FEATURE STUDENT EDUCATION
Face to face is better than virtual , but in these times , virtual is better than nothing at all
The way the profession practises , assesses and delivers interventions has seen many quick and impactful changes , due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Here we share three perspectives on a virtual student placement and patient interaction
Looking back 18 months , to before the COVID-19 pandemic , we were planning the allocation of student placements in the long-term conditions occupational therapy team .
The thought of a virtual ‘ something or anything ’ for either our students or patients was the furthest thing from our minds . The universities were also planning face-to-face placements for their students and , in turn , students were looking forward to going on their placements - such a contrast to present times .
Yes , some students have gone on placement , but to somewhat different workplaces . Some have completed a mix of virtual and face-to-face placements and others have completed entirely virtual placements .
Our patients were also preparing for group sessions and looking forward to learning more about their pain conditions .
There wasn ’ t an option for us to ‘ do nothing ’ for our patients and students in the pain management occupational therapy team – we needed to be creative . We needed to think of new , exciting and different ways of making contact with our patients and students , to ensure we were continuing to offer the best service we could under such challenging circumstances .
With our physiotherapy and psychology colleagues also working from home , or in work with no face-toface contact with patients , we had regular telephone or video contact to plan a different service delivery . Occupational therapy in particular wanted to accommodate an observational student placement to ensure learning continued despite our new and different ways of working .
We all have our stories to tell and this is ours . From three different perspectives , we would like to share our experiences and how we have managed to keep our service running and very much alive through virtual ways of working .
The student perspective ‘ Leading up to the virtual placement ,’ says Rebecca Younger , a student occupational therapist at the University of Cumbria , ‘ I felt incredibly nervous , as it was completely new to me and I didn ’ t know what to expect . At the same time , I felt intrigued to learn more and see how occupational therapy could be put into practice virtually .’
Rebecca explains that she was in early contact with her placement educator , ‘ about three months before I started my placement ’. She says : ‘ The good , two-way communication helped me prepare for my placement to ensure I had a clear understanding of what to expect and what I needed to do prior to starting , especially technology-wise .
‘ We even met up virtually a couple of times before starting to discuss how my placement educator had changed their practice and what to expect but also how I could help and what role I could play in the team .’
She goes on : ‘ Working from home required us to adapt our work environment , which without
30 OTnews July 2021
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