FEATURE STUDENT EDUCATION
Adapting to the changing world of service delivery
Katie Digby and Hayley Winship reflect on the positive experience of a remote placement during early days of the coronavirus crisis
Second year occupational therapy
student Katie Digby , who is studying at the University of Northampton , recently joined practice educator Hayley Winship , who works at Rutland County Council , on a remote placement .
The level five placement was a nine-week , full-time placement that the council was able to offer remotely between July and August this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic .
Like many students this year , initially Katie was expecting a face-to-face placement , however , due to the outbreak of COVID-19 the situation rapidly changed .
In April , Health Education England published a support guide for AHP students , that covered the pause of clinical placements during the pandemic and reaching the required number of practice hours ( https :// bit . ly / 37BAE4o ).
Katie was offered a number of options to pursue , but chose to take up a remote placement , as she believed this would be a better learning experience for her as a practical learner , and expected that this would be the closest option to a traditional face-to-face placement .
Katie says of her decision : ‘ I believe this is how many services are going to be operating in the future , so my initial thoughts were , why not embrace it now ? By choosing this option , I feel I am almost future proofing my professional development by practising in what has become “ the new normal ”.
‘ I anticipated that this was the perfect time in my studies to master the concept of remote placement , in advance of the level six 12-week placement , where I expect I will really need to focus on managing my own caseload , instead of being pre-occupied by learning how a remote placement works .’
Hayley adds : ‘ Life in general often means that we , as occupational therapists , have to respond to many different changing demands on how we function , and I feel , as a practice educator , that this experience is an excellent learning opportunity in maintaining flexibility and developing resilience , which is paramount in today ’ s workplace .’
Hayley took on the role of Katie ’ s practice educator while both were based at home . ‘ We were totally reliant on technology ,’ Hayley explains , ‘ with a lack of control over how reliable our internet connections were .
‘ When building the student and practice educator relationship , we predominantly used Microsoft Teams video conferencing software to communicate , so that we could see and hear each other .
‘ This enabled us to have the virtual experience of being “ sat at the next desk ” in our virtual home offices . When internet connections intermittently failed , we had the back-up option of dialling in through Teams on our work mobile phone . This system became more familiar to us and actually worked to the point of us feeling we were in the same room .’
Hayley and Katie carried out joint client remote assessments with community residents , using Microsoft Teams , which were facilitated by a carer or family member with a smart phone .
The video tools also enabled Katie to complete her induction , participating in one-to-one meetings with members of the organisation to enhance her learning , just as she would have done in a face-to-face placement .
There were some practical considerations to working remotely . Hayley adds : ‘ Whilst maintaining confidentiality and adhering to GDPR , we had to stay mindful and accommodating of working around our home life and the spaces we share with our family members ; avoiding the noise from the dog barking and the chimes from the ice cream van , for example .’
She goes on : ‘ For some staff members , connecting with a student through the software was a challenge ; the feeling of being “ watched ” was perhaps uncomfortable for some , and also challenging for those who are not yet comfortable to embrace the technology , or who have not had the opportunity to become familiar with it .
‘ Because we were not all physically in the same building , Katie found some members of staff less easily accessible , which added to the feeling , at
44 OTnews December 2020