Professional Placement Planning

Introduction

The development of the ‘Guide for Students with Disabilities on Professional Placement’ allows all parties involved to work together and ensure that students with disabilities have a good work placement opportunity. The central element of Placement Planning is a process of communication and information sharing. This process plays a key role in ensuring that students and staff are confident and enabled to:

• Clearly define learning outcomes and core competencies expected of students on professional placements
• Participate and understand effective disclosure/confidentiality process
• Identify student’s practice placement needs
• Provide and explain practice place reasonable accommodations
• Maintain academic and professional standards
• Ensure the safety of students, staff and members of the public

Placement Planning process:

• The formal planning process involves a discussion at the initial needs assessment when you register with the Disability Service. At that stage - or later - a decision to proceed to the next stage which is meeting with academic, placement staff and work based placement co-ordinators.
• A formal placement planning meeting will be arranged to decide if practice place reasonable accommodations may be necessary on placement. This is an opportunity to discuss the core competencies expected on placement, reasonable accommodations, any safety issues and any disclosure/confidentiality concerns that may exist.
• Following this meeting your LENS report is updated with an additional section for practice place reasonable accommodations. With the students’ consent and agreement this LENS is then sent to the department or school and then forwarded by them to the placement staff concerned.
• At the beginning of the placement the student should meet their placement supervisor to confirm practice place reasonable accommodations and talk through these and ensure they are understood and fit for purpose in the placement situation.
• Feedback throughout the placement is essential and all parties should ensure this is given, not just towards the end of the process.
• Any difficulties arising with implementation of practice place reasonable accommodations should be discussed with all parties and revised accordingly to ensure the student can meet the core competencies required.
• If required, a review meeting will take place with all parties to ensure the student is reasonably accommodated.

To download the guide click on this link: Guide for Students with Disabilities on Professional Placement

A limited number of hard copies have been printed.These are available for staff and students on professional courses. Please contact the Disability Service at disab@tcd.ie or phone 01 - 896 3111 for more details.