What if leadership wasn’ t something our occupational therapists learned later in their careers, but something they lived from the beginning? Caroline Stackhouse, Wendy Hall, Lauren Hryniewiecka, Amanda Allen and Sarah Howard look at how one trust has been reimagining student placements.

Leadership through an OT lens

What if leadership wasn’ t something our occupational therapists learned later in their careers, but something they lived from the beginning? Caroline Stackhouse, Wendy Hall, Lauren Hryniewiecka, Amanda Allen and Sarah Howard look at how one trust has been reimagining student placements.

W hat if leadership wasn’ t something occupational therapists learned later, but something they lived from the beginning? At Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, we’ ve been piloting a new placement model that places leadership at the core of student learning.

Designed in collaboration with allied health professions( AHP) practice education leads and university partners, this model challenges the traditional clinical placement by immersing students in leadership behaviours, system-level thinking and project-based learning, alongside clinical exposure.

Why leadership, why now?

Occupational therapists are increasingly called upon to lead service transformation, champion inclusive and person-centred care, and contribute to system-wide improvement. Yet leadership is still too often viewed as something to be developed later in their career, rather than something that can be nurtured from the start.

We asked: what if we changed that? This placement model was designed to give occupational therapy students the confidence and capability to strengthen their leadership pillar from day one. Whether it was initiating a quality improvement project, contributing to governance discussions, or advocating for service users, students were supported to step into leadership roles early and meaningfully.

At the same time, we recognised the growing challenge of securing high-quality placements for the future occupational therapy workforce.

Competing demands on clinical teams and evolving service models have made traditional placements harder to sustain. Our approach offered an alternative long-arm model that paired students with experienced occupational therapists and senior AHP leaders, providing a rich, structured experience that prioritised leadership, reflection and real-world skills.

The placement model

Two cohorts of MSc students from Anglia Ruskin University, an equal mixture of both occupational therapy and physiotherapy students, participated in placements that blended leadership development with clinical relevance.

All students were in their final placement year and had previously completed at least one clinical placement, ensuring they were already familiar

42 OTnews September 2025

OTnews September 2025 | Page 42

What if leadership wasn’ t something our occupational therapists learned later in their careers, but something they lived from the beginning? Caroline Stackhouse, Wendy Hall, Lauren Hryniewiecka, Amanda Allen and Sarah Howard look at how one trust has been reimagining student placements.

Leadership through an OT lens

What if leadership wasn’ t something our occupational therapists learned later in their careers, but something they lived from the beginning? Caroline Stackhouse, Wendy Hall, Lauren Hryniewiecka, Amanda Allen and Sarah Howard look at how one trust has been reimagining student placements.

W hat if leadership wasn’ t something occupational therapists learned later, but something they lived from the beginning? At Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, we’ ve been piloting a new placement model that places leadership at the core of student learning.