1. Practice Educator Course – Day 1
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Practice Educator Course – Day 1

2. LEARNING OUTCOMES
Describe the role and identify the attributes of an effective practice placement educator
Apply learning theories that are appropriate for adult and professional learners
Plan, implement and facilitate learning in the practice placement setting
Apply sound principles and judgement in the assessment of performance in the practice placement setting
Evaluate the learning experience
Reflect on experience and formulate action plans to improve future practice

3. OVERVIEW OF PRACTICE EDUCATOR COURSE
DAY ONE: Overview of practice education and the skills to get you started:
Planning a placement and preparing for a student
Supporting your student’s learning
Supervision and Assessment
Delegates complete the portfolio task
Bring along on day 2 to inform group discussion.
DAY TWO: Reflecting on your experiences; supporting learning in the working environment
Delegates share their experiences of hosting a placement and plan ahead for their future development as Practice Educators
We look at supporting students with additional learning needs .

4. Introduction to Practice Education
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
SESSION 1:
Introduction to Practice Education

5. OVERVIEW: School of Health Sciences
HCPC and NMC-regulated programmes including:
BSc OT, Physio, SLT
MSc OT, Physio
Degree Apprenticeship OT
DipHE Operating Department Practice
BSc Paramedic Science
Nursing and Midwifery programmes
Practice Education is a key part of all programmes

6. PLACEMENT TEAM AT UEA
Academic Lead for Practice Education: Gary Parlett
Placement Administration
Olivia Louks
Gill Rogers (OT)
Emma Coulson (SLT)
Jo Donnelly (PT)
Practice Education Coordinators
Occupational Therapy : Jane Hibberd
Physiotherapy: Suzanne Fletcher
Speech & Language Therapy: Emma Ferris
Paramedic Science: Sarah Hills
Operation Department Practice: Dave Huggins

7. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Director & Deputy Director of Practice Education
Policies and Complaints
Placement Administration
Allocation, student absence, paperwork
Placement Coordinator
Placement preparation, Risk of Failure, concerns about student welfare, allocation, general feedback
Visiting Tutor
Supporting student and educator during placement. Risk of Failure and
concerns around student
Personal Advisors
Pastoral support for the student
Student Support Services
Academic, personal and wellbeing support

8. HSC PRACTICE EDUCATION WEBSITE
Contains copies of documentation, placement handbooks and other useful resources

9. WHAT IS PRACTICE EDUCATION?
…the lived experience where students learn and absorb the qualities of professional practice, namely the skills, knowledge, attitudes and judgements which lead to a competent practitioner

10. OUR EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS ON PLACEMENT
Placements provide an opportunity for students to learn and develop their practice;
Students will develop their competence in different areas and at different rates over the course of the three years.
The following shows one such profile of a student developing over the course of their studies

11. OUTCOMES FOR PRE-REGISTRATION PROGRAMMES
Independent, self-directed learners
Inter-professional practitioners
Lifelong learners
Reflective practice
Evidence based practice

12. Preparing for a Student
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
SESSION 2:
Preparing for a Student

13. PLANNING STUDENT PLACEMENTS WITH PROVIDERS
At UEA, placement providers are contacted in the Spring with allocation requirements for the following year;
Placement allocations released approx. 8 weeks before placement begins
Students write to their named educator with a letter of introduction and CV
Students who require reasonable adjustments are strongly advised to share their reasonable adjustments summary with you when they send their introductory letters…

14. REASONABLE ADJUSTMENT PACK
Intended to support a student in university and during practice placements who has been identified as having an assessed disability / specific need.
Completed by student / PA following OH / DoS assessment
Consider adjustments to support student learning that are reasonable (within the context of meeting the course requirements)
The plan will be reviewed annually to accommodate any changes in circumstances that may have occurred during an academic year.

15. PRACTICAL GROUP ACTIVITY: Planning a placement
Points to consider to maximise student learning opportunities:
Are there shadowing opportunities? When do these need to be organised?
How many clients should the student have active involvement with per week/placement?
Service Improvement opportunities
Student supervision & assessment (mid-way & final)
Liaising with other educators as appropriate
Team meetings

16. CREATING THE RIGHT CONDITIONS
Consider the “invitational qualities of the workplace” (Billet, 2002) – the ways in which learning from work activity is provided and supported
Learner prior experience, level of learning, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic background, apparent motivation/interest/enthusiasm;
Consider: Do learners feel welcome? Are opportunities evenly distributed?

17. Student learning and goal setting
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
SESSION 3:
Student learning and goal setting

18. Delegate Handbook p.12
LEARNING CONTRACT
To support and guide their learning, therapies students at UEA complete a learning contract for placement
Students must:
identify learning goals that are personally relevant to achieve the learning outcomes for the placement;
consider strategies & resources needed to fulfil the goals;
consider how achievement will be evidenced;
negotiate with lead educator early in the placement – matching learning goals to opportunities;
The learning contract should be a standing item in supervision and evolve accordingly

19. GOAL SETTING Some useful questions to consider with a learner:
Why did you choose this goal as a priority?
Is the goal SMART?
What do you need to do to achieve this goal?
What will you be doing differently once you’ve achieved this goal?
What help, assistance or collaboration do you need?
What resources can help you?
Is this the best way of achieving this goal?
What obstacles might block the attainment of the goal?

