1. PLACEMENT LEARNING UNIT CONFERENCE Wednesday 10 September 2003 Placement Learning Students spend between 2300 hours and 800 hours in clinical placements over a 3 year period Clinical practice areas are the foci for students to develop. Learn and rehearse clinical skills and apply knowledge to practice We need to get it right for retention and to develop competent practitioners

2. QAA and Professional Bodies Hold HEIs accountable for the quality of all learning that students undertake Essential that education audits of clinical placements are undertaken to ensure that the student is placed in a quality learning environment with enough support Equally vital that mentors and supervisors know what a student is expected to experience and learn in a placement To support mentors and supervisors Development of ‘Practice Educators’

3. Multi-Professional opportunities Education audit Mentorship Problem based learning Assessment of competence

4. Is there a Place for Uni-Professional Elements? Certain ‘skills’ must be measured by an individual with a relevant professional qualification, eg toe surgery: Podiatrist less clear ‘interpersonal skills’ in mental health Challenge is to move forward without going a bridge too far. The driver is patient/client Safety - and therefore the preparation of COMPETENT PRACTITIONERS