Clinical Education Unit News December 2020

Thank you Sveta and welcome back Nicola

Sveta Sargent has now returned to her substantive role within the Graduate School and we would like to thank her for working so tirelessly throughout the year to ensure that we came out the other side of the pandemic. Sveta came to us hoping to take on new challenges and 2020 provided many! Learning an already complex role and then keeping up with all the changes regarding health protocols, placements and enrolments made it a tumultuous year. Nicola has returned from maternity leave and sincerely appreciates Sveta’s efforts that have led to a smooth transition.

Clinical placements in the COVID-19 pandemic

by Andrea Whitehead and Kelly Beak UQ Health and Rehabilitation Clinics School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences The University of Queensland.

The COVID-19 situation resulted in considerable unforeseen changes to the clinical placements of students in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences of the University of Queensland (UQ). Across all disciplines, large numbers of clinical placements were cancelled or disrupted as a consequence of COVID-19, including social distancing restrictions, client cancellation; redeployment of clinicians to other roles, and student and/or staff absence. Consequently, an urgent and immediate expansion of tele rehabilitation services to clients and exploration of alternative models of clinical supervision was commenced.

Each speech pathology student clinic was evaluated in relation to the following risk mitigation framework:

• Year level of the students and suitability for synchronous remote supervision;
• Prior placement experience of the students;
• Experience of the CEs with tele rehabilitation;
• Suitability of the clients for telerehabilitation.

Based on this, the following clinical placement models were developed:

1. Alternative clinical experiences. This opportunity was provided for 3rd year UG and 1st year GEMS students.
   1. CEs delivered sessions to clients via tele rehabilitation;
   2. Sessions were recorded and shared with students via secure UQ platforms;
   3. Students completed structured observation, progress note writing, session planning, and case discussion in regular clinical placement meetings.
       
2. Synchronous, remote supervision. This opportunity was provided for final year GEMS students whose external placement had been cancelled.
   1. Students in a paired model delivered sessions to clients from their own homes;
   2. Students received 1:1 remote supervision from a CE who observed the session in real-time from their own home.

Through implementation of each of the above models, we were able to support continuation or commencement of clinical placement for international and remote domestic students who had returned home. Overall, between 70 to 100% of students who had a planned clinical placement in semester 1 across different cohorts were able to complete these placements.

HaBS News Update

If you haven’t already, please take the time to read The Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences News Update, where research and new developments are discussed.

For interesting news from the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, please follow the news webpage.

Launch of the Student Practice Evaluation Form (Second Edition) Package - the ‘SPEF-R2’.

The SPEF-R2 project team from occupational therapy launched the Student Practice Evaluation Form (Second Edition) Package - the ‘SPEF-R2’ on November 25 and 26 to university staff and more than 800 practice educators across Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.  This is the culmination of an 18-month review and update process by the team in consultation with occupational therapy practice educators, clinicians, students and university staff across all Australian states.

The Student Practice Evaluation Form (SPEF) was originally launched in 1998 at The University of Queensland and then utilised across the state of Queensland in 2000, before gradually being adopted by OT programs throughout Australia. The SPEF is a competency-based evaluation tool that has been used to assess the capability and performance of occupational therapy students on block practice placements. In 2005, the SPEF development team was acknowledged with an Australian Award for University Teaching in the category Excellence in Improving/Enhancing Assessment.

In order to meet the changes in professional practice settings, service delivery models and diverse occupational therapy education programs, the tool was revised between 2005 and 2008, resulting in the Student Practice Evaluation Form – Revised Edition (SPEF-R) and the introduction of an online training tool. The utility and practicality of this tool has been further enhanced through the development of an online platform (SPEF-R Online), and SPEF-R Training website in 2013.

The release the Australian Occupational Therapy Competency Standards (AOTCS) in February 2018 and the need to incorporate the diversity of roles and contexts that now exist in occupational therapy practice served as the impetus for the current SPEF-R Review Project, and the development of an updated tool, the SPEF-R2. The new SPEF-R2 ensures alignment with the new Australian Occupational Therapy Competency Standards. It also includes many varied contemporary additions and amendments in order to meet the needs of the current occupational therapy landscape, and to make the tool more relevant and easier to use.

The launch provided detailed information on the updated SPEF-R2 tool that will be used by universities for the assessment of students on practice placements in 2021.

SPEF-R2 Project Team

Anne-Maree Caine

Jenny Fleming

Jodie Copley

Merrill Turpin

Teresa Quinlan

Wendy Hood

Chris Herd

SHRS CE training project

We are currently developing the suite of education and training offered through SHRS to include some contemporary modes of learning, such as bite sized and short grabs of information, practical tips and lived experiences to compliment content designed to prepare and support CEs for professional practice placements. We hope to have this available in the first half of 2021.

UQ ClinEd2U@UQ program

A new Faculty collaborative clinical educator training program is being trialled in Semester 1, 2021. The UQ ClinEd2U@UQ program comprises a set of online learning modules takes participants on a journey of orientation to the CE role, preparing and sustaining a supportive clinical learning environment, facilitating learning in the clinical environment, with a particular focus on clinical reasoning and clinical skill, and on monitoring, feedback and assessment. Upon completion of the project it is envisaged that SHRS CEs will have free access to this training-stay tuned!

