awarded a Bachelor's Degree in Prosthetics and Orthotics. After completing the programme and two years' internship, students can apply for authorisation as a prosthetist/orthotist pursuant to the Act relating to Health Personnel and the Regulations relating to practical training (turnus) for prosthetist/orthotists and chiropractors.

The primary function of a prosthetist/orthotist is to contribute to providing people with orthopaedic appliances that promote function, activity and participation. Prosthetist/orthotists also perform health-promoting work to prevent or reduce functional impairment in future. The appliances are divided into two main groups; prostheses and orthoses. A prosthesis replaces a missing body part, while an orthosis relieves and/or supports an existing body part with impaired or lost functionality. Orthoses include orthopaedic footwear.

Prosthetist/orthotists operate at the intersection between health sciences and engineering. This means that professional practice requires good knowledge and good cooperation with the user, in combination with the ability to develop individually adapted technical solutions. The work requires a high degree of cooperation with other professions, particularly cooperation with orthopaedic technicians.

Professional practice can be divided into a clinical and a technical part. The clinical part is about preparing and implementing a prosthetic and orthotic management plan, which involves adapting and adjusting prostheses and orthoses. All prostheses and orthoses must be adapted especially to suit the individual user. Achieving a good result requires good communication and cooperation with the user. The user group ranges from small children to the elderly, which means that cooperation with users could also involve parents, guardians and next of kin.

In order to achieve a good result, prosthetist/orthotists need technical expertise in the development and quality-assurance of appliances. This expertise entails knowledge about the use of different materials, production skills and HSE (health, safety and the environment) measures.

Prosthetist/orthotists participate in interprofessional teams and sometimes function as consultants when users have complex needs that can only be met through cooperation between several professional groups and/or public agencies. All Norwegian health and social care education programmes shall therefore have common content to support interprofessional cooperation in order to ensure that the welfare state can offer users comprehensive measures that form a coherent whole in a diverse society.

Technological developments will probably lead to an increasing need for prostheses, orthoses and other assistive technology. Prosthetist/orthotists have important expertise on how to develop these appliances. The average life expectancy is rising, which means that the need for appliances will increase. The demand for prosthetist/orthotists is also increasing in developing countries. The technological development is progressing rapidly, which makes new and more advanced solutions possible. Prosthetist/orthotists are natural participants in this innovation to improve quality and develop new solutions.

Today, most prosthetist/orthotists in Norway work in private enterprises that have funding contracts with the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV). Some enterprises are located in hospitals. Other potential workplaces include the public administration, special interest organisations for people with disabilities, and enterprises and agencies that provide medical technology equipment to the healthcare sector.

The Bachelor's Programme in Prosthetics and Orthotics qualifies students for admission to several different master's degree programmes. Rehabilitation and habilitation, health sciences, biomechanics and human movement science are some of the most relevant options.

The programme description was established under the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges and the Regulations relating to Studies and Examinations at OsloMet - Oslo Metropolitan University. The description complies with the recommended guidelines for study programmes issued by the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO).

The target group is people who wish to train as prosthetist/orthotists. The discipline combines health sciences and engineering, and the prosthetist/orthotist's core competence is to plan, develop and follow up prostheses and orthoses in close cooperation with users and other professional groups. Therefore, applicants should be creative, interested in developing technical skills and, not least, interested in developing good communication and cooperation skills.

The admission requirements are the Higher Education Entrance Qualification and mathematics R1 and R2 and physics FYS 1.

Students must submit a transcript of police records on admission to the programme pursuant to the Regulations concerning Admission to Higher Education.

The use of clothing that covers the face is incompatible with taking the programme. Particular requirements relating to clothing apply for health, safety and environmental reasons, and exemptions from these requirements are not granted.

Applicants should be aware that the students will have to conduct physical examinations of each other, and that they will never be divided by gender in examinations and skills training sessions.

The Bachelor's Programme in Prosthetics and Orthotics aims to educate user-oriented, creative, inquisitive, independent and reflective professionals who are capable of engaging in professional and interprofessional cooperation. After completing the programme, the candidates are expected to have acquired competence that ensures that they will practice their profession in accordance with society's requirements and need for prosthetic and orthotic services. The learning outcomes are in accordance with the Qualifications Framework, but have been supplemented with some learning outcomes from the ISPO guidelines.

The competence can be defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence.

