ORTO3300 Upper Limb Protheses and Orthoses and Lower Limb Disarticulation Prostheses Course description

The thesis outline and the thesis are individual work. The thesis outline must be submitted the semester before thesis submission at the latest.

In addition to the compulsory seminars on research ethics, the students must participate in and submit work requirements for the 6 compulsory thesis seminars. The seminars require preparatory work in research methods, implementation strategies, article writing, and use of library services and search engines. Individual adaptations are dictated by the candidate’s chosen project. Students are advised to find a lab group to participate in.

Thesis supervision is compulsory. Students are assigned a field supervisor employed and trained for this purpose by the Department of Behavioral Science, with responsibility for students for the duration of the project. Field supervision is 40 hours per project, distributed according to agreement between student and supervisor. In addition, the Department of Behavioral Science provides back-up supervision as needed up to 20 hours per project. As the supervisor is formally responsible for the fulfilment of requirements by data protection authorities and ethics review boards, the thesis cannot be submitted without the written approval of the (main) supervisor.

As the thesis supervisor is formally responsible for the fulfilment of requirements by data protection authorities and ethics review boards, the thesis cannot be submitted without the written approval of the field supervisor.

The student must have passed the second year of the programme.

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

Knowledge

The student

• has knowledge of partial foot, ankle, knee and hip disarticulation surgery and the consequences thereof in terms of prosthetic treatment and design for these amputation levels
• has knowledge of the significance of shoes for functioning at partial foot and ankle disarticulation level
• has knowledge of medical reasons for dysfunction and amputation of upper limbs and functional consequences thereof
• has knowledge of control technology used in upper limb prostheses and orthoses
• is familiar with theories on health behaviour change
• is capable of describing the Norwegian patient injury compensation system
• has knowledge of responsibilities relating to prosthetist/orthotist's follow-up plan and authorisation requirements

Skills

The student is capable of

• planning and giving grounds for follow-up plans based on users- needs
• solving clinical problems concerning prostheses or orthoses within the subject areas covered by the module
• conducting and analysing functional examinations of upper limbs
• carrying out clinical processes and making orthoses for users who need upper limb orthoses
• analysing and applying biomechanical theory to different cases
• applying and giving grounds for using ICF and outcome measures in relation to users- goals and orthopaedic follow-up plan
• identifying and analysing the characteristics of normal and pathological movement and function in the upper limbs
• discussing research articles relevant to the module content

General competence

The student

• is capable of cooperating with the user to develop an orthopaedic follow-up plan
• is capable of discussing interdisciplinary cooperation in the rehabilitation of people with injuries, disorders or loss of upper limbs
• is capable of documenting and communicating relevant clinical and biomechanical assessments in patient records and communicating such assessment orally
• is familiar with the objectives and functions of relevant user organisations
• is capable of discussing anger and conflict management

Grade scale A-F

The following coursework requirements must be met before the student can take the exam:

• clinical and technical module, see the `Skills training- section in the general part of the programme description
• minimum attendance of 80% at seminars and skills training

Exam content: The learning outcomes

Exam form: Individual clinical exam, 1 day

Clinical equipment

Grade scale A-F

One external and one internal examiner will assess all the students.