All students will be expected to attend an induction session at KEC’s main site (CI Tower, New Malden) at 9am on the first day of their placement. Your induction will include: A tour of the building Introduction to KEC’s staff Details about your placement, including your placement timetable Details of IT log-ins Training on the use of the clinical records system (where applicable) You will also need to order your own COVID tests so you can test yourself twice per week. Students will need to obtain their own testing kits from high street pharmacies. You may still be able to get free rapid lateral flow tests from your local pharmacy if you’re eligible for COVID-19 treatments.

This is a Primary Care placement. Nursing students will spend their placement on rotation between KEC and our partner practices around Kingston; this ensures that nursing students gain a broad experience of different aspects of primary care and that they benefit from spending time with staff with a mix of specialist interests and skills. Each student has a different timetable and we intend you will have a dedicated venue to work alongside a Practice Nurse. The number of sessions for each student will vary and depends on what the practice can offer. In addition observing patient consultations with nurses and GPs, nursing students will also have the opportunity to shadow other community services, such as Rapid Response and Dementia services; participate in inter-professional learning and tutorial sessions; complete reflective work, and attend training sessions on topics such as phlebotomy, respiratory illness and vaccination. In particular, student nurses will be able to attend our Professional Resilience Programme.

Physiotherapy students will spend the majority of their placement based in our partner practices, shadowing our First Contact Physiotherapists. Physiotherapy students will also have the opportunity to shadow appointments with our GPs, visit other community services, such as the Community Neuro-rehab team, and participate in inter-professional learning and tutorial sessions.

First year PA students will have a GP mentor assigned to them and will also be scheduled time to with our practice nurse and healthcare assistant. PA students will begin by observing consultations, progressing to becoming involved in taking patient histories and becoming actively involved in the consultation. Time spent with the practice nurse and healthcare assistant will enable the student to gain the skills and experience required to get all Direct Observed Procedural Skills (DOPS) signed-off. Second year PA students will hold their own clinics, under the supervision of their GP mentor. Where necessary, there will also be opportunity to get any outstanding DOPS signed-off.

Pharmacy students typically come to us for a 1-day placement, during which they will shadow patient consultations with our GPs. Our clinics are specifically set up to allow for discussion and teaching time with the GP between patients.

This is a Primary Care placement. Paramedic students typically come to us for a two week placement, during which most sessions will be spend shadowing patient consultations with our GPs. Paramedic students will also be able to attend our Professional Resilience Programme.

Occupational Therapy students typically come to us for an eight week placement, during which most mornings will be spend shadowing patient consultations with our GPs. During the afternoons there will be the opportunity to shadow other community services, such as the First Contact Physiotherapy Team, Dementia Service, Rapid Response and District Nurses; participate in inter-professional learning and tutorial sessions; and attend training sessions on topics such as phlebotomy, respiratory illness and vaccination. The KEC team will also be available to support OT students with their Primary Care research project.

The Placements for Medical students will vary according to your University and Year but will generally include: Shadowing GP consultations Preparing and delivering patient coaching A tutorial session with the GP Completion of a Primary Care research project. In preparation for the patient coaching aspect of the placement, medical students are encouraged to collaborate with students from other specialisms (e.g. physiotherapy/nursing/occupational therapy/paramedic students) in order to benefit from their specialist insight. The KEC team will be available to support medical students with their Primary Care research project; students will be given the opportunity to book a time to discuss their project with an appropriate member of the team.