All for one and one for all
Three higher education institutes have joined forces to deliver one online practice placement accreditation course across the Trent region
University of Lincoln , Sheffield Hallam University
and University of Derby are the three universities in the RCOT Trent region that offer occupational therapy pre-registration courses . The three universities have long taken a tripartite approach to the education of clinicians across the region , which has many benefits ; staff have grown to know each other ’ s courses and placement assessments over the years , and they support each other to deliver local training updates and solve placement issues from a wide range of experiences .
To date , the universities have worked together to explore different styles of placement delivery , including role emerging and two-to-one models .
The three universities source placements from all over the Trent region , and educators may take students from any of the universities throughout the year .
Working collaboratively is invaluable for the universities and clinicians . For clinicians who take students from all the courses , it is reassuring to know that they have had all the same training and guidance . They also only need to complete one training course , rather one for each university .
Through the close relationships the universities have , we are able to offer a streamlined approach to the training of practice educators across the whole region .
At the heart of the Trent region practice educator training was originally a two-day face-to-face course , in which participants were introduced to key topics , such as components of supervision , the principles of assessment , including failure , and inclusion .
Participants were able to put these concepts into practice by completing our assessments . Using a series of video role plays , developed at Derby University , and featuring the fictitious student ‘ Emma ’, educators in small groups could discuss and explore her assessment at all levels using all our assessment paperwork .
This was a really valuable opportunity for collaboration with educators across the region to share their thoughts and ideas , and for us to ensure parity and triangulation .
The birth of L ’ apple Following the discontinuation of RCOT ’ s APPLE scheme in 2019 , we began consulting with educators to explore what might replace the APPLE training , which led to the development and launch of L ’ apple .
Despite the COVID-19 outbreak at the beginning of 2020 , we still needed to train up new educators , and students still required placements throughout the year .
Julie Walters , the most technical member of the team , set up the initial L ’ apple course with contributions from all three universities . She put this together in record speed and we decided to run with it as the pilot course .
Li and Lalani ( 2020 ), taking a global perspective on the effect of the pandemic on education , suggest that online learning increases the retention of information , takes less time and that it might be here to stay as a result of the coronavirus .
As a team of HEI ’ s we routinely arrange regular face-toface educator updates and CPD events for our placement co-ordinators and current placement educators . This was
© GettyImages / AlisaRut
26 OTnews December 2020