Welcome from the Practice Team (Link Tutor for LD)

1. Welcome from thePractice Team(Link Tutor for LD) Preparation for Practice Year 1 B Nurs (Hons)

2. 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 Practice Team/Link Tutor

3. Monitor quality & quantity of placement areas for students undertaking healthcare courses Support students and mentors in the delivery of learning and assessment in practice The Role of the Practice Team/Link Tutor

4. Placement Areas Used • Independent Sector, e.g. nursing homes, hospices, practice nurses • NHS Trusts, e.g. hospitals, community teams

5. 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

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. PLU 01902 518630 plu@wlv.ac.uk

13. 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

14. What will I Need Before my First Placement? (Cont) • Fob Watch with second hand • Pens (black) • Small notebook to fit in pocket

15. 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.

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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.

19. 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

20. 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.

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. Learning Zones • Some areas provide study sessions known as learning zones • You will be informed at induction if your area offers learning zones

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

32. Professionalism – see policies and guidance on the Pre-registration Nursing Placement Learning Support WOLF topic • Social websites • Confidentiality • Challenging appropriately • Reporting sickness and absence • Time keeping • Bursary fraud • Escalating Concerns

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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

36. 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

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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

41. 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

42. 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

43. 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

44. Claiming Expenses http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Students/1181.aspx (then click on ‘download a practice placement travel claim’)

45. 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

46. 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 contactSharon ArkellHead of Practice & Innovationsharon.arkell@wlv.ac.uk01902 518933/7966920208