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Evaluating Practice Education Models in Occupational Therapy: Comparing 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 Placements

Practice education is an essential part of the education of health professionals, yet in spite of this there is an acknowledged shortage of placements. At the same time, educational research indicates that peer learning, and in particular problem-based learning, has advantages for students. Studies that have investigated models of placements where more than one student at a time share an educator have shown that this may bring benefits for both educators and students. This study was carried out with the aim of determining the impact of different models of practice placement (1:1, 2:1 and 3:1) on the quality of education for students and on the quality of the experience for educators, in both occupational therapy and physiotherapy courses at a university in the South of England. This article focuses on the occupational therapy component of the study. Six occupational therapy educators and 11 students took part, providing examples of all three models of placement. The findings indicated that while all three models provided both advantages and disadvantages for educators and students, the 2:1 model offered more opportunities for peer support and enhanced the quality of the educational experience through peer learning. In some settings, however, it is probably the case that only the 1:1 model is possible. The findings also suggest that the success of any placement model depends heavily on how well the placement has been planned.