An Introduction to Practice Education

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Using this resource
3. Part One - An introduction to practice education
   1. The role of practice education
   2. The relationship between the academic programme and practice education
   3. Approaches to teaching and learning
   4. Expectations of Professional Practice
   5. Reflection
4. PART TWO - Planning and Preparation for Professional Practice Education
   1. The role of professional practice education
   2. Examining the work environment - resources for learning
   3. Reflection
   4. Possible resources to use with a student with the same learning preference
   5. Possible student anxieties before embarking on a new placement
   6. Suggested information required by practice educators
5. PART THREE - Supervising and Assessing a Student in Professional Practice
   1. Defining the learning experience
   2. Student supervision and feedback
   3. Principles of Assessment
   4. Reflective practice
   5. Coping with the student with difficulties
   6. Reflection
6. Suggested responses and additional notes
   1. Aims and objectives
   2. Video Scenarios - Supervison assessment
   3. Supervision
   4. References

Examining the work environment - resources for learning

You are probably one of the chief resources for student learning during practice placements, not least because you are able to make other resources available to them. Effective use of resources can be important in creating 'space' for yourself during a placement, and in helping the student become more independent as a learner.

What might these other resources be?

You will be acting as a role model for the student. You might like to review your own practices before the student arrives, as you will need to be prepared to answer questions and justify the way you work when s/he is with you. As suggested in the section on learning and teaching, it is crucial that you are able to make explicit the way you arrive at your decisions and undertake particular actions. These may seem obvious to you, but are unlikely to be so to the student.

It may be easier for a student to understand your role if you work in a more traditional health-based setting. If your service setting is community-based, you will need to help the student appreciate how you define the 'boundaries' of your work environment and how you operate in relation to other services and agencies

As noted previously, your attitudes will be very important, not just in relation to the student, but also in terms of the way you respond to service users, your service and others you liaise with, and the way you relate to your professional colleagues, particularly if you work in a multidisciplinary setting.

These may be other colleagues depending on your service setting, who work on the same site as you, or perhaps in a nearby hospital. Staff who work as educators in their own profession, e.g. social work practice teachers, may be particularly valuable.

Alsop & Ryan (1996) reported on the advantages for students of working with other professionals. Students identified that they:

• Learned detailed knowledge about various conditions from specialists
• Learned different techniques and approaches used in client care
• Learned different strategies for problem-solving and were able to explore different viewpoints and perspectives
• Gained an appreciation of the role of other professionals and insight into the difficulties they experienced
• Learned about the contribution that other professionals made to the multi-disciplinary team.

Alsop & Ryan (1996)

However, the main task is for students to learn to identify , and identify with, their chosen profession; they need to establish their own professional perspective from which to appreciate the roles of others and become aware of how each can contribute to the benefit of the service user.

In using other professionals as a resource, you still maintain your role as practice educator; you would be expected to guide the student, highlighting what they might gain from their interactions with professional colleagues and facilitate the student reflection on their observation and learning.

These might include:

• Other staff in your service setting, from the service manager to the receptionist/customer services personnel, who would be able to show a student any computer system used, the screening process and the type of questions asked on initial contact with a service user
• Staff in a local health centre, community meals and home care services, housing office, advice centre or specialist association, eg. for the blind, deaf or disabled.

In order that the student gains an understanding of the patient journey visits may be arranged.

These might include:

• Equipment demonstrations
• Wards, Out Patients
• Mould Room
• Specialist disability provision in the locality
• Self-help groups and societies
• Schools, day centres, hospices, sheltered accommodation
• Conferences, courses and staff training centres

Again, you will be able to give guidance on how the individuals and locations above may be used as a resource for learning. Some practice educators ask students to write up a brief evaluation of such contacts and visits - to help him or her to reflect on the experience and also to assess the value of the experience for future students.

Ensure visits are relevant to providing the "bigger picture" of service provision but retain tangible links to practise and service provision.

With their agreement, service users are a vital resource for students. Students are best equipped to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention when they have observed, and talked to, the service users involved. It is important that service users are fully aware that they are being treated by a student and give full and informed consent to any treatment or test undertaken.

These would cover a wide range of written materials, from a variety of sources. Some would be of vital importance to the student, while others would provide more general information or be of specialised interest. Students would need to be aware of the different levels of confidentiality required for each.

Official documentation might include:

• Policy manual - legislation, codes of practice, philosophy of service, management structure, Equal Opportunities
• Procedures documents/manuals - Health and Safety, referral system, guidelines and criteria for equipment, team meetings, liaison with other services, complaints, supervision, risk assessment
• Forms / proformas used by your service
• Case notes - real and sample
• Profession Specific Guidelines
• Personnel procedures
• Minutes of meetings.

Information might be provided in:

• A Department induction pack
• Books, Journals
• Adaptation guides
• Equipment leaflets
• Resource packs from specialist centres or staff training.

These could be available within your service setting or, for example, on loan from a training centre. They might include:

• Computer programmes/CD-ROMs
• E-mail/internet
• Video recording equipment and pre-recorded video cassettes
• Audio tapes.

Can you think of a crucial resource we have not yet covered?

A student does not arrive in your service setting empty-handed in terms of resources. S/he will come with a wealth of previous experience, some of which will have been gained from university and possibly from previous placements. Ascertaining the depth and breadth of this experience, by talking to and observing the student, will be one of your first tasks, in order that you can help the student relate his/her learning while on placement with you to what s/he already knows and can do. It is helpful if the student is already aware of his/her own learning styles and preferences.

