Tagged / placement

RCN Education Forum National Conference & Exhibition 2021

conferences

A virtual placement: an innovative initiative during a global pandemic was delivered by Emma Bockle and Lucy Stainer working with Desi Tait and Amanda Watson.

Many student nurses during the pandemic were unable to continue their learning in practice as practice was deemed unsafe (NMC 2020).  A virtual placement on a pre-registration nursing programme was created in which students worked in groups and explored a specific geographical area through online and remote activity for 4 weeks working defined rubrics.

Students needed to comprehend health promotion, and this process created an opportunity to develop leadership, empowerment, independence, resilience and IT skills (Thomas and Asselin, 2018). A virtual placement is transferable to educational programmes requiring an analysis of a group or groups in a community.

This model of learning has significance nationally where placement capacity is predicted to be challenging with increased recruitment for health care professionals. It also reflects the need to introduce contemporary placement models that encompasses learning that is wider than the traditional placement model.  

Abstract details for conference accessible on link below: 

https://www.rcn.org.uk/news-and-events/events/uk-education-forum-national-conference-200421

Photo of the Week: Welcome to BU from China!

Welcome to BU from China! From the beginning to the end of your studies at BU, let’s focus on the middle bit and the all-important ‘sandwich placement’!

Our Photo of the Week series features photo entries from our annual Research Photography Competition taken by BU academics, students and professional staff, which gives a glimpse into some of the fantastic research undertaken across the BU community.

This week’s photo of the week is a selfie taken by Vianna Renaud (Placement Development Advisor and Postgraduate Researcher, Centre for Excellence in Media Practice) with our Chinese students from Beijing Normal University Zhuhai (BNUZ). BU works closely with BNUZ to give students on a number of undergraduate courses the opportunity to complete their studies with us. In an increasingly global business environment, having the opportunity to study in an international community of academics and students is invaluable in helping to develop global perspective and gain a better understanding of how business is conducted across borders and elsewhere in the world.

With the idea of attending Bournemouth University planted in the minds of Chinese students who have attended the Global Festival of Learning on their home campus, the dream becomes a reality when they find themselves in the UK a few months later. Along with having to adjust to the British higher education system, they must begin looking for a sandwich placement suitable for their academic course which can be a challenging time for them.

Vianna is currently trialling a pilot project where she regularly engages with our BNUZ students on a monthly basis and will research to what degree an impact has been made from this intervention, which will include having coaching conversations, using the GROW Model & informational handouts signposting BU services, as well as encouraging the students to engage in peer-to-peer learning in their preparation for placement year.

“By building upon the relationship BU currently has with BNUZ, combined with the feedback from these students, I am confident we can build our own innovative approach to best support those students that choose BU,” says Vianna.

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For more information about this research, please contact Vianna Renaud here.