Placements
You will undertake compulsory work placements mostly in the NHS, working with a range of people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, developing your clinical and professional skills. There are placements in large teaching hospitals as well as small general hospitals. Placements are spread across the country and we try to ensure that you are placed where you will have the best chance of development.
You will have a short placement after the first year (2 weeks) and then embark on a 40 week placement which will start in the middle of your second year and end in the middle of your final year. You will then return to university to complete your academic learning in the final term.
During your 40 week placement you will be supported and mentored by a clinical educator in practice and will also have a university appointed clinical lecturer, as well as your personal tutor. Throughout your placement you will be supported and we aim to maintain contact with you through emails and return days back to the university.
Built into the placement are study and reflection time to ensure that you can reflect on your learning in practice and look back at the theory you have been taught, considering how this links to practice. This model has proved highly successful, with several of our students offered job roles at their placement before completing their degree.
Placements will allow you to develop your clinical skills, as well as your professional skills, time management, team working, leadership and management qualities. They will also instil a work ethic and help you develop your overall maturity.
You should be aware that any disclosure on your DBS, or disclosed health issues or learning differences will be discussed with placement providers prior to placement allocation. It is important to note that placement providers may not be able to take a student depending on what is disclosed on their DBS.
All NHS trusts have to apply a strict dress code that is there to protect the patient. They have been developed to ensure that local and national infection control guidance is adhered to, while giving consideration to cultural and religious needs. There are some areas where the need to fully comply with infection control guidance has overridden religious requirements.
There is no guarantee that clinical placement will be near Leicester or you family home address. We can only allocate placements that meet our criteria and that are available at the time that you are due to start your placement. You will always be notified in advance of your placement allocation, typically early on at the start of your second year.
If you decline your allocated placement this could result in a delay in allocating you an alternative placement which in turn will impact on when you complete your programme and are able to graduate.
Typically placements mimic the typical working week of between 37 and 39 hours, including 7.5 hours of study time. You must complete 40 weeks on placement, excluding any annual leave and sickness, within a period of 48 weeks.
While on placements you are likely to incur additional travel and accommodation costs compared with a regular student attending university and requiring student accommodation. The university consider financial support on an individual basis, depending on placement location and circumstances. All NHS placements are unpaid, departments offer placements as they are keen to support the profession and in most cases receive limited funds from the NHS.
Graduate Careers
Rewarding role for Audiology graduate Layla -
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Many graduates have secured clinical posts prior to them completing the course. Primarily graduates have chosen clinical posts which typically are within NHS trusts, but as Audiology services change, graduates are undertaking NHS work through providers like Specsavers and other providers that deliver NHS contracts.
There are also a significant proportion of graduates that enter the independent and private sector, job satisfaction is just as rewarding and skills in the commercial and entrepreneurial area are further developed. A significant number of previous graduates now run or are partners of their own branches.
Opportunities are available outside the clinical arena and some of our graduates have been employed with hearing aid manufacturers and Audiology equipment manufacturers.
There are also opportunities to specialise and train further once you have graduated, in particular the ‘Scientist Training Programme’ as well as the British Academy of Audiology ‘Higher Training Scheme’.