Return to practice
Feature
A combination of factors meant that in 2019 , I felt it was the right time to push that ‘ return to practice door ’.
Building up the hours felt very slow to start with and the whole process felt lax , unstructured and unsupervised . I rekindled my love for learning and this was exciting , considering what I needed to learn and relearn , the areas I wanted to explore and research for my future practice .
Health Education England ( HEE ) supports allied health professionals to return to practice with funding and resources and once I had found this information I felt less alone . I have many thanks to all those who had gone before me , who offered words of reassurance and advice .
Finding somewhere to complete a placement or have practice experience again was difficult and finding contact details for clinical leads of services , in an area I had not previously worked in , was a challenge .
I was clear that for my learning and development I needed these clinical hours , after all this is a huge part of the job . This was made a little more problematic due to COVID-19 , but thanks to the flexibility of the service lead and Band 7 occupational therapist who agreed to supervise me , I achieved 15 days of clinical experience , which was invaluable .
The wider team was very supportive and encouraging , which was exactly what I needed to combat my feelings of imposter syndrome and that sense of my knowing what I was doing , somewhere deep in my brain , but not confident it was the best or right thing to do in the here and now .
It was also great to be back in a clinical environment and enjoying the buzz of hospital wards and occupational therapy departments and learning how to juggle PPE with communicating with patients and their relatives , when visiting was suspended .
Another benefit to clinical experience is that you hear about job opportunities and are known by the service and in January 2021 , I started as a Band 5 occupational therapist in the same trust .
I chose to start at that level to build up my knowledge and experience , to become familiar with new working practices ( pathways ), shorter hospital stays and faster discharges , electronic documentation and to regain my professional confidence .
By the end of the year , I applied , interviewed and was successful in progressing to a Band 6 position . I have learned four key things from my experience while returning to practice :
• Anything is possible .
• You don ’ t lose your skills , they are still there , you ’ re just out of practice .
You don ’ t lose your skills , they are still there , you ’ re just out of practice .”
• Make the most of any clinical hours you can secure and all the learning opportunities .
• Make sure you access the support that is out there .
Returning at a more ‘ mature ’ age means that you have more skills to offer patients and clients . If you ’ re able to , ask for reduced hours if it means better balancing home responsibilities and work – you can still do your best for your patients and your service . Just because other , often younger colleagues work full time , doesn ’ t mean that you have to . And make the most of all the rotational experience you can .
My ‘ ask ’ of registered occupational therapists and service leads is , please consider supporting someone who is on their return to practice journey ; funding is available and they will be able to support your service . It may help with recruitment and the individual will have a head start at understanding the systems .
You could support people returning to practice by letting them shadow you , letting them ask questions and trying out their skills . You could also consider flexible working patterns to fit around school schedules and ‘ life ’ issues .
Return to practice help and support
For the Health and Care Professions Council ’ s ( HCPC ) requirements for returning to practice , including the minimum requirements for updating , and information on how to re-register , visit https :// bit . ly / 3ZDF6sa .
For HEE resources visit https :// bit . ly / 40CyrzN . https :// bit . ly / 40D1jIh or
For RCOT return to professional practice resources visit https :// bit . ly / 3G7JCsk
Words HELEN DAVIS , Rotational Band 6 Occupational Therapist , West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
April 2023 OTnews 29