During placement
Establishing expectations and understanding placement requirements is important for the successful progression of the placement. On this page, you can find steps that will guide you through the placement.
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Set objectives and complete contract
During the first days on placement, students should meet with their supervisor to discuss each party’s expectations of the placement and a contract should be prepared outlining the aims and objectives of the placement, hours of work, skills to be gained, nature of the supervised activities, reporting arrangements, responsibilities of supervisor and trainee and methods of providing feedback. The document must identify the core learning experiences of the placement (skill development, observational experiences, clinical work, etc.) as verifiable goals.
Students should develop their own contract using the template in SONIA. This contract should be completed by the student via SONIA, electronically signed and dated by the student and the supervisor. Contact the Placement Coordinators if further information is required.
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Outline placement duration
Placement 2 is an external placement where 220 placement hours need to be accrued. Approximately 20 of these hours are gained during semester as part of group supervision, telehealth workshop, and time spent on practical assignments.
Typically, students spend 15 hours (two days per week) on Placement 2 and takes approximately 4-5 months to complete.
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Sign student logbooks
Students will ask you to sign their logbook either fortnightly or every 30 hours of placement, whichever comes first.
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Supervision of placement
Supervision of placements for a 2-day/week placement, require at least one hour per week of formal supervision (includes telephone and video format). Both students and supervisors should be aware that any clinical documentation prepared by the trainee (e.g., case notes, reports and letters) must bear the signature of their supervisor.
Additional information
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Guidelines for Supervisor
- Energetically orient the trainee to the service (e.g., relevant staff members, equipment, physical environment, processes).
- Clearly establish the student’s role within the organisation, including details of the work expected.
- Develop a relationship with the student that facilitates frank and open discussion of difficulties and potential problems.
- Demonstrate a commitment to the supervision relationship (e.g., by prioritising supervision appointments and making supervision arrangements explicit from the outset).
- Provide concrete and detailed feedback on all aspects of the student’s performance (including observation of the trainee in action) on a regular basis.
- Attempt to directly sample the student’s work via observation as often as possible.
- Provide an opportunity for the student to observe the supervisor, and other staff, where appropriate.
- Provide the student with “model” reports and provide detailed feedback regarding report writing where appropriate.
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Assessments
- This is to be completed at a mid-placement review meeting (described below) and again at the end of every placement. This document includes a section completed by the supervisor assessing various aspects of the trainee’s performance.
- Ms Lisa Catania as the Placement Coordinator will organise a mid-placement meeting between the student, the placement supervisor and the University.
- Shortly after commencing, a Placement Coordinator will also contact both students and external supervisors earlier to get an informal progress report, to ensure that any problems with the placement are detected sufficiently early.
- Final documentation for submission includes completed log book and mid/end of placement review form
Need Help?
| For Professional Psychology related enquiries: Lisa Catania Placement Coordinator t: 03 8344 3558 e: lisa.catania@unimelb.edu.au | For Professional Psychology related enquiries: Margaret Osborne Course Convenor t: 03 9035 3503 e: mosborne@unimelb.edu.au |
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