STUDENT EDUCATION FEATURE
Making the right preparations Sarah , an LSBU lecturer and Anne had a pre-meet to discuss the placement and think over how it would be both diverse and virtual . LSBU also provided a one-day course and extensive information around taking on a student , working to their learning styles , and thinking about what work they could test out on placement .
This was Sarah ’ s third placement , after one in a hospital and another working in rehabilitation , so she had garnered lots of public-facing experience already . Diverse placements can involve some creative thinking , as the assessment criteria are geared towards clinical practice settings , but those involved in the placement thought carefully about how they could meet the learning outcomes .
Says Sarah : ‘ In that first meeting , my concerns were making sure I would get experience in managing risk , functional assessments and evaluating interventions , but it became clear I definitely could get that taken care of .’
‘ The Health and Care Professions Council says that service users are anyone who we come into contact with , so our members are our service users ,’ says Anne .
Sarah drew on her experience in customer service and social care to take on a small caseload around the Professional Practice Enquiries Service , ensuring that she gained the experience needed in learning objectives on managing a caseload .
‘ The team is so busy and deals with a real variety of enquiries , so I helped with answering a few of those by drafting up answers and getting feedback from Anne before they were sent ,’ says Sarah .
As for many occupational therapy students , Sarah also had to take on this placement virtually . Says Anne : ‘ Normally she would be sat next to me , and that learning is so powerful as everyone can meet . It took a little time for us all to get used to , but we had daily meetings to check in and she could contact us at any time .’
‘ The really important thing around virtual placements is getting the communication right ,’ says Lauren . ‘ When you ’ re online you just don ’ t have the natural conversational opportunities we would have in the building . Anne created lots of scheduled chats – you need to almost overcompensate compared with what you do in person .’
The virtual nature of the placement provided some benefits . Sarah was able to take part in extensive lobbying and networking with Lauren ; as well as visiting social enterprise Sport for Confidence virtually , she got to attend meetings with NHS England , Unison and HCPC , as well as other professional bodies and more online , as well as contributing to an RCOT virtual roadshow on health inequalities .
‘ In that way , the placement being virtual was useful as it made it easier for Sarah to sit in on meetings with those busy people , and she made some really valuable contributions ,’ says Lauren .
Learning on both sides Sarah says the work at RCOT gave a chance to think beyond her previously local working and see the national connections needed to promote the profession . ‘ I don ’ t know where I want to be career-wise , but what this placement has helped me to do is see where I am in developing my identity as a future occupational therapist , see leadership in action , and think about my own future practice and development ,’ she says .
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Diverse placements can involve some creative thinking , as the assessment criteria are geared towards clinical practice settings , but those involved in the placement thought carefully about how they could meet the learning outcomes .
‘ It ’ s widened what I can see I can do . Even this year , it has been really helpful for university assignments I have been doing on research and evidence-based practice and service development .’ For other potential placement providers , Anne and Lauren are recommending making sure that all the technology is in order to support students , especially with virtual placements . Says Anne : ‘ I think the lesson from this is that diverse placements are possible , and virtual placements are more than possible . If you ’ re considering offering a placement , go for it .
‘ But when organising these things , it ’ s easy just to focus on the learning opportunities and the occupational therapy elements . When you ’ re online it ’ s also important to think about the administrative groundwork you need to do . Make sure that you have things like working email addresses , system logins and phone extensions organised , so you can hit the ground running .’
Says Lauren : ‘ I think I got as much from the placement as Sarah did . It ’ s so healthy to have those conversations with someone with a different perspective and to reflect on my practice – when you are at university you are very reflective , so it gave me a chance to revisit how I apply occupational therapy processes and principles in my day-to-day work .’
And Sarah underlines the importance of having good communication and organisation . ‘ Anne and Lauren were so supportive and organised , and made sure I met lots of people , letting me get a feel for the teamwork and how important that can be . I hope other places offer more placements for students .’
Andrew Mickel , OTnews journalist , email : Andrew . mickel @ rcot . co . uk . Find out more about alternative ways to offer practice placements , including ways to move beyond the one-to-one placement model , at : www . rcot . co . uk / alternative-practiceplacements .
OTnews May 2021 19