Welcome from the
Practice Team
(Link Tutor for LD)
Preparation for Practice
Year 1
B Nurs (Hons)
Practice Team/Link Tutor
Find out who the Practice Team or Link Tutor
is for your area – details on Pre-registration
Nursing Placement Learning Support WOLF
topic.
Mental Health, Adult and Child students are
supported by a Practice Team which
consists of academic staff and Practice
Placement Managers (PPM) or Clinical
Placement Facilitators (CPF)
Learning Disability Students will have a Link
Tutor and may or may not have a PPM/CPF
depending upon your placement
The Role of the Practice
Team/Link Tutor
Monitor quality & quantity of
placement areas for students
undertaking healthcare courses
Support students and mentors in the
delivery of learning and assessment
in practice
Placement Areas Used
• Independent Sector, e.g.
nursing homes, hospices,
practice nurses
• NHS Trusts, e.g. hospitals,
community teams
Please note:
You only have two attempts at
practice; if you fail practice twice
you will be discontinued from the
course
It is important that you are aware of
all areas that could result in a fail
grade being awarded for practice
so these are highlighted in this
presentation
Flowthrough – What is it?
• Available on Pre-registration Nursing
Placement Learning Support WOLF topic
• You must ensure that you are available to
work during the retrieval period if required –
DO NOT PLAN ANY HOLIDAYS. You will be
required to return to retrieve any outcomes if
not achieved at the first attempt.
• If you do not return to practice at this point
you will be awarded a non-submission grade
for your second attempt and will be
discontinued from the course at the next
assessment board.
Mandatory Requirements
Before Going on Placement
• Enhanced DBS clearance
• Occupational Health clearance
• Basic life support, manual handling,
safeguarding adults and young children,
infection prevention and control,
information governance, fire lecture
• Trust induction day
You will not be able to go on placement if
you have not completed/attended all of
these. Must be recorded in OAR.
Information I will Need
Before my First Placement
• Allocation – where am I going?
Look on evision
• You will also need to access
placement profile on evision
under the Placements menu
item.
Communication
• You will be contacted via your
University email address and
WOLF notices for any
communications related to
practice.
• Please maintain your University
email account or forward emails to
an alternative address
Information in Placement
Profile:
•
•
•
•
Speciality
Off duty
Pre-reading
Whether an introductory visit is
required
• Any specific uniform requirements
Also, read the Placement Handbook on
the Pre-registration Nursing Placement
Learning Support WOLF topic
Allocations
• Allocations are done by the Practice Learning
Unit (PLU)
• The PLU inform the placement areas which
students to expect
• If your placement details are not available on
evision 4 weeks prior to the placement start
date contact PLU
• Change of placement request form must be
completed from evision if this is requested
• Taking holiday during placement time is not
allowed and may affect your continuation on
the course
PLU
01902 518630
plu@wlv.ac.uk
What will I Need Before
my First Placement?
• Uniform (trousers & tunic, no
jewellery)
• Black Shoes (flat and fully
enclosed)
• Cardigan/fleece (Navy Blue)
• Socks (Plain Black/Blue)
• ID card and Name Badge
What will I Need Before
my First Placement? (Cont)
• Fob Watch with second hand
• Pens (black)
• Small notebook to fit in pocket
Off Duty
• You are required to participate in all
shifts dependent on your placement
area.
• Early, Late, Weekends and Bank
Holidays, nights (nights - from second
semester in year 1 onwards).
• Off Duty is generally available three
weeks in advance.
• Phone or visit your placement area for
this.
Working Bank Holidays
Some services do not operate on bank holidays.
- generally 5 day week services, either in the
hospital or community placements.
If your placement area is closed on a BH you will
be given study time with some specific work to
complete. If you do not complete the work you
will be marked absent for the shift.
If you work in a 24 hour service you will have to
work the BH if rostered, as your holiday leave is
already taken into account in the flowthrough
Working Nights
• Expected to work some nights during
your course – NMC requirement, but
this should not be on a regular basis
• You should be given adequate notice to
make childcare arrangements
• You may be rostered to work nights
– from year 1 semester 2 onwards
– if your mentor is working nights
Requesting Off duty
• Many areas have a system for
requesting particular shifts.
• These are for special occasions only.
• Making a request does not guarantee
receiving it.
