Student education
Feature
Creating the future of our profession
An academic-practice partnership , led by academics at the University of Gloucestershire , recently undertook funded Participatory Action Research to investigate increasing clinical placement capacity . Here , we present an overview of the project .
G
loucestershire healthcare and academic partners recognised an opportunity to help address projected workforce shortages by increasing the supply of health professionals , including occupational therapists .
Supported by Health Education England ( HEE ), a clinical education development project was established between NHS Gloucestershire and University of Gloucestershire .
Why is there a drive for increasing student placements ?
The NHS People Plan ( 2020 ) estimated that around 27,000 more allied health professionals ( AHPs ) are required by 2024 .
During the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 , and in recognition of the inspirational work of the NHS , there was an unprecedented interest in health careers . This resulted in a vast increase of applications to higher education institutions ( HEIs ) ( UCAS 2020 ).
However , the number of clinical placements available to support HEIs to deliver training have been limited .
In 2021 , HEE reported applications for AHP courses had risen by 27 % and a pledge of £ 15 million was announced to fund additional clinical placements across AHPs , nursing , midwifery and healthcare science to meet this demand .
To deliver sustainable health and care services for the future , the occupational therapy workforce must grow . However , enabling the occupational therapy workforce to be fit for the future relies on the profession ’ s ability to deliver additional , high quality , clinical placements .
To realise the opportunities , it is important to understand what challenges the expansion of occupational therapy clinical placements and consider further solutions to support placement provision in the future .
Participatory Action Research was undertaken via an academic-practice partnership in Gloucestershire to develop new approaches to this matter .
The project involved the oversite of a multiagency ‘ navigation team ’ to steer the process in an inclusive manner . Stages of observation , planning , action and reflection , followed by evaluation over time , were observed .
A simultaneous focus on four main themes included : collaboration through stakeholder participation at every stage ; development of knowledge through sharing and dialogue ; delivering social , institutional , and / or cultural change ; and the empowerment of stakeholders to be agents of the required change .
The first part was to survey local occupational therapists to understand their perspectives of the barriers and opportunities to student placement expansion . This survey had both quantitative and qualitative elements .
Challenges to expanding capacity
Occupational therapists said that the main challenges to expanding placement capacity related to the pressures of their clinical caseload and the limited time that they had to spend in an educator role ( see figure ).
Other challenges included the very practical matter of physical space in the work environment . In addition , occupational therapists wanted more advanced notice of placements and additional preparation of students and themselves for clinical education .
Regarding the question of what might facilitate more student placements , occupational therapists put forward numerous ideas , with sharing the responsibility and seeking protected time from
46 OTnews November 2022