Student education
Student education
Students had to be flexible in their approach to the setting and gradually gained the trust of the staff team and service users alike . Their work paid dividends in terms of increased staff engagement with service users and the service they worked in .
Service users benefitted from access to new activities and increased understanding of their needs in the busy setting .
Looking ahead
From the university ’ s perspective , a review of the students ’ evaluation of their diverse placement led to us identifying that students ’ expectations need managing in the following areas :
• Helping students to recognise that the support they receive within a diverse placement will be different to traditional placements .
• That there may be a lack of resources to support students , for example environmental or budget issues .
• Students may have more time to themselves and need to self-direct their own learning .
• Service or service user groups may not be as expected , for example presenting with complex , multifactorial needs .
• There may be complex working dynamics and support staff may need support or training .
• On-site educators and support staff may not have any experience or understanding of what occupational therapists do and managing their expectations will be important too .
there is a lot of unstructured own time . They can be creative , resourceful and use transferable skills learnt through the University of Brighton ’ s Problem Based Learning ( PBL ) approach , which encourages self-directed learning and the principles of occupational science in doing , being becoming and belonging .
The Kings Fund and University of Worcester ( 2020 ) EHE Environmental assessment tools . Available at : https :// bit . ly / 3VzuRHi [ accessed 2 November 2023 ]
Words KELSEY BROOKER and SARAH HARDING , University of Brighton , MSc Occupational therapy Pre-registration Students , STUART HEATON , Long-arm Practice Educator and Clinician , Community Learning Disability Team , Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust , and AUDREY YONG , Senior lecturer and Practice Learning Leader , University of Brighton .
There were other areas for the university practice learning leader to continue to foster , including encouraging students to ask if they do not know , and be engaged , interested , pro-active , reflective , motivated , openminded and ‘ flex ’ with the setting .
It was also felt important to encourage students to support each other , communicate daily and look after their own wellbeing , using the available university support services , and remind students that they do not need to do everything , or know everything , as they are still learning .
Finally , reminding students to consider their professionalism and ‘ soft ’ skills is vital . They will have to be organised and disciplined , especially if working remotely , or if
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