• Be fair and reasonable.
• Remember, if you request every
weekend off, you may not get the one
you really need.
Reporting sickness – who
to contact?
• Phone:
– Placement – you may be action planned if you fail to
notify placement of sickness/absence in accordance
with the local policy
– University – Placement Learning Unit (PLU)
• Submit sick note to PLU after 5
days of continuous sickness
• Failure to submit a valid sick note
may result in failure of placement
Sickness/absence
• If you have more than 3 occasions of
sickness/absence your mentor will meet with
you to assess whether you have any health
problems.
• You do not have to disclose the specific details
of health problems to your mentor but if your
health is affecting your performance you must
contact the Practice Team/Link Tutor or your
personal tutor immediately.
• If you fail to disclose any health problems that
do affect your performance you will not be
able to claim mitigation for these after the
placement is completed.
Sickness/absence
• If you do not identify any
significant health problems to your
mentor, your mentor will
commence an action plan related
to your repeated
sickness/absence.
• Failure to address this may result
in a refer in practice
Orientation Visit/
Induction Day
Some placement areas will
organise an orientation visit
on the induction day
You will be informed prior to
the induction day if this is
relevant for you
Aims of the Orientation
Visit (if relevant)
• Reduce your Anxieties
• Gain more understanding of the
service provision of the area
• To familiarise yourself with the
area
• To be aware of Health and Safety
Issues
• To prepare yourself for your first
working day in relation to supply of
parking/food/beverages.
Top Tips For Placement
These are comments from a previous group
at the end of their first year.
• Be friendly, helpful, approachable and keen to learn.
• Be open-minded and smile.
• Get involved as much as you can and show you are
willing to learn new experiences.
• Think about what you would like to learn about and tell
your mentor.
• Try to learn a least one new thing every shift.
• Look for learning opportunities and ask to see any
procedures that are taking place.
• Always ask if you are unsure
• If your mentor is not available ask another member of
staff to help you achieve your outcomes.
Top Tips For Placement
(cont)
• Work with the team and remember you can learn a lot
from other members of the team including HCA’s.
• HCA’s are knowledgeable.
• Introduce yourself to the patients and talk to them, you
can learn from them as well.
• If at a stand still don’t just sit around, ask if there is
anything to do or go and talk to patients.
• Write lots of learning journals and get staff to write lots
of testimonies, these can be used as evidence for
portfolios.
• Enjoy yourself and have fun on your placement but
remember to be Professional.
• Remember to ask, ask, ask.
Practice Support
• Information available on evision and
WOLF
• Practice Team/Link Tutor
• Placement preparation, support,
evaluation sessions – these are
mandatory sessions
• Dates of all sessions should be available
on the WOLF topic. If they aren’t
available for your area please contact
your Practice Team/Link Tutor asap.
Learning Zones
• Some areas provide study sessions
known as learning zones
• You will be informed at induction if
your area offers learning zones
Evidence Weeks
Evidence weeks allow time for you to complete
practice related study:
• Each domain requires completion of a written
piece of work to pass the domain
• Other ESCs may also require the collation of
some written work to demonstrate your
understanding
• The amount of work required will depend upon
the requirements of your mentor e.g. your
mentor may ask you for some written
evidence to demonstrate your knowledge on a
particular subject
Escalating Concerns
• If you witness or think you have witnessed
poor practice you must escalate this in
accordance with the Escalating Concerns
policy on WOLF. Inform your Personal
Tutor/Practice Team immediately
• If you are asked to write a statement, or
attend a meeting, by the Trust/organisation
regarding an incident you should contact
your Personal Tutor immediately for support
First 3 weeks on placement:
• Combination of placement days
and study days.
• Study days may be induction days
that require attendance
• Usually 2 days in placement and
one study day per week depending
upon area
Working with your Mentor
•
•
•
•
40% time
Supervision by mentor
Supernumary status
You are entitled to 8 study days in year 1,
one day per week during the first three
weeks and five days in semester 2.
