Module overview
This module provides an opportunity to experience current practice in a variety of locations across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and surrounding counties. Principle providers of placement will be in health or social care settings (with some additional placements in non traditional settings such as schools, prisons, private and voluntary organisations). You will work with an experienced HCPC registered therapist(s) who will act as the main educator and point of contact for the entire placement. You and the placement educator will be allocated a Locality Contact (a member of the academic staff in the School's OT team) who will provide a link to the academic programme and will meet you at least once during the placement. You will be supernumerary to the staff in the area in which you are placed.
This particular placement has a focus on you making an active contribution to the assessment and treatment/management of service users in a specific area of practice. You will take an active part under supervision of the placement educator who will support you to take responsibility for and work independently with a selected case load.
Integration of Service Users
The experience of working closely with service users of all ages, cultural backgrounds and across practice specialities is an essential ingredient to the learning and assessment of competency in Occupational Therapy programmes. This placement links to work carried out in other modules throughout the two years where specific service user group needs and/or interventons are investigated. You need to be aware of service users' lived experiences derived from narratives, research and evaluation of practice. This will improve your knowledge base and also underpin any self-development activities linked to practice placement. This combination of theoretical evidence and practice-based work will ensure that the profile and needs of service users are dealt with in a proactive and positive manner in all your scholarly and practical activities.
Multi-Professional Learning
The partnership between the academic and practice organisations is an essential ingredient in the development, delivery and evaluation of Occupational Therapy programmes. During other modules/placements throughout the programme you will have had opportunities to work alongside and learn together in mixed groups of health professional students. This will be replicated in practice placement experiences where different professions frequently work together within teams. It is envisaged that these experiences will have an impact on how, and what you explore and in particular may be a feature of aspects of your personal and professional development activities for the future.