The following provides important information on placements, as well as useful documentation and frequently asked questions, to ensure you have the answers you'll need before embarking on your practice experience.
We are here to help you on your placement, so if you need to contact us please email a member of the Placements Support Team.
Useful info and forms
Overseas elective placements
- The process (pdf 117kb)
- International elective placement - elective placement planning form (pdf 111kb)
- International elective placement - placement agreement (pdf 817kb)
- International elective placement - contact details form (pdf 31kb)
- International elective placement - pre-departure checklist (pdf 39kb)
The information provided on these forms will be retained by Bournemouth University on electronic and paper databases for the purposes of managing placements and practice hours and the data will be held for as long as necessary for the purposes. The data will not be disclosed to any organisation not associated with the University.
FAQs
Where will I be based?
During interview you will be asked your preference for a study base Bournemouth or Portsmouth, and also what locality you wish your placements to be in (see below). The university will do their best to place you as requested but due to places available this cannot be guaranteed.
Bournemouth
- Poole/Bournemouth/Lymington
- Dorchester
- Salisbury
- Winchester
- Yeovil
Portsmouth
- Winchester
- Isle of Wight
- Portsmouth
As Midwifery students at Bournemouth University you will have a range of placements during your three years at university and will need to pass both the placement and the study elements of the course in order to qualify as a midwife. 50% of the course will be spent on placement. It is useful if you are a car driver as services are becoming more and more community based so you will gain a good range of experience by being able to get about easily.
How will I find out my Placement details?
You will be given a login and password for the Placements on the Web (POW) system and your placement details will be available to you on the site. We aim to upload the information three to four weeks prior to the start of your placement. Once you have finished a placement you MUST complete an online placement evaluation. The POW system has been constructed so that you will not be able to see your next allocation until you have completed the online evaluation, so it is essential that you complete the evaluation.
What info is available on POW?
The information will vary from area to area. However, you will see information such as parking, any accommodation available (this applies mainly to the larger hospital placements) facilities available on site or sometimes in the local area, hours of work, transport links etc. If you find any information that needs updating please advise your Placement Support Officer.
Will I have to go out of my local commutable area?
Where possible placements will be within reasonable travelling distance from where you live, but it will be useful if you have access to your own transport, especially for community placements and caseload practice.
What hours will I have to work?
The general rule of thumb is that you work the hours your midwife mentor works which is usually 37.5 hours a week or 75 hours over a fortnight. In many areas weekend working and shift working has been introduced so you might find your midwife mentor talking to you about this and exploring what your working week will look like.
If your mentor does carry out weekend work this is likely to not be every weekend. If for some reason you feel you are not able to work these different hours we would strongly encourage and support you to discuss this with your mentor and to explore any options that would enable you to do this. Often the work carried out at these 'out of hours' times can be quite different and interesting. Areas will also work different hours during the week; for example some will be 8am – 4pm whereas many will work standard hours of 7.30am – 8pm
Weekend and shift working is the way that NHS services function: it will be the world into which you qualify so it is best to understand these patterns and systems of work now whilst you are training.
What other funding is available?
If you are a student on an NHS course which started in September 2017 or after, you may be eligible for additional support from the NHS Learning Support Fund. Information regarding Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses, including how to apply, is also available via the NHS Learning Support Fund.