Supporting pre-registration learners – our programme

The following RCOT colleagues are involved in the programme:

• Anna Pratt, Pre-registration Education Officer (Accreditation and Quality Assurance accreditation)
• Anne Keen, Professional Practice Enquiries Service
• Carolyn Hay, Pre-registration Education Manager
• Dai Davies, Professional Practice Lead Wales
• Genevieve Smyth, Professional Advisor
• Dr Gill Ward, Research and Development Manager
• Karin Bishop. , Director of Movement Building and Membership
• Karin Orman. , Director of Practice and Innovation
• Ketan Davé, Equity, Diversity, and Belonging Manager
• Lauren Walker, Professional Advisor
• Dr Nikki Daniels, Professional Development Manager
• Paul Cooper, Lead Professional Advisor,
• Richard Fernandez, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager
• Dr Sally Payne, Professional Advisor – Children, Young People and Families
• Sheetal Girdhari, Brand and Communications Manager
• Steve Ford, Chief Executive
• Suzy England, Professional Advisor
• Thea Healy, Profile and Campaigns Manager – Communications and Marketing

This preparatory session will introduce the programme, learning plan and encourage you to think about what you want to gain from this programme relevant to your non-traditional placement.  Carolyn (Pre-registration Education Manager) will support you in identifying RCOT staff relevant to your learning plan and developing questions and topics to explore at these sessions.

Please look at the session overview document to see the theme/ or topic of each session. Each person will give a brief overview of their role or topic. Then the floor is open for you to discuss and ask questions. Each session will last  maximum one hour.  

The final session will provide a space to revisit your learning plan. You will reflect as a group on the learning and how it can be applied to your practice-based learning and future practice.

The programme is designed to support pre-registration learners (students and apprentices) who are undertaking non-traditional practice-based learning. This may include role-emerging, leadership, quality improvement, contemporary and research placements.

Your practice educator, mentor or long-arm supervisor is welcome to attend some or all the sessions too.

We hope that the rolling programme will enable you to attend when it is convenient, during the length of your placement. Opening and losing reflective sessions are held monthly to allow you to create your own timetable.  

Opening sessions are usually held on the first Monday of the month.

Closing reflective sessions are usually held on the third Monday of the month.

Sessions are timetabled for Monday afternoons and throughout Fridays with some exceptions due to bank holidays. 

Jaime is a final year pre-registration learner, studying on a BSc (Hons) occupational therapy programme in Scotland. Their final practice-based learning is for ten weeks in a role-emerging setting, working with a homeless charity in a city centre. They have a long-arm supervisor and a mentor within the charity centre who supports them on a day-to-day basis. This is the first time occupational therapy has been within this setting. So Jaime’s role is to explore the scope and potential for occupational therapy provision within this setting.  

Jaime books into the introductory session. They look at the sessions taking place while they are on placement and notes these sessions. Their practice educator knows about the programme and has encouraged Jaime to take part to enhance their placement experience. The practice educator hopes to attend some of the sessions too.   

At the introductory session, Jaime meets the other learners.  They decide to share Twitter details so they can link up over the coming weeks. Jaime uses the learning plan structure with their placement documents to consider how the RCOT programme may be beneficial. They think about who might be useful to meet to discuss and learn more about topics relevant to establishing an occupational therapy service within a charity.

Jaime decides to meet with:

• Steve Ford, Chief Executive for insight into the professional body and to consider organisational leadership and change.
• Ketan Davé, Equity, Diversity and Belonging Manager to discuss equity and social justice, thinking about this relevant to their client group.
• Dr Nikki Daniels, Professional Development Manager to explore CPD opportunities and approach when working in an area of contemporary practice.
• Anna Pratt, Pre-registration Education Officer (Accreditation and Quality Assurance) to learn about Anna’s career pathway and the variety of opportunities within the occupational therapy profession.
• Dr Gill Ward, Research and Development Manager to learn about the value and impact of research and evidence-based practice.
• Richard Fernandez, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager to explore how policy impacts on practice and how to engage in influencing and developing policy.
• Sheetal Girdhari, Brand and Communications Manager to consider promotion of the profession and providing clear messaging.

Jaime prepared for each session thinking about questions to ask and topics and areas of interest to discuss. They talked with everyone who attended too and networked with other pre-registration learners. Afterwards, they were able to reflect on their learning, discuss this in supervision with their practice educator and implement learning within their placement practice.