Frequently Asked Questions

Won’t students miss out on their practice/clinical skills?
How will they meet their learning outcomes?

The skills learned in project working are all important skills for clinical practice, including communication, research, evidence-based practice, evaluative thinking, project management and interprofessional working.

Universities set learning outcomes agreed by HCPC and professional bodies. There are a range of ways to meet each learning outcome across the 4 pillars of practice, and how they can be achieved is flexible. Early discussion with a university tutor can help clarify expectations and possibilities – usually learning outcomes can be easily achieved by project placements.

What if the project isn’t successful?

A student project may not be successful in its aims during the placement. This is part of learning to carry out and evaluate a project, and is still valuable learning – what to do when things don’t go to plan and reflective practice on what has been achieved.

Communicate to the students at the start and throughout that they are being assessed on their learning, contribution and skill development, not on the success of the project.