Macro Strategies to Enable Occupation/Introduction and overview

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Welcome to Macro Strategies to Enable Occupation.

Please view the following short welcome video by the subject coordinator.

This is a big week. We will take a look at the subject in a snapshot, then what the term macro strategies means in the context of this subject, and begin using a macro strategy framework to work through an agency-based project. To help you hit the ground running in commencing your projects you will need to work through the instructions on this page, which direct you to access learning materials about project management. In week 2, the project management theme continues. Having organised your initial meeting with your project sponsor in the preceding weeks, you will attend that meeting and officially begin the project scoping process.

Subject Snapshop

Having an impact

Macro Strategies is a professional program that enables learners to effectively influence and manage much-needed changes in our health care system. Looking at organisational change from the perspective of the occupational therapist, this subject aims to motivate learners through student directed projects in partnership with health care agencies, and engage them in sophisticated interpersonal and managerial methods to help the agency make a positive change. The developers of this subject saw the potential of occupational therapists to develop these sorts of roles after working in managerial and other macro level roles themselves, at various state departments of health.

When the subject commenced in 2004, the impact was immediate. The students worked with agencies 2-4 days per week, establishing a project and applying newly learnt concepts and skills in project management, program evaluation, service development, capacity building and health promotion to address an agreed need. At the end of the 10 week period, the students and the agencies all came together in a conference event, and shared each other’s experiences through presentations.

Today, over 160 students a year take the subject, all working with health and human service agencies across the region. They’re primed with new ideas to address real problems and equipped with the skills, confidence and support to initiate a project and see it through, making a real difference to people and their occupations in agencies in Australia.

Here’s what some people have said of the subject:

“Identifying a service delivery gap; developing a plan to address the gap; planning the appropriate processes required to achieved the required aims within a stipulated timeframe; and producing a practical working tool were all skills / knowledge gained from the experience.”

“My project placement reinforced the importance of the built environment in facilitating occupation through play, giving me greater appreciation of how the space around us creates barriers and opportunities: for learning, interaction, activity, health and so on. This broad perspective of health has been most useful working in health policy, particularly in areas such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, where health is viewed holistically within the context of land, culture and community. The placement also gave me an experience of project management, something of great importance in my current work in the Department of Health and Ageing. Altogether I found it a highly positive and rewarding experience, and a demonstration of the broad application of occupational therapy in facilitating health.” (A past student now working in a government department)

“I think it is a ‘fantastic opportunity for students... It is good to develop project management skills at this stage of their career as I developed these skills much later.” (Agency sponsor: Fortune & McKinstry, 2012)

“...the profession itself has to change with the workforce demand and what have you, so this is one way to make sure that they can adapt to the change.” (Agency Sponsor: Fortune & McKinstry, 2012)

Project management

Project management runs parallel with the other themes. You will be asked to make contact with a human service organisation in order to negotiate and scope out a “project” and “manage” this collaboratively with the agency. The intention of this project is to develop broad-based health project management skills rather than occupational therapy skills for application with individual clients. Through the projects, you will engage in enabling occupational participation through service and organisational capacity building, community development, prevention/health promotion and advocacy.

Health Promotion

Viewing health through a prevention and health promotion lens and applying this thinking can reflect a micro and/or macro level approach. In MSP we will take the opportunity to think 'macro'. How can our actions as health professionals - experts in occupation and its relationship to health and wellbeing - take on a more population rather than individual focus. How can we promote health by tackling environments, policy, personal skills, community action, and reorienting health services. You will become very familiar with the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion.

Preparation for contemporary practice

Here you turn your focus to your own role as a health professional and reflect on your professional capabilities within the context of your project. Knowledge and capabilities relating to leadership and management are considered and you will review the evolution of your understanding of the role of occupational therapy and your developing capabilities throughout the entire program.

Navigating the subject and getting a good mark

Learning in Macro Strategies for Practice departs a little from what you might be used to because of the self-directed and project based nature of the subject. This subject interweaves broad ideas related to macro level practice with specific approaches that are useful to working in this way. So while you are getting out and scoping and managing your project, you also need to be keeping up with learning activities that support both your project work and your learning about other related macro strategies. For example in week 3, you are introduced to prevention and health promotion. A prevention oriented approach represents a macro way of thinking about health and how to address ill health. Many prevention and health promotion strategies involve a project and/or program development approach.

Because of the self-directed nature of the subject, and to enable us to support student teams to engage in project work away from the metropolitan setting, we are in the process of blending the delivery of Macro Strategies into a more online mode. This means that rather than having only timetabled face-to-face lectures at LTU, you will access the required learning through pre-recorded mini-lectures, with associated podcasts and youtube resources. This also allows you more flexibility in addressing the needs of your project. We haven’t done away with face to face teaching altogether. You will notice from the timetable that there are a number of lectures, seminars and tutorials scheduled for physical attendance at LTU. In order to make the most of these face to face sessions, you should ensure you have accessed all the online content that supports these sessions prior to attending. Some of the face to face sessions directly support your assignments. For example the lecture in week 3 directly supports your ability to present your population health review in week 5. The lecture in week 10 supports your ability to participate in the Thursday PBL session. To help orient you to what you should be doing and where you should be up to, you will receive a message from me at the start of each week via the LMS. This information is also reinforced in the weekly overview in LMS.

Each assignment has an associated marking guide and a number of these (project proposal and report) have detailed criteria to assist with checking your work against what we expect to see.

I have collected frequently asked questions from previous cohorts regarding the major project assignments, which you should review, before asking any questions you have via the LMS forum.

As part of the support provided to you in proposing and managing your project, you are assigned a University Supervisor, who will help you with the thinking and preparation of associated written work for the project. Please use this time well.

So, I anticipate you doing very well in this subject if you:

read your weekly forum message from me
access all the learning resources and attend the scheduled classes as suggested
carefully read grading/criteria documents
keep in the loop with your university supervisor
work cohesively with your project and other group team members.

Instructions for Week 1

Prior to or during Week 1 you should:

View the welcome video
Access the online lecture Macro Strategies: An introduction
Access the introductory online lecture on Project Management
Access the online lecture on Commencing your project: Entering the field.
Access the online lectures on Project Scoping: 1 to 5
Meet with your agency project sponsor and begin scoping your project
Make an appointment with your university supervisor to establish a time and venue/mode for your first project tutorial/supervision meeting (ideally to be held in week 2)
Clarify which tutorial group you are in for the seminars and tutorials in the weeks to come
Review the subject learning guide (SLG), objectives and assignments.