Placements QMU MSC Occupational therapy

I'm doing the BSc at QMU and I'm about to go into my 4th year.

Students are all expected to be prepared to be sent anywhere in Scotland and they don't give us a choice over where we get sent. The university expects the student to be able to afford to pay for the accommodation and any travel for all placements - even if that means you are paying for two lots of accommodation at once.

There are only a few reasons why they would keep a student local to Edinburgh -
1 - Children who need to be looked after by the student - single parents who cannot send the children to grandparents/aunts for the duration of the placement.
2 - Caring responsibilities - students who are the carer for a family member.
And less likely but still would possibly be considered
3 - Health Issues - students who are undergoing therapy or who have had previous mental health issues and they would benefit from staying in their comfort zone.

Students may get a local placement without fitting these considerations - I have had two placements in Edinburgh/the local area (well had one and my next is due to be in the local area).

Students who are given a more local placement may need to commute to their placement each day - we get asked can we drive, do we have suitable insurance and do we have access to a car for our placement.

Jobs and pets are not included as a consideration for an Edinburgh-based placement - I'm lucky I'm able to send my cat to live with my parents for my placements.

The university may also be more likely to send you to a further away location so you can experience more of Scotland as you aren't a local the university is trying to make your placements a wee bit of a holiday as well as a way to learn your clinical skills.
I had a couple of really great placements that were away from Edinburgh, one in Dumfries and the other in Dingwall and it really allowed me to see how different it is in the more rural towns.


All the universities that offer occupational therapy in Scotland reserve the option to send you anywhere within the country.


Sorry, this is such a long answer but I wanted to try to give you as much information as possible.