These are planned for you, you cannot
choose when to take them
Professionalism – see policies
and guidance on the Preregistration Nursing Placement
Learning Support WOLF topic
• Social websites
• Confidentiality
• Challenging appropriately
• Reporting sickness and absence
• Time keeping
• Bursary fraud
• Escalating Concerns
Suitability Panel – a panel of senior
academic staff and senior practice
partners who consider any action or
omission by a student that could
bring the reputation of the profession
into disrepute
Examples:
• Forging signatures/information in
Practice Assessment Documents
• Suspension from placement
• Inappropriate use of social media sites
Your Practice Documents
• An Ongoing Achievement Record
(OAR)
• A Practice Assessment Document
(PAD)
–Hub placements and Pathways
(spokes)
• Loss / damage – report immediately
• Do not use of tippex
Submitting your PAD
• Submission of PAD – dates on WOLF,
must submit to Student Office with
barcoded sheet from evision
• You must ensure that they are fully
completed prior to submission or submit
extenuating circumstances as this will
be recorded as a refer
• Advised to photocopy the Practice
Learning Plan, interview meeting notes
and your timesheet prior to submission
Completing your Timesheet
• It is your responsibility to ensure that you
work an average of 37.5 hours per week and
that this is clearly documented.
• If your mentor does not roster you for enough
hours you must discuss this with your mentor
and, if this does not resolve the problem,
speak to the Practice Team/Link Tutor
• If you do not complete the required number of
hours in year 2 you will be required to retrieve
these hours in the retrieval period
• An evidence week should be recorded as 37.5
hours and must be signed by your mentor indicating that you have completed the work
Practice Requirements
• Complete Practice Development Plan –
see ESCs table on WOLF topic
• Meet with personal tutor after progress
review and again after final interview
• OAR do not submit with PAD, take to
meeting with your personal tutor
• Submission – an extension of 1 week
may be allowed if needed. Extension
form must be completed from evision
Placement Evaluation
• September 2013 - placement
evaluations will be completed online
• Choose placement evaluations tab in
e:vision and complete online evaluation
after each placement has completed
• This is a mandatory requirement.
Failure to complete evaluations may
result in future placements being
withheld which will affect your
progression
Placement Evaluation
• Once you have completed a placement the
evaluation form will appear in evision.
• If you were off sick/absent for the whole
placement please contact PLU so that this can
be recorded
• Informal, verbal evaluation sessions may still
occur whilst you are on placement so that
issues can be discussed within the group.
However, these sessions do not replace the
formal online evaluations, which are
mandatory
Other Field Outcomes – to be
completed by end of course
• See details in your Practice
Development Plan for your field and
Other Field Experience Guidance for
Students and Mentors
• Details must be recorded in the PAD
and OAR
• Personal tutor must verify this is in your
OAR
EU Directive – Adult Field only
• Required to experience the following
placement areas at some point during
the three year course:
– Surgical nursing
– Medical nursing
– Community nursing
– Older adult nursing
• Evidence of this must be verified and
recorded in your OAR by your personal
tutor
Retrieval of Practice Hours
• All sickness must be retrieved, regardless of reason
• Must be retrieved during the 4 week retrieval period.
Must be worked on a full-time basis until all hours are
retrieved even if this falls on Christmas weeks – you
cannot choose how many hours you work each week
• Must complete a retrieval of hours form from e:vision
and submit to Practice Learning Unit
• DO NOT BOOK HOLIDAY DURING RETRIEVAL
WEEKS
• If you have more than 4 weeks to retrieve you must use
holiday weeks.
N.B. In year 3 everyone works the final 4 weeks
What happens if you do not
achieve in practice?
• If your mentor indicates that there is a
problem with your performance contact the
Practice Team/Link Tutor immediately
• You will be given an opportunity to retrieve
any non-achieved outcomes during the 4 week
retrieval period
• All information will be sent to your University
email address
• Two referrals in practice will result in
discontinuation from the course so it is
important that you seek support early
Claiming Expenses
http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Students
/1181.aspx
(then click on ‘download a practice
placement travel claim’)
For further information
• Go to the Pre-registration Nursing
Placement Learning Support topic
on WOLF
• Refer to the guidance on this topic
and the Placement Handbook
If you have any concerns regarding
practice you should contact your
Practice Team/Link Tutor in the first
instance or talk to your personal
tutor. If you do not feel that this has
fully addressed the issue(s) please
contact
Sharon Arkell
Head of Practice & Innovation
sharon.arkell@wlv.ac.uk
01902 518933/7966920208