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Practice learning is at the heart of developing confident, capable and compassionate healthcare professionals. This page explains what practice learning is, how it is governed, and who is involved in supporting learners throughout their placement experiences.
What is Practice Learning?
Practice learning refers to structured learning opportunities that take place within real clinical, community or professional environments. These experiences allow learners to:
Apply academic knowledge in real-world settings
Develop professional behaviours and practical skills
Work as part of a multidisciplinary team
Build confidence through supervised, hands-on experience
Placements are an essential component of healthcare education, supporting learners to meet the learning outcomes and professional standards required for professional registration.
Practice Education
You may also see the term Practice Education used across these webpages. Practice education focuses on the registered professionals and clinical staff who facilitate, supervise and assess learners during placements. Those supporting learners in practice are responsible not only for creating learning opportunities, but also for contributing to the assessment of a learners progress during their placement.
In essence, practice education describes the preparation, frameworks and processes that underpin effective supervision and assessment of learning in practice.
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Key Information
Contact for General Queries
If you have questions about your placement, support available, travel considerations or anything else related to practice learning, you can contact:
Practice Learning Support Team
practicelearning@uea.ac.uk
We are here to help — whether you need guidance before your placement, assistance while you’re there, or support after you return.