Nursing and Midwifery placements

The Allocations Department assigns student nurses to their practical placements.

You can find out about your placement by looking at the Placement Directory. This will tell you about the NHS Trust you will be working in and will provide details about your allocated placement area.

What we do:

• We ensure your academic and personal record is maintained. (This is done from class registers, portfolio documentation and by liaising with other staff and outside bodies).

• We arrange insurance cover for you while on placement.

• We provide information to the Nursing and Midwifery Council for your registration.

• We provide figures and statistics required by both staff and NHS personnel.

Please help us to keep your records up-to-date by informing us of the following:

• If you have changed your address/phone number/email address.

• If you have changed your name; whether by marriage, divorce or deed poll.

• If you are off sick or absent from a placement or session at University.

We negotiate your clinical placements with a variety of outside agencies in the Birmingham/Solihull area.

All primary care placements (District Nurse, Health Visitor, School Nurse) are allocated outside your home area at the request of the Primary Care Trusts.

Please note: placements may be at any location across Birmingham and Solihull. An integral part of the course is to participate in care given over 24 hours; therefore, you will be expected to adopt the various shift patterns governed by your placement area.

It is your responsibility to make contact with a placement area following publication of the "Change List".

Contact should be made two weeks prior to starting - and definitely not less than one week before. Placement areas welcome this early contact as it gives both parties an opportunity to address the many issues concerned with clinical experience.

Details of addresses and phone numbers are available in the Placement Directory.

We aim to release information relating to placements on the Allocation Reports section at least four-six weeks in advance. Please log into the Allocation Reports section using your student ID to view your placements (needs a University login to access).

You should contact your placement area at least two weeks before you are due to start. You need to introduce yourself and enquire about your working arrangements.

If you wish, you could ask if it would be possible to make a visit before you start your allocation. This will give you the opportunity to arrange your transport, find out exactly where the work area is situated, possibly meet your mentor and view the working environment.

You must work 37.5 hours per week, or 75 hours over two weeks (some work areas do their off-duty roster on a fortnightly basis).

Students are required to work the shift patterns in line with their placement area. This was highlighted in your interview for the programme.

If you are rostered to work you must do so. However, if the work area you are allocated to happens to be closed, then you may take the day as a study day. All the bank holidays are taken into account when your programme is devised, so you are not missing out.

You must visit the Student Absence Reporting section of our iCity and your placement area with the details of your absence and your expected date of return. As soon as you are fit to work, you must update Student Absence Reporting and your placement again to confirm your return.

If you have lost your document you will need pay a charge to replace this. You will need to call 0121 331 7008 to arrange for the purchase and collection.

Practice Placement Resource Pack £25.00

Ongoing Achievement Record £10.00

Practice Documents £5.00

You must contact your Programme Director and Allocations Officer (branch specific) as this will affect where we can allocate you. We also have to inform the NHS Trust Practice Placement Managers as they will need to arrange a risk assessment for you.

The Placement Support Team manages the practical assessment process and offers advice and support to students and assessors in practice areas.

The team's role includes:

• Monitoring and adaptation of the practical assessment process to ensure it meets the needs of our customers;

• Advising students and assessors about elements of the practical assessment process;

• Liaison with Practice Placement Managers about all practice issues relating to student nurse education;

• Monitoring students' attendance in practice and investigating absence from placement;

• Annual review of portfolios to ensure that standards are maintained;

• Production of newsletters for assessors and students to keep everyone up-to-date with developments relating to pre-registration courses.