Knowledge

The candidate

• has broad knowledge of scientific, technological and social science subjects that are essential in a prosthetist/orthotist's professional practice
• has broad knowledge of the prosthetist/orthotist's role and function in preventive, therapeutic and (re)habilitative activities
• is familiar with the discipline's history, traditions, distinctive nature and place in society
• is familiar with global challenges relating to assistive technology, public health and the environment in a changing society
• is familiar with research and development work of relevance to prosthetics and orthotics
• is capable of updating his/her knowledge in fields relevant to prosthetics and orthotics activities

Skills

The candidate is capable of

• preparing and implementing an prosthetic and orthotic management plan for individual users
• applying knowledge of prosthetics and orthotics and relevant results from research and development work to practical and theoretical problems and making well-founded choices
• carrying out clinical and technical procedures and processes involved in prevention, treatment and (re)habilitation for persons in need of prostheses and/or orthoses at some point in their life and reflecting on his/her own professional practice
• applying relevant materials, equipment, components and techniques
• exploring new technology and considering potential areas of application in the field of prosthetics and orthotics
• finding, assessing and referring to information and specialist literature and presenting it so that it highlights a problem

General competence

The candidate is capable of

• communicating with users and other partners in a professional manner and practising the profession in an ethically sound manner
• relating to a diverse society characterised by individual and cultural differences in a professional manner
• cooperating in a user-focused and interprofessional manner
• taking an active role in quality assurance, improvement, development, innovation and promotion of services and professional practice
• independently applying knowledge and skills by demonstrating cooperation skills, responsibility, and the ability to reflect on and take a critical approach in his/her professional practice
• identifying own learning and competence needs to be able to keep up to date
• complying with national legislation and national and international guidelines for professional practice in the health and social services at both system and individual level
• planning and implementing relevant projects and complex tasks that take place over time and that contribute to the development of theory and/or practice, alone or as part of an interprofessional team that can contribute to developing good practices
• demonstrating insight into creative processes and applying methods used in innovation and entrepreneurship
• communicating important subject matter to users, other partners and the general public

The content and structure of the study programme are based on the following six competence areas defined in Section 3 of the Regulations relating to national guidelines for prosthetics and orthotics education:

• Technology in Prosthetics and Orthotics;– practice and theory
• The functions of the body and biomechanics
• Materials technology and design
• Profession, psychology and communication
• Society, public health and ethics
• Habilitation, rehabilitation and cooperation
• Innovation, production and quality assurance
• Theory of science and research methods

The programme is divided into 17 compulsory courses and incorporates both practical and theoretical teaching at the university and in external practical training. Each year of the programme has a scope of 60 credits.

The first year of study is divided into six courses. One of these courses is common to all students at the Faculty of Health Sciences and provides an introduction to living and working in a digitalised world. The other five courses are subject-specific and will together provide the students with fundamental knowledge about the human being, professional practice in clinical and orthopaedic technology, and lower and upper leg prostheses.

The second year of study is divided into six courses. One of these courses is common to all students at the Faculty of Health Sciences and provides an introduction to knowledge-based practice. This is followed by a course in theory of science and research methods. The other four subject-specific courses focus on disease processes and diseases relevant to the field of prosthetics and orthotics, and on different types of foot orthoses/prostheses and lower limb and spinal orthoses.

The third year of study is divided into five courses. One of these courses is common to all students at the Faculty of Health Sciences and provides an introduction to the health services, legislation and public health. The other four courses include practical training in the subject area lower limb orthoses and knowledge of some of the rarer and more complex orthopaedic appliances. The student will also delve into materials, design, service development, innovation processes and entrepreneurship. The work on the bachelor’s thesis is related to research and development projects available at OsloMet or with other partners.

The study programme’s courses build on one another with gradual progression both in terms of theoretical knowledge and practical skills. All courses have a final exam and/or assessment. Reference is made to the course descriptions for more detailed information about the content of the individual courses.

The academic year is 40 weeks long, and the expected workload is 40 hours per week. This includes scheduled activities, the students’ own activity, required coursework and exams.

Courses and teaching activities taught jointly with other programmes at OsloMet

The Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Prosthetics and Orthotics includes the following courses and teaching activities that also form part of other programmes at the university:

• ORI1060 Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) in Health Care, 5 credits
• ORI1050 Public Health and Health Management, 5 credits
• ORI1070 Technology and Society, 5 credits
• INTERACT (Interprofessional Interaction with Children and Youth)

In the courses ORI1050;Public Health and Health Management (5 credits);and;ORI1060;Evidence-Based;Practice;(EBP) in Health Care (5 credits), different academic environments at the Faculty of Health Sciences join forces to provide the students with a common competence platform in line with national guidelines.;In ORI1050, focus is on the health services’ organisation, health legislation and health administration, as well as preventive and health promoting work.;In ORI1060, students will learn about the rationale for evidence-based practice, with a focus on critical thinking and shared decision-making.;For more details, see the individual course descriptions.;

ORI1070 Technology and Society (5 credits) forms part of most bachelor’s degree programmes at OsloMet. The course provides a basic understanding of the digital world and how technology influences people’s lives and the way we work, and will help students to enter the labour market with a basic understanding of technology. The Department of Computer Science at OsloMet is responsible for the practical implementation of the course. See the course description for more detailed information.