Guidance materials provided by the university will also be a resource for learning, and will help shape the placement through the use of learning objectives or a learning contract. A student may still have access to the university library and other resources while they are with you, and may be able to use university staff themselves as a resource.

Having considered your working environment in terms of risk assessment and of resources for learning, the next section takes the final step in planning for taking a professional practice student - how you go about introducing the student to your service setting, and provide for his/her induction on arrival.

This section provides an opportunity for you to consider your work environment from the point of view of a student, and to prepare materials to support his/her introduction and induction into your service setting. The aim should be to help the student familiarise him/herself with your service setting as quickly as possible, and to encourage the feeling that s/he is a part of your team.

The initial contact regarding taking a student for professional practice may be between the university and your line manager. The way these matters are dealt with is likely to be different for each university, but you should expect to have the placement confirmed, and know the name of your student(s), several weeks in advance, so that you can make contact with the student yourself and finalise arrangements.

You will probably find that, as a new practice educator, some of the 'student anxieties' will be the same as your own!

Some services have already developed an information pack for students, which may be circulated to the universities. If your service has such a pack, check the contents against the items on the next page; if not, the suggestions overleaf may help you develop your own.

The following are some of the items you might want to see included in an information pack:

• Location of the placement, perhaps with maps of the immediate neighbourhood and of the area covered by your service
• Public Transport to the area
• Description of facilities
• Type of service provision - philosophy and mission statement, models/approaches used
• The organisation and size of service, staffing structure, relationship/liaison with other services
• Staff profiles
• Nature of caseload
• Terminology used - abbreviations, medical terms, etc.
• Outline of the learning opportunities for students within, and associated, with the service setting
• Library facilities and other learning resources
• Reading list
• Specific requirements of the student, e.g. guidelines on dress, what should be brought to the placement
• Any specific contractual arrangements, insurance, medicals
• Local transport, parking arrangements
• Local social and sporting facilities
• Availability of accommodation
• Name and telephone number for further information.

In the period before the student arrives, you should be clarifying with the university any questions you have

Students are an increasingly diverse group, and they are bringing opportunities for fresh perspectives on practice which are enriching for everyone. A student may be the same as you (and your team) in some ways and different in a whole range of other ways - which may include age, gender, race, religion, ethnic origin, social class, sexual orientation and disability.

It is a good idea to discuss rather than to ignore differences. If you do this with sensitivity and tact it shows that you value the different perspective the student brings. You can then explore with the student ways to ensure that they have the support they need to make the most of the placement. For example, a student may feel quite isolated if they are in a minority of one in your team - if they are the only man in an otherwise all-female team, the only black person in an all-white team, or much the oldest person in a youthful team. It might be helpful for them to have the option of a link with someone in a similar situation in another part of your organisation who can offer some extra support and advice.

You also need to check that the student will not be unfairly or illegally discriminated against by the way the placement works or by people the student may encounter. For example, a student may need to be able to plan their work around reasonable time off for religious observance, or they may need to know about your organisation's policy about dealing with service users who make racist or otherwise offensive remarks. If you are in doubt about what is reasonable, or how to deal with any difficulties, you can ask the student's higher education institution for further guidance.

Biggs,J. (1999) 'Teaching international students' Chap 7, Teaching for Quality Learning at University Milton Keynes: Open University Press

Commission for Racial Equality www.cre.gov.uk

Department of Health: Equality and Human Rights

www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/EqualityAndHumanRights/fs/en

Equal Opportunities Commission www.eoc.org.uk

The Open University: Making your teaching inclusivewww.open.ac.uk/inclusiveteaching

Remedios,L. & Webb, G.(2005) 'Clinical educators as cultural guides' Chap 12,Rose,M. & Best,D. Transforming Practice Through Clinical Education, Professional Supervision and Mentoring London, Elsevier.

Trent, Faith (1997) Teaching Diverse Groups http://ultibase.rmit.edu.au/Articles/june97/trent1.html

Having the first day of the student's placement well planned will not only help the student feel expected but is more likely to make you feel at ease. If your preparations are thorough they will serve as a model for other students that come; if your plans are well documented, another member of staff could take over from you, should there be an unavoidable reason for your absence.

Induction can serve a number of purposes: introduction, familiarisation, orientation, and welcome. You will need to set aside time to meet the student on his/her arrival, perhaps over a cup of coffee, as first impressions can be important in building a relationship. The student will almost certainly be more nervous than you!

There are a number of things that can be achieved in this first meeting:

• Sorting out any problems with accommodation, travel, parking
• Providing the student with general information about the immediate work environment.
• Establishing whether any necessary health checks and formal paperwork have been completed.
• Discussing the student's previous experience, interests, etc.
• To find out if the student has any special requirements, for example, Dyslexia
• Planning/discussing the programme for the student's first week, including when the negotiation of the learning agreement or learning objectives will be undertaken.
• Begin to plan the learning experience and strategies to maximise learning.
• To agree a mechanism for giving feedback.

The student will need to be introduced to other members of staff and be shown around the immediate work environment. A colleague may be able to help you with this, and if you have a relatively new member of staff who has just completed a staff induction programme, taking the student round could act as a 'refresher' for them.