Further Education Programme in Assistive Technology – Master’s Level Programme description

Nasjonale helse- og velferdsordninger vektlegger velferdsteknologi som et viktig satsingsområde for å møte fremtidens demografiske utfordringer med et økende antall eldre og nye brukergrupper. Velferdsteknologi er et vidt felt. I dette studiet vektlegges særlig kompensasjons- og velværeteknologi, trygghets- og sikkerhetsteknologi og teknologi for sosial kontakt. Velferdsteknologi ses på som et mulighetsrom i helsefremmende arbeid og handler om teknologiske løsninger på individ- og tjenestenivå for å fremme selvstendighet, aktivitet og samfunnsdeltagelse i befolkningen. Teknologiske løsninger kan ikke erstatte menneskelig omsorg, men bidra til at det blir lettere å mestre hverdagen.

Tilrettelegging av tekniske løsninger for personer med nedsatt funksjon er en sammensatt oppgave, der det ofte er behov for både helsefaglig, teknologisk og pedagogisk grunnkompetanse i et tverrfaglig samarbeid med den aktuelle brukeren. Studiet er derfor utviklet i et samarbeid mellom Institutt for atferdsvitenskap, Institutt for industriell utvikling, Institutt for informasjonsteknologi, Institutt for ergoterapi og ortopediingeniørfag, NAV Hjelpemidler og tilrettelegging og Senter for fagutvikling og forskning/utviklingssenter for sykehjem og hjemmetjenester i Oslo.

For å oppnå selvstendighet, sosial deltakelse og likestilling, er det nødvendig at tjenesteapparatet har kompetanse om teknologiske muligheter og løsninger knyttet til relasjon - mellom menneske, teknologi og miljø. Det er en økende etterspørsel etter kompetanse på dette området i kommunene, re/-habiliteringstjenesten, spesialisthelsetjenesten, det spesialpedagogiske støttesystemet og ved hjelpemiddelsentralene. Slik kompetanse er også viktig for innovasjon og næringsutvikling innen velferdsteknologiområdet.

Studiet skal bidra til å møte behov for økt kompetanse basert på kunnskapsbasert praksis innen sektorovergripende og tverrfaglige teknologiske løsninger for å styrke den enkeltes muligheter til å klare seg selv i hverdagen til tross for sykdom og sosial, psykisk eller fysisk nedsatt funksjon. Dette er i tråd med NOU 2011:11 Innovasjon i omsorg, Fagrapport om implementering av velferdsteknologi i de kommunale helse- og omsorgstjenestene 2013-2030 (Helsedirektoratet 2012) og Meld. St. 29 (2012-1013) Morgendagens omsorg. Innen offentlig og privat sektor satses det på utvikling av teknologiske løsninger for å møte utfordringer både på tjeneste- og individnivå. Dette innebærer behov for å utvikle kompetanse innen velferdsteknologifeltet.

Students will encounter different forms of assessment during the programme. The forms of assessment are adapted to the learning outcomes in the different courses and are intended to support learning and document that the students’ competence is adequate in relation to the applicable learning outcomes. During the programme, the students will be given advice and guidance and their performance will be assessed. It is important and necessary to assess students’ knowledge and skills often, so that the students receive feedback on whether their performance is in line with the programme's requirements and whether they have achieved the learning outcomes.

The assessment of exams and practical training is carried out in accordance with the applicable rules set out in the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges, the Regulations relating to Studies and Examinations at OsloMet and the Guidelines for Appointment and Use of Examiners at OsloMet.

The coursework requirements for each course are described in the relevant course description. All exams taken and the title of the bachelor’s thesis will be stated on the diploma.

Exam

All courses conclude with an exam. The assessment is based on the learning outcomes for the course, and what is assessed is whether the student has achieved the stipulated learning outcomes. The grades used are pass/fail or letter grades from A to F, with A being the highest grade and E the poorest pass grade. The grade F means that the student has failed the exam.

Most courses have coursework requirements that must be approved before the student can take the exam. See the course descriptions for more details.

Resit and rescheduled exams are carried out in the same manner as the ordinary exam unless otherwise specified in the course description.

For exams where a percentage of the exam papers are assessed by an external examiner, the external examiner's assessment shall benefit all the students. In such cases, one external and one internal examiner will first grade the selected papers. The internal examiner then continues grading the rest of the papers together with another internal examiner. The assessments from the first part are summarised to serve as guidelines for the assessments carried out by the two internal examiners.

Grades awarded for written exams can be appealed, cf. Section 5-3 of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges. It is not possible to appeal the grades awarded for oral and practical exams. For a group exam, the result of an appeal will only have consequences for the candidates who submitted the appeal. This means that all members of the group do not have to participate in the appeal.

Assessment of external practical training

External practical training is assessed as pass/fail. The assessment is based on the course’s learning outcomes, assessment criteria and the continuous suitability assessment throughout the practical training. To pass the practical training, the student must have met the compulsory attendance requirement. The attendance requirement includes both the time spent at the practical training establishment and any teaching provided as part of the programme. The practical training requires at least 90% attendance. The following also applies for absence:

• less than 10% absence: The student can complete the practical training course as normal.
• between 10–20% absence: The student can make up for the practical training/teaching missed, if this is doable. This must be agreed with the practical training supervisor and the contact lecturer at the university.
• more than 20% absence: The student must normally retake the practical training course. This will result in delayed progress in the programme.

If the student exceeds the maximum limit for absence, the practical course will be registered as failed and count as an attempt.

Suitability

Diplomas for the completed programme will only be awarded to graduates who are suited to practise the profession. A student who represents a potential threat to the physical or mental health, rights and safety of his/her patients and colleagues is not suited for the profession.

