Allied Health Sector Student Placements - Survey of Toronto Developmental Services Agencies

ALLIED HEALTH SECTOR STUDENT PLACEMENTS
Survey of Toronto Developmental Services Agencies

York Community Services, in collaboration with COTA Health Services, the Reena Foundation and Surrey Place Centre is sponsoring a study of the current system capacity for allied health sector student placements in the developmental services (DS) sector in Toronto. The project is funded by the MCSS Fiscal Innovation Fund and will examine current placement practices, develop a placement database and ascertain the interests of academic institutions in expanding placements.

Please complete this questionnaire no later than 5:00 p.m. Friday, March 17, 2006. Responses are sent directly to the research consultant, so you can be frank and honest in your replies.

First, please provide the following background information:

Name of Agency:

Number of FTE staff: (Insert #)

Services Provided to Adult DS Clients: (Check all that apply)

Community supports
Day supports
Residential-day programs
Respite services
Crisis services
Other (please specify):

Approximately what percentage of your agency's activities pertain to adult developmental services clients?
(Insert %)

Note: Please answer this questionnaire in terms of your agency's activities related to adult developmental services.

2.	Does your agency sponsor any student placements in the DS field from colleges or universities? Yes - Please complete the chart in Question 3 No - Go to Question 9

Please complete the following chart specifying the college or university and the average number of students that you accept each term. Remember to restrict your answers to placements related to adult developmental services. If you do not accept students from a program, leave the line blank.

		# of Students per Term
Program	Academic Institution	Fall	Winter/Spring	Summer
Audiology
Behaviour Science Technology
Communication Disorders Technician
Developmental Services Worker
Dietetics/Nutritionist
Occupational Therapy
Physiotherapy
Medicine
Nursing
Speech Language Pathology
Psychology
Psychometry
Social Worker (BSW, MSW)
Social Service Worker (SSW)
Others (state below):

ONLY AGENCIES THAT NOW ACCEPT PLACEMENTS NEED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS 4 to 8.

Does your agency have formal agreements (such as affiliation agreements or statements of understanding) with the academic institutions that provide students for placement?

Yes

Are the students on placement supervised by agency personnel who are registered members of health regulatory colleges?

Yes

Depends on the Program

What resources do you have available in your agency to assist in supporting students on placement? Check all that apply.

Comprehensive agency policies and procedures
Practice guidelines
Evidence based best practices
A designated agency person who coordinates placements
Experienced preceptors
Internal specialists to act as mentors
Access to external specialists
Other (please specify):

What have been the single most important benefit and the greatest drawback of your agency's experience with student placements?

Most Important Benefit

Greatest Drawback

Would your agency be prepared to take on additional student placements?

Yes - complete the chart below

Don't Know

Program	Institution	Number of Additional Students per Term

ALL RESPONDENTS PLEASE COMPLETE THE REMAINING QUESTIONS.

A number of potential obstacles or barriers to DS agencies offering student placements are listed below. Indicate the extent to which each of these is or has been a problem in your agency:

	Not a problem at all	Not too much of a problem	Somewhat of a problem	A large problem
The time required to organize and supervise placements
Availability of clinical staff for supervision
Finding suitable projects or assignments
Additional financial costs incurred

10.

Are there any other obstacles or barriers that interfere with agencies taking on student placements?

11.

What would have to be done to increase your agency's capacity to accept student placements?

12.

What time frame for a student placement would work best at your agency?

Short observation periods, tours or information presentations
Regular part-time placements of one or two days a week over a semester
Short full-time placements two or three weeks in duration
Longer full-time placements up to eight weeks in duration
Placement staff from a long-term care facility
Some other arrangement (please specify):

13.

This next question pertains to research activities and interests in your agency. Is your organization engaged in any of the following:

Dedicated staff and/or financial resources to support research activities
Formal linkages with academic or other research institutions for the purposes of
collaborative research
Current involvement in research projects or initiatives
Other (please state):

14.

What would have to be done to increase your agency's research capacity?

15.

Please feel free to make any other comments or suggestions regarding allied health student placements in the developmental services sector:

Completed by:

Name:
Title:

If necessary, may the consultant contact you directly for clarification or elaboration?

Yes - Please complete Contact Information

Contact Information

Phone:
Email:

Thank you for your cooperation.