2020 has seen students experience a diversity of placement experiences. 

The experience of my placement at Eden, a private community-based practice in Hong Kong, was really great and amazing.

If I have to choose one best thing about this placement, it will definitely be the enormous learning experiences. I was exposed to a great diversity of clients, ranging from children and adolescents to the elderly, with different conditions, such as learning disabilities, Autism Disorder Spectrum, stroke, dementia etc. I also had numerous learning opportunities within my role as a student occupational therapist, including gathering information about my clients, completing assessments for their environment, skills and performance, setting therapy goals collaboratively, as well as providing therapy sessions for my clients, either individually or in groups through phone calls, telecommunication or face-to-face interactions. My clinical educator (CE) allowed me to take the lead and even see clients independently while providing sufficient guidance and support for me. I am very thankful that my CE arranged such beautiful exposures for me to explore, to experience, to expand and sharpen my skill set, and to strengthen my confidence. It was really eye-opening and enriching for me as a student.

In Hong Kong, a city well-known for its fast-paced lifestyle and its high population density, allied health setting put a great emphasis on “efficiency”, especially in private practice. They would strive to provide the best quality of service with the least amount of time and resources. The long working hours and the tightly-packed therapy schedule were a struggle for me at the beginning of the placement. It was not easy, but at the same time, a very good opportunity for me to learn more about myself, my strengths and weaknesses (things that I might need more time in completing) and the best strategies that help me manage my stress and finish my work more efficiently. Time and stress-management skills were certainly some of the biggest lessons I have taken out with me from this placement. In Hong Kong, students tend to have very high expectations and put a lot of stress on ourselves. My CE always reminded us about our roles as “students” and “learners”. It made me realize that the most important thing on placement is the learning process. We should accept the flaws and shortcomings we have as a student, try our best to learn and keep improving.

Yee Ki Elke Au
Third year Occupational Therapy student

Singapore placements

The UQ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) has developed a range of new partnerships across Speech Pathology, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy.

Read about one student’s experience with our new partner Amazing Speech Therapy (AST).Part of the experience was at AST’s D-CAF (Dysphagia Cafe).  At D-CAF individuals with the swallowing disorder dysphagia to receive therapy in a café-like setting. Read more

We are committed to linking with leading edge organisations to grow capacity and broaden opportunities for students to engage and succeed in clinical placements. If you would like to discuss developing mutually beneficial partnerships please contact the CEU, at ceu.shrs@uq.edu.au or call 07 3365 2264.

SHRS is committed to providing clinical educator (CE) support and training. SHRS has been offering clinical education and support strategies in an interprofessional model since 2005. SHRS offers a suite of workshops to support the needs of CEs aimed at levels to suit both beginner and experienced CEs working in a range of settings and sectors. These are open to clinical educators who engage in the learning and development of SHRS students whilst on professional practice placements.

Details of our upcoming 2021 workshops are listed below and to join us please register. 

Interprofessional Introduction to Clinical Education Workshops

This workshop is open to clinical education providers from the allied health professions of Audiology, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Speech Pathology. Content covers the following topics:

• Principles of adult learning
• Influences on learning
• Practical tools for engaging students in the learning environment and process
• How to provide constructive feedback for student learning and
• Approaches for dealing with challenging student issues that may arise on placement

Dates:    Thursday 11 February 2021 (8.45am - 4pm)

Interprofessional Advanced Workshops

These workshops are aimed at experienced clinical educators who are familiar with foundational principles of adult learning, facilitation of learning techniques and effective communication skills including the provision of feedback.  Future dates will be confirmed at the start of 2021.

Profession Specific Workshops

Each profession in SHRS offers workshops for clinical educators to provide information regarding the use and application of the specific assessment tools used to measure student performance on placement.

Profession specific workshops are usually held the day immediately following the Interprofessional Introduction to Clinical Education Workshop. These workshops will be held on UQ's St Lucia campus.

Occupational therapy profession specific workshops:

Includes rating student performance using the Student Placement Evaluation Form - Revised (SPEF-R) and facilitating student learning and clinical reasoning.

Friday, 12 February 2021 (8.30am - 1pm) 

Physiotherapy profession specific workshops:

Provided by the Queensland University Clinical Education Collaborative (QUCEC), co-hosted by ACU and UQ at ACU Banyo.

Friday, 12 February 2021 (9am - 3pm) 

Speech Pathology specific workshops:

Includes the use of COMPASS for student evaluation, development and overview of the COMPASS assessment tool, and practical experience in marking COMPASS.

Friday, 12 February 2021 (8.30am - 1pm) 

Clinical Education Unit                                                    

School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences                              
Seddon Central (82B)                                                                
The University of Queensland
St Lucia  Q  4072
E: ceu.shrs@uq.edu.au
P: 3365 4516
F: 3365 9139

Administration

ceu.shrs@uq.edu.au   P: 3365 2264

Clinical Education Liaison Managers (CELM)

Occupational Therapy  

Jodie Booth
P: 3365 8206

Wendy Hood
P: 3365 4518

Physiotherapy 

Ruth Dunwoodie
P: 3365 2012

Michael Donovan
P: 3365 4508
 
Speech Pathology & Audiology

Lucy Hunter
P: 3365 3164

Daniella Cain
P: 3346 7463