Suitability assessments are made on a continuous basis throughout the study programme, and will be included in the overall assessment of the students' professional and personal suitability for work as health personnel. Students who demonstrate little ability to master the biomedical laboratory scientists profession must be informed of this at the earliest possible stage of the programme. They will be given supervision and advice on how to improve, or be advised to leave the programme. Special suitability assessments are used in special cases, cf. the Regulations concerning Suitability Assessment in Higher Education.

External programme supervisor

An external programme supervisor scheme exists for the programme as required by the Guidelines for Appointment and Use of Examiners at OsloMet. The external programme supervisor is charged with evaluating the programme's structure and coherence, including the relationship between the learning outcomes as described in the programme description, the work and teaching methods and assessment arrangements. The external programme supervisor should normally supervise all the courses in the programme over the course of a three-year period and provide feedback and advice that the academic environment can use in its further work on the quality of education.

Biomedical laboratory scientists play a key role in transfusion medicine. They are responsible for ensuring that safe and correct blood products reach the patients at the right time. Work at a blood bank requires a good understanding of immunology, genetics and cell membrane chemistry, as well as the physiology and function of blood cells. Topics included in the course are how to select and collect blood from donors, production of blood components, blood typing, i dentification of antibodies, compatibility testing and hemotherapy.

Biomedical laboratory scientists also perform important tasks relating to medical immunology, as well as organ transplantation and stem cell treatment. The biomedical laboratory scientist must have a good understanding of this part of immunology in order to perform the laboratory investigations that are necessary to make diagnoses in medical immunology and before transplantation from a donor to a patient.

• Passed first and second year or equivalent of the Bachelor’s Programme in Biomedical Laboratory Sciences, or 
• Admitted to the Complementary Education in Biomedical Laboratory Science 

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence: 

Knowledge 

The student

• can describe how blood banks produce, control and store blood products such as erythrocyte concentraeste, thrombocyte concentrates and plasma
• can describe how different blood products are used in the treatment of patients
• can describe which blood type systems, blood types and blood type antibodies are important in connection with transfusions, and in relation to hematological diseases in newborns
• can describe the principles of basic blood type serology laboratory investigations
• can describe causal mechanisms of diseases in babies and newborns due to blood type antibodies and thrombocyte antibodies
• can describe complications that can arise following transfusion, transplantation and stem cell treatment
• can describe causal mechanisms relating to hemolytic transfusion reactions
• can explain the principles of different immunological methods and describing the various methods’ areas of use, possibilities and limitations
• can explain how relevant methods and analyses can be quality assured
• is familiar with laboratory analyses conducted in connection with transplantation and stem cell treatment
• is familiar with the laws and regulations that regulate the blood banks in Norway

Skills 

The student 

• can gather information about who can be a blood donor in Norway and how donors are selected in the blood bank
• can select and take blood from a donor under supervision
• masters basic blood type serology laboratory investigations and can assess the significance of the analysis results
• can conduct and quality assure different immunological methods and assess any sources of errors related to these

General competence

The student

• can identify and discuss ethical issues in the field of transfusion medicine and medical immunology
• can care for, respect and cooperate with fellow students, colleagues and patients/blood donors regardless of their ethnic, religious and cultural background

Work and teaching methods include lectures, assignments and laboratory work in blood type serology, immune hematology, medical immunology and transplantation immunology. The course includes four days’ external practical training at a blood bank. The students create a digital story about the practical training week after its conclusion.

Digital learning resources are made available for students before the laboratory teaching. The time in the laboratory is therefore generally not used to demonstrate how to solve the assignments.

OsloMet - storbyuniversitetet har et stort nettverk av internasjonale samarbeidspartnere og avtaler som sikrer mobilitet og samarbeid for studenter og tilsatte. Faglærerne ved studiet deltar i ulike internasjonale samarbeidsprosjekter, og utveksling av gjesteforelesere er en viktig del av dette. Student- utveksling er ikke aktuelt på videreutdanninger av 30 studiepoengs omfang.

Arbeidskrav er alle former for arbeider, prøving og obligatorisk tilstedeværelse som settes som vilkår for å fremstille seg til eksamen. Arbeidskrav gis vurdering godkjent/ikke godkjent.

I dette studiet er det krav om minimum 80 % tilstedeværelse på samlinger. Dette kravet må være oppfylt for at studenten skal kunne fremstille seg til eksamen. Det er studentens ansvar å påse at krav om tilstedeværelse oppfylles.

Dersom studenten ikke oppfyller arbeidskrav om tilstedeværelse på samlinger, må studenten normalt følge undervisning og avlegge eksamen med neste kull. Dette vil innebære en forsinkelse i studentens studieløp. I særlige tilfeller kan utdanningen vurdere dispensasjon gjennom kompensatoriske krav. En eventuell søknad om dispensasjon må fremsettes skriftlig til utdanningen.

Det gjennomføres én summativ vurdering avslutningsvis i hvert emne. Vurderingen tar utgangspunkt i emnets læringsutbytte, og man vurderer om studenten har oppnådd det angitte læringsutbyttet.

Sensuren ved skriftlig eksamen kan påklages, jf. universitets- og høyskoleloven § 5-3 (4) og forskrift om studier og eksamen ved OsloMet - storbyuniversitetet § 7-3 (2). Ved gruppeeksamener vil resultatet av en klage bare ha konsekvenser for de kandidatene som har fremmet klagen. Det betyr at ikke alle medlemmene i en gruppe behøver delta i en klage.

Sensuren ved muntlig eksamen kan ikke påklages, jf. universitets- og høyskoleloven § 5-3 (5).

Begge karakterene vil stå på karakterutskriften. Det gis ikke samlekarakter.

Vurdering gjennomføres i henhold til lov om universiteter og høyskoler og forskrift om studier og eksamen ved OsloMet.