Abstract
The case study was presented in person at the 2023 UCL Education Conference. It shared postgraduate students’ views from an ongoing UCL approved study with focus on the placement theme.
In preparing health care students for practice, opportunities to learn in a clinical environment are vital to enhance performance and optimise patient care. With reference to William Osler’s (1901) quote:
“He who studies medicine without books sails an uncharted sea, but he who studies medicine without patients does not go to sea at all.”
The questions posed through this presentation were:
- Do/should all postgraduate clinical practice-oriented health care courses offered to international students at UCL provide experiential learning opportunity?
- Do our (UCL) structures enable or hinder experiential learning for these postgraduate learners?
Contact j.falade@ucl.ac.uk for suggestions or if you have any questions or comments.
You will find some of the interview excerpts relating to the placement theme on these slides.
Some key questions are on this slide. One of the points highlighted is the need for cohesive and more joined up approach to the co-ordination and monitoring of placements across UCL. It should not be left to departments or individual programme leads. A joined up approach will ensure a degree of consistency and fairness across the organisation. This will also provide assurance to our student population.
Participants were drawn to study at UCL and UK for an international experience. This included the experience of the disciplines’ clinical environments, empowering practitioners to enhance clinical practice in their home countries. Placement opportunities during the period of study is vital in supporting this.
Therefore, to support access to competent health workers in local communities, higher education providers (such as UCL) offering postgraduate learning and development programmes in health disciplines ought to have a duty of care to prepare international students for practise in their home countries. This will be in line with UCL's aim of delivering values-led education that meets the needs of individuals and societies.
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