Ending the placement – closureStudent feedback

Ending a placement is a process in it's self. Most placements beautifully run their course with learning outcomes achieved, the experiences being memorable and the student able to articulate their professional framework with confidence. However for some students and supervisors finishing placement is the end of what has been a difficult and long process because of issues such as performance, personal issues, health issues or lack of fit between supervisor/agency context and student. Some placements can finish prematurely due to changing circumstances, performance concerns or conflict in relationships. Finishing placement can thus be characterised by feeling of job, regret, celebration and accomplishment. How you and your student experience the process of finishing placement will determine the ease in which a student will move forward to their next placement or into the work force. Here are some hints and rituals that can assist the process.

  • Spend time in supervision to plan the process.  Effort spent early on in planning the termination will keep you and the student focused on getting the tasks of placement finished.  As time moves closer, the focus should move more to ensuring there is adequate time and multiple opportunities for goodbye rituals and debriefing.
  • Guide and encourage your student to plan their own process for terminating cases and network participation.  Again this will need planning to ensure there is adequate time set aside to attend to associated practicalities, along with the emotions that might arise i.e. time to write up all the case notes and handover notes; time to personally visit clients and say good bye; time to transfer all documents onto the team computer drive; and time to resign from network meetings and joint projects.
  • Use conversations and observations to monitor how your student is travelling and coping with the reality of impending endings.   This is a time when you can start inviting your student to reflect on their separation journey and connect back to reflect on experiences of working with a client and the importance of planning for endings.
  • In the final days of placement it is time to formally wrap up the supervision relationship.  Make sure you set aside space and time to spend with your student in completing their final placement report.   Take the time to review not only the agency work they have done and the standards they have achieved as per their learning plan, but how you worked together in supervision.  You should acknowledge each other’s contribution and commitment to the relationship; remember key events, laugh at the fun times, reflect on the mistakes or issues that arose, identify the challenges, celebrate the achievements and name what has been learnt.  Name any unfinished business and strategies for how you will deal with these.  This is a crucial time to refocus the student and yourself to the future.
  • A student might ask you for a reference or you might offer.  This is an opportunity to talk to the student about the significance of references and how you are under no obligation to provide one.  It’s a personal endorsement based on your personal and professional judgement. Remember the final decision is up to you and you need to feel confident and comfortable with providing an endorsement.  An alternative is a Statement of Duty.  This clearly sets out the key areas of involvement, timeframe, duties and responsibilities the person had with you agency.

Rituals communicate that one phase of the person’s life has successfully been completed and it is time to celebrate their moving on.  Agencies and supervisors will have their own rituals that mark the occasion. Remember it’s the experience and the acknowledgement of that experience that is important.

Here is what some of our Field Educators do as part of this ritual for ending placement.

  • Take the student out to lunch – it’s a time to share placement, reminiscing and well wishing for the future.
  • At the end of our team meeting we acknowledge as a team the contribution of the student.  Sometimes we’ll have a special cake.
  • I pick out a special little rock from the crystal shop that I think symbolises the student’s placement journey.  It’s a very personal keepsake to remind them of their time with us.
  • We get the student to make a card to symbolise their placement experience with us than we all sign it.
  • I present my student with a letter of attainment.  It’s a simple statement of the work she completed while being on placement.  It’s something that can be attached to his or her resume.
  • Our team is pretty terrible with rituals.  We do corny things like make them walk through a guard of honour on their last journey through the door.
  • We make sure the clients have a chance to say goodbye as well so we have a party.
  • I had one very challenging experience supervising a student.  Our relationship was strained from the start so we decided a celebration of finishing was not really appropriate.  So on the last day we just said goodbye and he walked out the door and punched the air in happiness.
  • At the end of a particular difficult placement we decided to invite our university liaison person to lunch.  We felt we had all been on the journey together and could not have gone through it without her calm guidance.
  • The students and staff pull together a short film about the placement experience.  The students present that to the Management Committee and staff at the end of placement.  It acts as a very powerful reminder of the amazing contribution that our students make.
  • In the past the finishing placement celebration was a big thing.  Saying goodbye on that level is no longer possible as the organisation is so big and we have so many students. Saying goodbye we found was costing a lot emotionally, financially (presents and cake) and time consuming.  Now we have a low key event involving the people that the student had been involved with.