GCU Placement Innovation Showcase exhibition

Glasgow Caledonian University Allied Health Professions (AHPs) are showcasing how they tackled the placement crisis during COVID-19 with a virtual exhibition.

In 2021, GCU received funds from the Scottish Government to increase the use of simulation and to grow placement capacity within AHP and nursing programme, in response to the difficulties securing practice placements during the pandemic.

Now they have created an online exhibition – led and created by Anita Volkert, School of Health and Life Sciences AHP Practice Placements Lead, with the help of GCU MSc 3D Design for Virtual Environments graduate Elizaveta Barbinova, who has captured their work through 13 e-posters.

Anita, who is also a lecturer in Occupational Therapy in the Department of Occupational Therapy, Human Nutrition and Dietetics, explained: "AHP and Nursing programmes all require students to undertake practice placements in a range of health and social care environments, and during the pandemic access to these was severely limited due to the national emergency response.

"The funds were targeted to specific programmes that were considered to be worst affected, and it allowed programmes that had established placement innovations during the height of the pandemic to continue these, develop them further, and include additional innovations.

"The funds also enabled programmes to begin to evaluate their impact on student and educator experience, on learning, and on workforce change.

"All this work has been captured in a permanent exhibition and we will be adding to it as further projects complete or are significantly updated, so watch this space. We are delighted to share this work with the wider GCU community. "

View the virtual GCU Placement Innovation Showcase exhibition here - https://www.artsteps.com/view/6255852506a002d91637bcbb