Designing the Work-Based Learning environment
Ensuring the best Work-Based Learning environment

Work-Based Learning (WBL) can include a wide range of activities, such as apprenticeship, clinical placements, internships and so on, depending on national rules and local training contexts of each organization.

Another aspect to consider on a local basis is the level of learning autonomy that our learners (who are already experienced health professionals) have, and the type of supervision that needs to be provided and by whom (e.g. internal faculty staff, staff external to the faculty working in community facilities, technical advisors, etc.).

This Guide has been developed in line with the EU guidelines, but our purpose here is to provide you with some user-friendly tips that can be put into practice in specific local contexts.

Depending on the type of course you intend to offer (e.g. Continuing Professional Development, post-graduate specialization, etc.) check what are the local specific requirements for the mandatory percentage of WBL (usually between 20%–50%), and part of which may involve also blended or hybrid learning methods, using for instance Simulation Labs.

If learners include currently employed health professionals, they will most likely need to obtain a permission or consent from their employer that part of the work-based learning components of the CBIT program takes place at the employer’s site.

When setting up the WBL, check that appropriate arrangements have been made to ensure that course participants are covered in relation to any relevant social security entitlements and insurance requirements, including coverage for occupational accidents, accidents involving third parties, and damage caused to third parties during their work-based learning placements. The requirements may differ depending on the learners’ current occupational status (e.g. university student, independent/self-employed, employee, unemployed, on leave, etc.).

Also, verify that procedures are in place to ensure adherence to relevant EU or national regulations concerning the protection of personal data.

In addition, any university student enrolled in the course may need to comply with the applicable rules to respect patient privacy (i.e. while delivering community-based care) and other confidentiality issues that may emerge during their experience of work-based learning. More generally, aspects dealing with legal, ethical and confidentiality issues linked to the provision of community or home care, might therefore need to be adequately addressed and integrated as learning modules in the theory part of the course.

However, regardless of local differences and rules, we recommend considering the following criteria to enable effective WBL:

  • ensure that a supportive learning environment and a positive learning culture is present in the work setting chosen for WBL
  • make sure that the workplace setting is equipped with skilled facilitators/supervisors who may prompt critical reflections and enforcing positive changes in the students learning experience
  • make sure that the WBL provides opportunities for informal interprofessional learning afforded by the workplace.
  • preferably recruit learners who already work together in a community-based team, who at the end of their learning experience may more effectively act as change agents for the rest of the team of health professionals.

WBL is always an effective experience, but to ensure that WBL is expressed at its highest potential, we recommend identifying mentors or tutors for the learners. To this end:

  • make sure that the WBL tutor allows learners to take control of their own learning
  • make sure that the WBL tutor empowers learners to make changes in their practice learning experience
  • make sure that instructors are sufficiently qualified
  • make sure that the mentor encourages learners to also conduct informal interprofessional learning during their WBL experience.

In general, it is recommended to carefully select contexts and tutors for WBL. Learners should perform at least a part of their WBL in contexts where there are experienced tutors who are able to offer practical demonstrations of what they should learn to do.

Training teachers for Work-Based Learning

To ensure that WBL is high-quality, candidate teachers or trainers should be able to deliver the planned Learning Outcomes. So, to achieve excellent results, it is advisable to provide a training session for your teachers/trainers focusing on the following aspects:

  • What competences/Learning Outcomes can meaningfully be addressed by WBL?
  • What kind of WBL experiences are available? Which of them are best suited to effectively achieve the planned competences/learning outcomes?
  • How to effectively design the chosen WBL experience. What are the components to be considered (type or modality of WBL, duration, learners’ independent study, assessments, feedback)?
  • How to effectively support learners during the WBL and how to orchestrate the learning environment.
  • How to monitor and evaluate the learning process and how to assess students during and at the end of their WBL experience.
Work-Based Learning supported by e-learning

To ensure a more interactive Pilot Course, we recommend that you incorporate e-learning to support and enrich your WBL educational strategy. Innovative tutoring practices between teachers and learners during WBL can be achieved by using several digital tools, such as mobile Apps or other communication tools available on mobile devices.

Digital tools could be used to create an e-portfolio to help learners reflect and analyse any significant events or phenomena that they witnessed during their WBL experience. In this way, learners could further develop their critical thinking skills.

Moreover, learners could also be asked to conduct a literature review to identify studies that underpin their practice and therefore achieve the goal of evidence-based practice. This approach would also enable to integrate academic theoretical learning with practical learning.

To integrate e-learning into WBL in the Pilot Courses, you should select a learning environment that has the following features:

  1. e-portfolio: this feature allows teachers to have an online documentation and information on the work their students have done, which enables them to evaluate the students’ portfolios via Internet. E-portfolios, like traditional portfolios, can also facilitate students’ reflection on their own learning, leading to an increased awareness of their learning needs and the actions required to address them.
  2. Functionalities that support resource sharing (e.g. a database): this, for example, allows teachers to share students’ contributions to the literature review.
  3. Online forums that allow asynchronous tutoring, peer-tutoring, and peer learning.
  4. Instant messaging apps for synchronous tutoring.