STUDENT EDUCATION FEATURE
Joanna Beveridge , professional practice tutor , describes how a partnership was formed with Scottish Veterans Residences via a Tweet from the chief executive officer of Housing Options Scotland , another housing association which had been hosting placements with Queen Margaret University learners .
‘ The placement with Housing Options Scotland was so successful that its chief executive officer wanted to share this with all her counterparts , leading to new placement opportunities with Scottish Veterans Residences being developed ,’ she explains .
‘ Practice placement 4 ( PP4 ) is the final practice-based learning prior to graduation and the level of autonomy required during this placement lends itself to alternative models of practice-based learning .
‘ A hybrid approach to the supervision and assessment required was taken , utilising peer-assisted learning , with a long-arm practice educator being sought . The perfect practice educator was found inhouse at Queen Margaret University – Michele Harrison , a colleague who works in the Firefly Research Team and who has a special interest in housing and mental health , as well as experience as a professional practice tutor .’
Scottish Veterans Residences is Scotland ’ s oldest ex-service charity , established in 1910 . A registered social landlord , it has three residences , which are all registered housing support services . The veterans supported at the charity range in age from early 20s to late 80s and have various support needs , including homelessness , poor mental and physical health , debt and social isolation . The team at Scottish Veterans Residences aims to provide practical and emotional support in a warm , friendly environment and to assist residents to live as independently as possible .
Occupational therapy student Bence Fazekas says : ‘ Preparation for the placement was filled with excited anticipation for the final challenge of the practice-based part on our journey of becoming an occupational therapist , mixed with some apprehension of the unknown .
‘ The preparatory online meeting with our long-arm placement educator Michele , the manager of Whitefoord House , Kirsty Smeaton Brown , and the chief executive of the Scottish Veterans Residencies , Martin Nadin , was helpful in easing some of the worries and gaining a basic understanding of what the organisation stands for .
‘ Before starting on site , we had time to familiarise ourselves with the charity ’ s mission statement and its short and longer-term goals , while the book on occupational therapy role-emerging placement by Thew et al ( 2011 ) also proved to be a helpful guide through the initial stages .’
Kirsty and the staff team had identified individuals for the students to work with , and they began to meet with them as they were orientating themselves to the residences and getting to know the support staff who worked on site .
Bence adds : ‘ Starting a long-arm supervised placement is not about drawing on a blank canvas – as a student occupational therapist you are entering an organisation with existing structure and practices , so the initial stages of placement involved observing and learning from people who use and provide the service at Whitefoord House .
‘ In the beginning there were more questions than answers , which can create uncertainty and frustration . The peer-assisted learning model helped us to have continuous , daily discussion about emerging thoughts and observations informally at lunch and during coffee breaks .’
Mairéad McClelland , occupational therapy student , says : ‘ There was a great deal of working autonomously , which provided a healthy environment for solution-focused working and seeing the occupational therapy process the whole way through .
‘ Additionally , the setting provided the opportunity to practice occupational therapy holistically , as it merged all aspects together of both physical and mental health , allowing me to witness the impact this had on residents , and my confidence in the profession to grow .
‘ During supervision , it has been interesting talking through system challenges and recognising professional boundaries , practising within Health and Care Professions Council guidelines , as well as identifying and connecting with local services on the placement .
‘ Working in partnership with the occupational therapy service in the City of Edinburgh Council , Bence and I worked in assessing , requesting , and providing equipment and adaptations that proved helpful for residents .’
The placement provided an opportunity for the students to use a range of skills and interventions , and working with individuals enabled them to identify where groups could support several residents who had shared interests or needs .
Mairéad comments : ‘ During the placement I gained valuable experience from completing environmental assessment observations , functional observational assessments , and progressing my clinical reasoning skills . An example being my advancement in equipment knowledge , which is an area that I had wanted to develop .
‘ Developing the groups , bringing people together and encouraging participation promoted the occupational therapy values of “ Doing , being , and becoming ”. By adapting groups to suit diverse needs of the resident community , this has supported physical and functional needs , inequality , and technology access needs , as well as fun and enjoyment .
‘ This has helped build up access for residents , encouraged their participation and increased their daily routines and roles .
‘ An example is the iPad skills group . We identified that older residents can be excluded from society , due to limited technology skills . The weekly iPad sessions supported residents by increasing their occupational performance skills , engaging them with family members and society , and enabling skill sharing between younger and older residents .’
Bence reflects : ‘ The placement demonstrated the transactional relationship between the person and the meaning of their occupations in their specific context , which not only includes the immediate physical environment , but the broader spatial and
OTnews November 2021 43