OpenLearn courses related to health and social care
Try a day in the life of a social worker [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]
(Introductory, 15 mins)
Could you manage 24 hours as a social worker? This resource provides the opportunity to step into a social worker’s shoes and experience a ‘typical’ day in the office.
Social work and the law in Scotland
(Intermediate, 15 hours)
Social workers have power to make assessments and decisions that alter people’s lives. This unit introduces law as it relates to social work and encourages understanding of the law in order to make sound decisions.
Interview with a social worker
(Introductory, 1 hour)
Explore the role of a support worker and identify the skills and qualities needed to perform their roles effectively.
(Introductory, 4 hours)
This unit looks at the way people identify and become attached to places, buildings and objects, and how this attachment can impact on personal well-being. Understanding this is important in assessing the care people of all ages need and how this care should be delivered.
(Introductory, 4 hours)
This unit deals with the ability to recognise the importance of people’s backgrounds and experiences in understanding their life experiences; acknowledge differences between your own and other people’s identities, the experiences that have shaped people, their diversity and the ways in which society values them; identify the need for empathy in understanding and relating to people whose life experiences and/or outlooks differ markedly from your own, as well as to people whose experiences resemble your own; understand what influences service users’ views of professionals when seeking help; begin to practice reflectively.
(Introductory, 5 hours)
The most ‘important and greatest puzzle’ we face as humans is ourselves. Humans are a puzzle – one that is complex, subtle and multi-layered, and it gets even more complicated as we evolve over time and change in different contexts. When answering the question ‘What makes us who we are?’, psychologists put forward a range of explanations about why people feel, think and behave the way they do.
Taster material for the OU Openings courses.
Understanding society: families
(Introductory, 5 hours)
Here you will explore how different families have different ideas about how work in the home should be divided. You will also investigate the diversity of families. You will see how any discussion of the division of labour has to recognise that families differ in terms of shape and size.
Taster material for the OU Openings courses.
(Introductory, 8 hours)
Care is needed at all stages of life. This unit makes care in the family its focus because the overwhelming majority of care, including health care, is supplied in families, much of it in private, much of it unnoticed and unremarked upon. The meaning of the term ‘informal carer’ and the word ‘care’ itself are explored.
(Introductory, 8 hours)
This unit will help you to identify the different approaches and contributions staff make to care for health in a hospital setting; evaluate the interpersonal relationships of those working together for health in a hospital setting; appreciate how patients might experience care for health in a hospital setting.
Mental health practice: Bonnyrigg
(Introductory, 10 hours)
This unit will help you to distinguish between mental health and mental illness, and give examples of how community resource centres can benefit the well-being of individuals and communities in terms of mental health.
(Introductory, 12 hours)
Care can make deep inroads into personal lives and life narratives, so it is essential that care workers are sensitive to this and provide appropriate support. The history of Lennox Castle Hospital in Scotland provides a focus for considering the impact of institutional life.
Using voluntary work to get ahead in the job market
(Introductory, 12 hours)
This unit explores how engaging in voluntary work can enhance your employment opportunities.
(Introductory, 16 hours)
This unit looks at the notion of parents as partners. It identifies reasons why partnership is important for children, parents and practitioners, and gives examples of ways in which it can be interpreted in practice. The unit also outlines a conceptual framework to accommodate parental involvement and partnership practice.
Foundations for self-directed support in Scotland
(Introductory, 40 hours)
This course will provide the foundations of understanding self-directed support in Scotland in the wider context of personalisation. Provides grounding in the culture and ways of thinking that are required to implement whatever local arrangements exist for personalisation in Scotland.