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Tips for Embracing New Placements in Mental Health and Learning Disability Services
Tips for students
- Be open minded to placements in mental health or learning disability settings
- Talk to previous students about their experiences and ask what they learned
- Think about going to placement in pairs or small groups if possible, or link up with other students on similar placements and share ideas, offer support
- Celebrate what you achieve, write case studies, vignettes, share with course leaders and fellow students
Tips for HEI’s
- Make connections with your local mental health and learning disability service providers
- Look at non-NHS settings as well as NHS settings – Local Authority, schools, special education providers, care homes, hospices, community advocacy services, supported housing providers and activity providers will all benefit from AHP student placements
- Consider alternative and innovative placement models such as project and leadership placements. Could these been offered in collaboration with another placement setting such as a physical health care setting?
- Think creatively about how placement support and supervision can be provided, particularly in role emerging placements – small group supervision, online supervision sessions and working in partnership other organisations where particular AHP’s are established are all good starting points
- Consider developing short case studies to highlight the benefits of previous placements in mental health and learning disability settings for both students and prospective placement providers
Tips for Placement Providers
- Think creatively about where AHP student placements might offer new interventions. Can you involve service users and families in this?
- Look at opportunities for expanding services, split supervisory responsibility and placements or trying new approaches in services
- Consider developing split placements across physical and mental health/learning disability services. This can increase capacity and allow crossover models for supervision.
- Think creatively and link with HEI’s to explore possible placement ideas and options for support and supervision
- Partner with neighbouring Trusts or other organisations to explore a partnership approach, particularly with placement support and supervision ideas
- Celebrate student placements and the benefits they bring to patients and service users, using social media and internal communications to share learning