INTERACT (Interprofessional Interaction with Children and Youths) is an interdisciplinary teaching project at OsloMet, where students from both the health and social care subjects and the teacher/kindergarten teacher education programmes come together in interdisciplinary groups. The purpose is to ensure that the students acquire the skills needed to meet society’s demand for better coordination of services that concern children and young people. INTERACT is based on pedagogical principles of interactivity and spiral learning, with extensive use of digital learning and assessment tools to support learning.;

The teaching (INTER1100, INTER1200 and INTER1300) is carried out in the first week of teaching each spring semester for students in the first, second and third year of the programme, respectively, and is integrated as a compulsory coursework requirement in the existing courses in the programme description. In the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Prosthetics and Orthotics, INTERACT forms part of the following courses: ORI1300, ORI2300 and ORI3100. For more details see: https://www.oslomet.no/forskning/forskningsprosjekter/interact

Study progress

The following progress requirements apply to the programme:

• Students must have passed the first year of the programme before they can start the second year
• Students must have passed the second year of the programme before they can start the third year.

Part 1: The midway and final assessments are made by the practical training supervisor, and, if relevant, the contact lecturer. The final decision on whether to award a pass or fail grade is made by the university.

Part 2: An external examiner contributes to the preparation of the exam questions and assessment criteria. The answers is quality assured by an internal examiner and automaticall assessed.

Part 3, oral exam: The oral exam is assessed by two examiners. At least 15 % of the exams will be assessed by an external examiner.

The programme's learning outcomes cover a broad spectrum. The learning and teaching approaches are intended to facilitate the integration of knowledge, skills and general competence and help to achieve the greatest possible transfer value to professional practice. Varied learning and teaching approaches are used to promote the learning process by having students alternate between theoretical studies and practical training.

Teaching should stimulate active learning and engagement. The students are followed up with supervision and feedback throughout the programme. In some contexts, students provide feedback on each other's work.

A considerable amount of self-study is required, as good learning outcomes first and foremost depend on the effort an individual student puts in. This applies both to preparing for and benefiting from teaching activities and academic supervision and to independent work in the form of theoretical studies and practical skills training. Independent work includes both cooperation with fellow students and individual work.

Digital technology is used to an increasing extent to stimulate learning and cooperation. Digital learning resources can form part of the teaching and supervision provided, but are also used as student cooperation tools. It is up to the students themselves to take the initiative to cooperate. In addition to traditional student cooperation, the students are also to give each other written and/or verbal feedback.

An overview and description of the work methods used in the programme are provided below. The individual module descriptions state which work methods are used in each module.

Skills training

Skills training under supervision is a key method used throughout the programme. The students practise practical tasks that facilitate the development of clinical and technical skills. Skills training is closely related to the theory taught in the module. Several of the prosthetic and orthotic modules organise the skills training in sections. There are two types of such sections: clinical modules and clinical and technical sections. Written work such as patient records and oral presentations are included in clinical modules, while patient records, process descriptions and oral presentations are included in the clinical and technical modules.

Seminars

Seminars are a complex teaching and work method whose main purpose is the processing of subject matter and to provide an arena for discussion between students and the teaching staff. This method requires students to prepare in advance and participate actively in the seminars. Seminars can comprise different activities: short lectures or presentations by the lecturer, presentations by students, discussions, group work, assignments and practical exercises.

Lectures

The field is constantly developing, and resource lectures are primarily used to introduce new subject matter. Lectures are intended to highlight connections and main elements in important topics and to communicate relevant issues.

Digital teaching resources

Some of the teaching is available on the programme's own website. This is known as the flipped classroom method. The material posted could be videos, demonstrations and recordings of lectures. The students review this material before teaching activities, thus freeing up the lecturer's time for problem-solving, in-depth study activities and discussions. Digital resources are also very useful because they can be used at any time and as many times as students want after the teaching activities.

Group work

Different forms of group work is a method used in most modules. Through exchange of ideas, presentations, discussions, writing assignments and other forms of collaboration, students will stimulate each other's learning by communicating discipline knowledge and experience, expressing their own opinions and together reflecting on their own attitudes, actions and understanding of the field. Lecturers provide academic supervision in connection with selected group work.

Project work

Through project work, the students will learn to identify connections and gain a deeper understanding of the field. They will prepare research questions and work systematically on the problem-solving process, both individually and in cooperation with others. Project work and other forms of group work usually conclude in a seminar with presentations and discussion, but can also conclude in a written report and poster.