20. Supervising your student
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
SESSION 4:
Supervising your student

21. SUPERVISION
‘Effective supervision of the student is central to the role of the practice educator – the quality of supervision has been considered the most important element of practice education’.
(Martin 1996)
What are the functions of supervision?

22. FUNCTIONS OF SUPERVISION
Are there other functions?
What happens when the student has different expectations? How can we manage these?
Teaching
Monitoring/ evaluating
Counselling
Coaching
Providing expertise
Managing

23. What do you think are the qualities of an effective practice educator or mentor?

24. SUPERVISION REQUIREMENTS
Based on the student’s individual goals & learning outcomes of the placement
Regular, structured time in a conducive learning environment – 1 hour per week with the lead educator
Balanced & constructive feedback, strengths & areas for improvement, based on respect, honesty & boundaries
Additional less formal supervision may take place throughout the week with the lead educator and other colleagues as appropriate;
Documented & progressive, including action for future learning.
See copy of supervision log in the handbook…

25. PROGRESSION

26. AN EXAMPLE OF A SUPERVISION MODEL
CLEAR
Contract: outcomes, content, rules, roles.
Listen: active listening, reframing, making connections.
Explore: question, generate new insights, awareness.
Action: way forward, future ‘first-steps’
Review: agreed actions, feedback, plan for review.
Hawkins and Smith 2006

27. Assessing your student
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
SESSION 5:
Assessing your student

28. WHY ASSESS?
To ensure that professional and legal requirements are met for HCPC registration
To establish whether competence has been achieved or not
To maintain professional standards and therefore safeguard the public
To provide a mechanism for identifying strengths and limitations

29. WHAT IS BEING ASSESSED? Knowledge Skills Behaviours Attitudes
Judgements
Think of examples of each in relation to your own discipline or area of practice, and how you might assess these

30. HOURS
Educators sign off student placement hours
Different courses have different requirements
See Practice Education handbook for details

31. WHAT EVIDENCE CAN BE DRAWN ON TO AID STUDENT ASSESSMENT?
Placement learning outcomes
Learning contracts
Supervision and supervision notes
Feedback from colleagues and clients
Evidence from a presentation or piece of work
Student’s self assessment
NB: consider stage of training reached (learning outcomes for the placement) and placement length

32. ASSESSMENT ON THE OT/PT/SLT PROGRAMMES: PASS/FAIL CRITERIA
Delegate Handbook p.29
ASSESSMENT ON THE OT/PT/SLT PROGRAMMES: PASS/FAIL CRITERIA
Students normally have one practice placement reassessment opportunity per level. As soon as a student is identified as experiencing problems seek advice from UEA. 
BSc Third Year Placements & MSc Second Year Placements 3&4
Final year students must pass all items on the assessment form to achieve an overall pass.

33. ***UEA ASSESSMENT: PASS/FAIL CRITERIA
BSc Placements in years 1 & 2, MSc Placements 1 & 2
A fail in any of the items within the Safety and / or Professionalism categories will result in an overall fail for the practice placement.
A fail in any two items or more within one of the other categories will result in a fail.
However, students may carry one failed item within two separate categories and still achieve an overall pass.
Please note: students cannot pass if they carry more than two failed items. .

34. STUDENT ASSESSMENT
PASS
FAIL
Safety
Outstanding
Good
Expected
Fail
Risk of Fail*
Professionalism
Clinical / Professional Reasoning
Client Management
Interpersonal Skills
Information Management
*Risk of Fail at mid-way assessment only

35. RISK OF FAILURE ACTION PLAN
Completed by P.E. in discussion with student & visiting tutor (VT);
Side 1: summary of concerns
Side 2: Action plan to address concerns
Reviewed in weekly supervision & VT updated on progress

36. I think my student is at risk of failure – what should I do?
PAIRED DISCUSSION
I think my student is at risk of failure – what should I do?

37. BORDERLINE STUDENTS We are all the gate keepers of the professions
What is the purpose of pass and fail?
Make a balanced judgement of performance: practice is a learning experience therefore the student’s performance will not always be perfect
Is the student meeting the learning outcomes for the placement and achieving their learning objectives?
What is your instinct telling you?
Who is there to help with decision making?

38. Thinking ahead: next steps
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
SESSION 6:
Thinking ahead: next steps

39. LEARNING TOGETHER
“Clinical education offers unique opportunities for both students and clinical educators. Students must learn from their educators, although educators can choose to learn from their students. If they make this choice, the ensuing learning journey is likely to be rewarding both personally and professionally.”
(McAllister & Lincoln, 2004:p1)
What are the benefits of Practice Education to the following?
your student?
you as a practice educator?
your service or organisation?
your service users?

40. WHAT NEXT? TOOLS FOR SELF DEVELOPMENT
What are your key learning points from the day?
What key areas would you like to develop in your role as a Practice Educator?

41. SELF EVALUATION Strengths Weakness Opportunities Threats
Delegate Handbook p.36
SELF EVALUATION
Complete the SWOT of your current skills and how these will contribute to your role as a Practice Educator
Strengths
Weakness
Opportunities
Threats
From this, identify two or three key areas you would like to develop as a Practice Educator

42. ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS?
LOOKING AHEAD TO DAY 2
Preparation for the Portfolio
COMPLETE EVALUATION FORMS