Allied health professions (AHP) learning site

The Scottish Government provided additional funding to address the disruption caused to student practice-based learning (PrBL), or placements, as a consequence of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This recovery of placements required an increase in capacity for services provided by Allied Health Professions (AHPs) and other partners to provide high quality learning experiences for student learning.  This work is essential to ensure that students have a high quality and positive learning experience, and that we continue to have a new generation of AHP graduates fit to practice and to gain employment across all Sectors in Scotland.  

Practice education leads were in post undertaking PrBL projects for 18 months up to end March 2023. 

New projects commenced in April 2024 and will run until the end March 2025.  These projects will build on the previous projects and learning, and work towards the recommendations of the AHP Education and Workforce Review.

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) have recruited 3.6 whole time equivalent practice-based learning (PrBL) Practice Education Leads (PELs) who will focus on practice-based learning projects from April 2024 to March 2025, and work as part of a wider team of PELs committed to identifying and supporting practice-based learning for AHP students. The objective is to modernise, diversify and sustain quality practice-based learning for the future AHP workforce across Scotland.  In addition, 0.4 whole time equivalent funding will continue to March 2025 to support orthoptics practice-based learning. 

Four of the projects have profession-specific focus: the Arts Therapies, Dietetics, Orthoptics, and Prosthetics & Orthotics.  The remaining five projects have an AHP-wide remit focusing on PrBL models of delivery, building capability and developing the educational infrastructure, and PrBL quality and governance.  

The PrBL PELs will work closely with a range of colleagues including the Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) that deliver AHP pre-registration programmes, Practice Educators, placement providers, and other stakeholders.  

Workplan for PrBL PELs: 

Carry out an initial diagnostic to identify specific barriers/challenges to practice-based learning recovery whether these are geographic, client group or service setting based  

Establish an action plan specific in collaboration with stakeholders including PrBL national working groups 

Identify examples of good practice and build upon assets to spread across Scotland  

Contribute to measuring impact and dissemination of learning and innovations 

Generate written updates relevant to the specific area of responsibility  

The projects aim to provide sustainable change that will be carried forwards in to 2025 and beyond.   Further information can be found in the key information and updates on AHP Projects Progressing Practice-based Learning (PrBL) tab.

For further information including monthly updates on the 2024/25 projects please see: https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/75218