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Rehabilitation Science

Module description

Rehabilitation is the process by which someone with a disability, injury or illness is ‘helped to acquire knowledge and skills in order to maximise physical, psychological and social function’ (Barnes & Ward, 2000). The module will focus on modern rehabilitation practice which emphasises a client or patient centred approach and recognises the importance of involving family, relatives, caregivers and friends.  

The module is delivered by experts from the discipline of rehabilitation who conduct research in a variety of clinical contexts and patient groups, from those with acute sports injuries through to the management of long term conditions. The module is a recommended option for students on the Sport and Exercise Medical Sciences degree programme and is also available as an option for Medical Sciences, those on intercalated programmes and other degree programmes in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences.

Module aims - intentions of the module

You will be introduced to five core themes of modern clinical rehabilitation practice: the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health as a rehabilitation framework; interprofessional rehabilitation team working; rehabilitation processes (such as goal setting); rehabilitation outcome measurement; and person-centred rehabilitation. You will study how these themes can be applied across a number of different health conditions and contexts. By critically evaluating how rehabilitation processes and practices operate to maximise a person’s functional ability and minimise their disability you will develop an integrated way of thinking about the management of disability, health and wellbeing in the modern healthcare environment.

Some of the key graduate attributes that students will develop by completing this module are:

1)    Critical thinking skills and ability to critically appraise rehabilitation research evidence

2)    Research dissemination and knowledge transfer skills

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate an integrated understanding of rehabilitation as applied to medicine and healthcare
• 2. Review key rehabilitation theory, processes and outcomes
• 3. Discuss the application of rehabilitation principles to the management of specific long term conditions

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Critically evaluate the management of disability, health and wellbeing using a rehabilitation perspective
• 5. Critically appraise scientific research papers in clinical rehabilitation

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Study autonomously, manage private study, soliciting and using feedback
• 7. Demonstrate professional competence in verbal and written communication using scientific and plain English summaries
• 8. Interact effectively with others and contribute to scientific discussions

Syllabus plan

The syllabus is based on Dean et al 2012 and whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, an example of an overall structure is as follows:

Lectures will cover:

• Defining rehabilitation and what we mean by rehabilitation in health care settings
• Rehabilitation models and frameworks including the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) (The World Health Organisation model)
• Interprofessional and team working in rehabilitation
• Rehabilitation processes including assessment; goal setting; designing, evaluating and implementing complex interventions; adherence to exercise based rehabilitation
• Outcome Measurement in Rehabilitation including psychometrics and patient reported outcome measures (PROMS)
• Person-centred rehabilitation including the lived experience of acquired disability and rehabilitation as a personal journey

 Seminar/Practical Sessions will cover:

• Using the ICF in the rehabilitation cycle
• Measuring function and participation
• Team building exercises
• Goal setting
• Measuring adherence and patient outcomes
• Using the ICF to map interprofessional working
• Meeting the people  at the centre of rehabilitation research & practice
• Advanced critical appraisal of published rehabilitation research

Throughout the module reference will be made to specific clinical conditions or patient populations including current rehabilitation research being conducted at the University of Exeter; for examples: exercise referral schemes, cardiovascular rehabilitation, stroke rehabilitation and pelvic floor muscle training. 

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Please refer to the TQA section on Referral/Deferral: http://as.exeter.ac.uk/academic-policy-standards/tqa-manual/aph/consequenceoffailure/

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Dean, S.G., Siegert, R.J., Taylor, W.J. (eds) (2012) Interprofessional Rehabilitation a person-centred approach. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell

Students will be expected to read and critically appraise landmark and original papers in journals such as The New England, Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, British Medical Journal and relevant specialist journals such as Archives Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Rehabilitation Psychology, Disability & Rehabilitation. 

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – College to provide hyperlink to appropriate pages
• Web based and electronic resources will be available 

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

None

Key words search

Rehabilitation Science