Placements with occupational therapy

Placements provide a rich learning experience to allow students to develop clinical skills and knowledge
Occupational therapy students working together
Placement learning is an integral part of the experience of training to become an occupational therapist.
Your placements will be of 7, 9 and 12 weeks duration, in Years 1, 2 and 3 respectively. These will take place primarily in the South West of England (primarily Devon, Cornwall, and Somerset).
You'll gain experience in a range of different settings, and placements may be within acute hospital teams, community services, care homes or other settings.
For the short duration of your placements, you may need to relocate to get the most out of your experience.
Please note: additional travel / accommodation costs may be incurred during your placement. Advice on financial support available for health care students on placement from the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Year 1

Seven-week placement
This placement enables students to experience occupational therapy practice. Students will experience collaborative working with colleagues from other disciplines. Through supervised practice, students will develop basic skills underpinning occupational therapy, relating this to campus-based study.

Year 2

Nine-week placement
This placement builds on occupational therapy knowledge, skills and experience gained. Students will actively participate in the occupational therapy intervention process, demonstrating increased autonomy whilst being supervised. Knowledge and skills underpinning inter professional working will be further developed.

Year 3

Twelve-week placement
This module will require the student to demonstrate a range of core skills that will be required of a competent entry level practitioner. The student will develop increasing autonomy, working at times independently demonstrating professional reasoning skills and decision making relevant to clients’ needs and contexts of practice.
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