Student & Practice Educator page

Who are we and most importantly what do we do all day 

The role of the Practice Education Facilitator within the Trust is an integral to the smooth management of the students from our partner Universities during their practice placements with us.

There are four Practice Education Facilitators  who work to support both the Practice Educators (previously known as Mentors) and the Student Paramedics on placement within the Trust.

In total SWASFT provides placements for over 750 paramedic students at present, studying across six Universities – UWE, Gloucester, Plymouth and Bournemouth, University of Central Lancashire and Cumbria

Our aim is to support and develop both our Practice Educators and Students to help promote a sustainable workforce of the future, which in the long run benefits our service users.

Our remit includes-

• Supporting Practice Educators (PEs) during & outside of placement time
• Encouraging Paramedics to complete a mentorship course and attend the update days
• Delivering PE update days
• Supporting our students in preparation for placements – arranging manual handling days, meds/kit and vehicle familiarisation days, corporate induction days, and station inductions
• Providing a placement link between the Universities, their academic advisors (tutors), programme teams and their support services
• Supporting both PEs and students with all placement concerns
• Attending local operational meetings and University update meetings
• Arranging external and internal observer requests

However, this list is not exhaustive and each day throws up new challenges.

You can find out more about each of us in the ‘Meet the Practice Placement Coordination team’ section below

Click the picture below to go to the Student Prospectus page. This page give more information on the different types of placement opening up in SWAST.

Click the button below to download

Click here for a PDF download of Practice Educator FAQs

Click here for a PDF download of Student referrals flow chart

Click here for a PDF download of Student referrals FORM

Swastcpd.co.uk has a dedicated page for online learning resources from a whole host of organisations

Everything on this page should be free, & open access to all staff, nearly everything will be available to students as well. Some will need an open Athens account, and some will require registration.

One particularly useful one is the new College of Paramedics – Temporary registered Student Paramedic page

We also have lots of face to face CPD courses & CPD events that students can attend- just look at the course or event details to see if it is open to students.

There are 3 different options for Practice Educator (Mentorship) courses-

*Please do not apply for the UWE SSIP online course as we have now switched to the SWASFT course (below) for standardisation*

Option 1 – SWASFT non-accredited Practice Educator course (Created by SWASFT – endorsed by the CoP)

SWASFT have created a new, non-accredited Practice Educator course. Hosted on ESR, the course will work through a College of Paramedics (CoP) aligned syllabus, with an embedded knowledge check before completion. As it is on ESR, you will easily be able to prove completion of the course, and the embedded knowledge check means that no assignment or further assessment will be needed.

You can also access the Practice Educator Handbook, that is based on the course content, for reference if you want go back over sections after the course, or just to dip into before you start the course. Practice Educators, who have already qualified, are also welcome to use the facility as a resource for revision and help as needed, as it provides up to date information and resources to help with practice education in any area.

SWASFT PEd course – Handbook only
SWASFT online PEd – FULL course

Option 2 is the same course as an accredited module (30 Credits at MSc) in partnership with the University of Glos.

This course is essentially the same as the non-accredited but includes a 4000 word assignment element at MSc Level. Both are suitable for a SWASFT PEd or NQP portfolio. Places are limited on this course (30 spaces in July – 2023). Please book now to avoid disappointment.

Option 3 is the UoP accredited Mentorship module (15 credits at L6) – but limited places do fill up quickly

You may find these are fully booked on a regular basis.

New dates are now available for Practice Educator Update Days for qualified, active Practice Educators across the Trust that support our future Paramedic workforce.

*The days are also open to qualified Practice Educators who do not have a student, but are available and ready to be allocated one – see the payments & overtime section below for more details.

These days will be offered with an incentive payment and will all be delivered virtually.

This virtual update will consist of a 5 hour session via Zoom that will provide an update on the mentoring process, the professional aspects of mentoring, feedback and assessment, as well as providing a forum for discussion on any issues or concerns you have.

Practice Placements Coordinators will be on hand during the session to answer questions alongside the tutor.

The day attracts a £250 (pre-tax) incentive payment. (The OT payment has been removed and the incentive increased to simplify the process)

Please note that the course will include UNPAID breaks of approx. 1hr in total. Please allow 6 hrs for the day. 

Please see the ‘Payment’  section for more incentive information

These links will download a PDF – they will not open a new page

• University students in placement with SWASFT Risk assessment V4

• SWASFT Practice Placement policy

• Placement and Employment Guidance for Students with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD)

• SWASFT Mentorship strategy

• Guidance to completion of useful practice placement forms 

• Practice advisory log

• PE / Mentor transfer request form 

• Reporting of Non-Paramedic Placements form

• Reporting a Student Fitness to Practice Concern form – for PEs to complete

• Concerns in Placement – for students to complete

• Practice Placement Evaluation – for students to complete

• Placement Documentation Audit

• Practice Handover Log

• Action Plan

• Change in PE process form

FTSU is here to support our people and raising concerns can save lives. It is a valuable service that helps improve patient safety, the safety of our people and working relations, whilst supporting wellbeing.
We are committed to ensuring each concern is dealt with effectively. FTSU Guardians will always listen to your concern and can provide you with confidential advice in how to deal with it.

What can I speak up about?

You can Speak Up about anything that is worrying you or doesn’t feel right in the workplace. Examples may be, but are not limited to:
• Patient safety
• The safety of our people
• Bullying and harassment

We ask that in the first instance you speak with your line manager, supervisor, or local lead, but if this is not possible or you have already tried and you don’t feel you’ve received the right help then speak to us. We are a supportive and professional team.

We are dedicated to ensuring concerns that are raised are kept confidential. No one else will know about your concern, except for the FTSU team and those you wish to know.

Please click here or on the image to open the full document