Section 2. Placement learning opportunities

In this section, we take you on a journey through each possible stage of a patient’s experience of undergoing a surgical procedure. It is anticipated that you will meet with your mentor to discuss the learning opportunities available in the placement. It may be that a model of a ‘hub and spoke’/insight visit placement exists or maybe you have one main base placement from which to experience a range of linked experiences for various lengths of time.

This could be a short 6-week placement or as long as 18 weeks over a year of learning. Following the introduction of the new Nursing and Midwifery Council standards, you may experience ‘placement learning pathways’ (see Chs 3 and 4), which will be a combined placement following a possible journey that a patient might experience (see Section 3). In addition, there may be opportunities to experience other learning opportunities such as seeing what a pharmacist does and how a dietician helps people recover from surgery.

Whatever length of time your placement is, the chapters in this section help you to plan your placement learning opportunities and give those of you who are unable to follow a patient through their whole experience an insight into aspects of that journey in order to understand it better.

In this section, the placement learning pathway follows a typical surgical patient‘s journey. Linked to each stage are areas where you may undertake either a full placement experience or insight/spoke placements.