| Policy: | Cohort and Clinical Placement Allocation & Travel Requirements |
|---|---|
| Effective Date: | August 1st, 2024 |
| Revised Date: | July 1st, 2024 |
| Review Date: | August 2024 |
POLICY AND PROCEDURE STATEMENTS
Preamble. The University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Midwifery Program (BMw) and its Internationally Educated Midwives Bridging Program (IEMBP) are jointly referred to as “UBC Midwifery” or the “Program”. UBC Midwifery follows all UBC regulatory requirements and applicable UBC policies.
Background. The goal of clinical placement allocation is to find clinical preceptors and practices that meet students’ developing learning needs and provide them opportunities to learn the core practice competencies for midwives published by the Canadian Midwifery Regulators Council. Due to an ongoing shortage of preceptors, there is limited flexibility in placement locations.
Policy
For all clinical components of the Program (Intensives, OSCEs, Sims, Skills practice, Clinical Placements) students must travel and re-locate for clinical placements as required.
Procedure.
Regarding Cohorts:
- Upon admission students will be placed in one of 4 cohorts (Vancouver, Fraser, Island & DOME) for didactic courses in Year 1. Based on cohort allocation, students will be placed in one of three locations – Vancouver, Surrey or Victoria for clinical skills teaching in years 1 to 4.
- Cohort location is set. Students are not allowed to switch between cohorts during the Program.
- Students must be prepared to travel to clinical placements and re-locate from their home community and assigned cohort location.
- The Program does not cover expenses related to clinical placement travel and re-location.
Regarding Clinical Placements:
- Communication regarding placement requests is initiated by the Clinical Placement Team via an annual pre-placement survey, delivered in January. Students should not communicate placement requests outside of the survey. Any additional requests outside of the clinical placement surveys will not be considered except in exceptional circumstances where there is a medical/legal requirement to stay within your community.
- Failure to complete the survey by the deadline will result in the student entering the lottery with no placement choices. The placement survey is unable to be re-opened after the deadline. All students, including students on leave, are responsible for checking their UBC email to complete the survey, to have their needs and preferences considered alongside the rest of the cohort.
- Students must not engage preceptors until a placement is arranged and the Clinical Placement Team gives the student guidance to do so. Doing so introduces the potential for a conflict of interest, and it compromises the equity of the clinical placement allocation process.
- Students who need accommodation for placement location are required to register with the Centre for Accessibility An Accommodation Letter must be submitted to the Student Services Manager & Advisor (SSMA) alongside the pre-placement survey (delivered in January). The SSMA will communicate student needs with the Clinical Placement Team.
- Any accommodation letter received after the pre-placement survey closure date may result in an inability to place the student due to availability of acceptable options, and may result in a delay in clinical placement.
- Student placement location accommodations are not guaranteed and are based on availability of preceptors in the requested location. Therefore, a student may have to delay their plan of study.
- Once the randomized allocations have been completed, the Clinical Placement Coordinator will work with students who have approved formal accommodations to find placements that match these learning needs.
- The Program’s goal is for all placements to be culturally safe. Indigenous, Black & People of Colour (IBPOC) students will be given consideration for placements which provide an anti-racist lens to midwifery care. Indigenous students will receive priority for placements in their Nation’s territory, their identified community, or a designated Indigenous placement site when available.
- Students will be placed with at least two different placement sites/ preceptors during the Program. Placement sites and preceptors for students in year 3 will be different from those for 4th year. Students must be prepared to have two different placements sites in the same year.
- Although clinical preceptors receive an honorarium from the Ministry of Health for clinical teaching, they volunteer to share their practices with students. UBC Midwifery and students must be responsive to preceptor practice changes that include staff changes, preceptor vacations, and health leaves. Students are both learners and guests at their assigned clinical placements with the responsibilities of a registered midwife.
- Students who need a short, temporary leave during a term or who must leave a clinical placement during a term are expected to give the practice a minimum of two weeks’ written notice once the leave is approved by the Midwifery Student Support Committee. Emergency leaves will be managed ad hoc and should be communicated directly to the student’s course tutor.
The clinical allocation procedure includes a pre-placement survey that is delivered to students in January and gives students the opportunity to communicate any unique learning needs or requested accommodations approved by the Centre for Accessibility, any potential conflicts of interest, and their geographical preferences. A section of the survey gives students the opportunity to describe other pertinent details related to placement, such as court-ordered restrictions.
Once required, approved accommodations have been managed, student placement
follows a randomized lottery system. Each cohort forms its own lottery pool. Students closest to graduation have placement priority. Fourth year placements are completed first, then third year and second year. Students are informed of the match for the next academic term once the placements have been confirmed with the clinical preceptors.
The target dates for class notification of clinical placements are:
- 4th Year – May 31st
- 3rd Year – June 15th
- 2nd Year – July 15th
If the program is unable to meet these notification targets, students will receive a revised placement timeline.
Non-Compliance with the Cohort and Clinical Placement Allocation & Travel Requirements Policy: It is the students responsibility to adhere to all Program policies. When a student is found in non-compliance with any points of this policy, their placement opportunities and progression in the Program may be delayed at the student’s responsibility.