Soton medical students’ placements have been cancelled due to coronavirus

Southampton medical students have had their placement cancelled, in the wake of University-wide closure due to coronavirus. However, nursing placements will “continue as normal”.

An email sent to medical students today says: “We have made the decision to suspend all teaching and placement activity.

“The faculty is working very hard to draw up contingency plans to enable you to progress on the Programme and to graduate at the expected time.”

An email sent to nursing students this afternoon says: “We are working on the best ways to deliver this education. This is in order not to jeopardise your ability to qualify and to be able to join the NHS workforce.

“For those of you on clinical placements – these will continue as normal.”

The Soton Tab spoke to a second year nursing student. She said: “To be honest, I’m glad we haven’t been sent home from placement as either way we will have to make up placement hours. It just emphasises the need for uni to have a better system for missed hours where we don’t have to make everything up in our spare time.

“There should be a better system. That being said I am baffled as to why medics aren’t having placement and we are, does their health take priority?”

Occupational therapy students also still have their placements running.

One occupational therapy student told The Soton Tab: “I’m annoyed – apparently the medics need ‘a lot of hand holding, and the doctors don’t have the resources and time to help them’. This is exactly the same for us.

“A lot of us students also haven’t had masks fitted, and we are on the front line, caring for exactly the same infectious patients other healthcare staff are looking after, except they have the equipment to protect themselves from the infectious virus and we don’t.

“If anything the nurses, physios and occupational therapists have more contact with patients who could potentially be infectious over the medics, so I feel it’s a bit unjust.”

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• Southampton is officially the second best uni in the UK for Nursing!