In Ayrshire & Arran we provide practice placements for undergraduate Bsc/Hons students from our partner Universities at Glasgow Caledonian and Queen Margaret University. We aim to meet the learning needs of our students while matching the practice placement objectives set by the University.
As a service we are signed up to the Quality Standards for Practice Learning (QSPL) [PDF] to provide a positive learning environment and support the development of Podiatry professionals to deliver safe and effective person centred care.
What to Expect at a Podiatry Placement based within Ayrshire and Arran (A &A)
The podiatry service in A & A is provided over two pathways; The Podiatry Pathway and the MSK Podiatry Pathway. The pathways integrate to meet the needs of all our service users and this is reflected in the way we provide our placements. The MSK podiatry pathway is a specialist area of the service that focuses on managing adults and children who have pain from structural or functional problems with their legs and feet. The podiatry pathway encompasses patients requiring core podiatry, nail surgery, complex and high risk patients with podiatric issues including ulceration and ischaemia within the clinical, ward and home settings. You can expect to have practice placements which include elements from both pathways. Examples of these activities may include:
- Specialist Wound Care Clinics including joint orthotics clinics and Multidisciplinary clinics
- Treatment of complex podiatric patients in in patient settings
- Nail Surgery Clinics
- Treating patients on Domiciliary Visits
- MSK Assessment Clinics
- Steroid Injection and Laser Clinics
- Podiatric Orthopaedic Clinics
Prior to any placement within podiatry you will have received an email with your timetable, contacts for your area and where to attend your induction.
Induction
This will take place within the first day of the placement and will include necessary information and tasks required for a successful placement eg:
- Introduction to Practice Educator and wider podiatry team, useful contact numbers.
- Orientation to work area including any access codes, tour of department, equipment stores, library access. IT log in information etc
- Format for placement: days/hours of work, clinical and non-clinical times, absence reporting.
- Professionalism: appearance, social media, mobile phone use; confidentiality
- Learning experience: learning agreement, formal and informal feedback mechanisms, learning styles, theoretical and practical learning opportunities
- Health & safety: emergency / fire procedures, Moving and handling, infection prevention & control
- NES Quality Standards of Practice-based Learning
Facilitation of Learning
A variety of means are available to help facilitate learning are available and may depend on the student’s individual learning style eg:
- Educator demonstrating assessment / treatment / practical activities on the patient / class group or on the student giving explanation / discussion
- Student practicing above on clinical educator / patient / another podiatrist with educator assisting / explaining
- One to one discussion sessions between educator and student
- Peer and self-assessment
- Shadowing other staff-gaining different insight / slant
- Internet searching for evidence-based practice national guidelines
- Flow diagrams / mind maps of situations
- Observation of other professions and writing reflective account
- Private study and reflecting on learning
- Case studies / tutorials
- Attending in-service training / presenting an in-service
Learning opportunities
Learning opportunities vary with speciality, some of these may include;
- Supervised and guided assessment and treatment of many different patient groups
- attending clinics
- shadowing other health professionals
- peer supported learning sessions
- being part of the multi-disciplinary team
- attending ward rounds and multi-disciplinary team meetings
- participation in and delivery of assessment
- critical appraisal of literature
- time available for reflective activities or self-directed learning
- awareness of department routine and managing clinical caseload
Students are advised to complete the suggested pre-placement reading which will be sent by your placement educator. Students on placements within podiatry are treated as a member of the podiatry team. As such they should adhere to the same set of standards and code of conduct. More information is provided through the following link:
Standards of proficiency – Chiropodists / podiatrists | (hcpc-uk.org)