Work placement

Work placements are an important part of studying at a university of applied sciences. They are opportunities to learn and apply your skills and knowledge in practice.

You will also network and build contacts with different types of workplace organisations.

At its best, a work placement provides employment and thesis cooperation opportunities.

Please visit the subpages below for more information on the placements in the Degree Programme in Social Services and Degree Programme in Health Care, Nursing.

Instructions for work placement

Here you can find information regarding work placements. Read the instructions already when planning your placements!

Workseed

Workseed is a web-based app used at Diak where students set their personal learning objectives for each placement/clinical practice and receive assessment from their worklife supervisor and Diak’s placement teacher. Students also record their placement hours on Workseed and carry out self-assessment.

Before the start of the placement period

Follow the instructions given by your supervising teacher to book your work placement. When choosing the placement, think about what types of skills you want to practice, how the placement will help you advance your study plan, and what types of workplaces you already have experience of.
Contact the workplace organisation: introduce yourself, describe your skills and learning aims and ask about the objectives of the workplace in question. Be prepared to attend an interview before your place is confirmed.
Read the field-specific instructions on work placements and familiarise yourself with the work placement path and other documents. They can all be found on these pages.
If your work placement involves working with minors, request a background check via the online service portal of the Legal Register Centre . You can request the check once your place has been confirmed. You will only need to submit the document to the student affairs office once during your studies, but work placement providers may request it separately for each work placement period. The document is valid for 6 months and free of charge.
Showing the transcript of criminal record: The transcript of criminal record can not be send via Email, but it needs to be shown via Teams or at the study office (only Oulu and Pieksämäki) on its opening times. The transcript of criminal record can be shown via the Teams link on Mondays from 1 to 2 pm. You will wait for your turn in a waiting posses. Please open the camera, show your ID and the transcript of criminal record.

At the start of your work placement

Determine your personal learning aims with the placement supervisor, taking into account the relevant study modules and the objectives of the workplace.
Write down your aims on Workseed. If necessary, you can revise your learning aims with the supervising teacher and the placement supervisor during your placement.
You will also draw up a work placement plan with your supervisor. The plan will help you monitor your progress and ensure that the tasks support your learning and goals.
Inform your supervisor about any assignments you will have during the placement and how much time you will need for them.
Sign the confidentiality agreement, if required by the workplace. In any case, pay attention to the confidentiality obligation. It also applies to social media.
Adhere to the working principles of the workplace organisation and work towards your learning aims. Familiarise yourself with the health and safety rules.

During the placement

General instructions

Work towards your learning aims and find your personal way of learning on the job. Work placements are opportunities to both learn and apply what you have already learned.
You should be fully focused on the work placement in order to make the most of it. This means that you should avoid other work and studies during the work placement, if possible.
If you retake exams during the work placement, contact your supervisor to organise your work hours accordingly. If you have other course commitments during the work placement, discuss with your supervisor how you can make up for any absences.
Be active and ask questions. Familiarise yourself with the workplace community, its policies, practices and facilities.
Complete the learning assignments on time. If your tasks include a learning diary, update it regularly.
If you feel that you need more orientation and guidance, tell your supervisor about your needs. Be specific about what type of guidance you need.
Look after yourself and make sure you get enough rest.
Notify both your supervisor and the supervising teacher if you are absent due to illness or another reason. Your absences will be recorded in the rota according to the normal procedure. In the case of a longer illness, you should also notify your guidance counsellor. Discuss with your supervising teacher how you can make up for the absence.
Remember: your attitude is important! Stick to the agreed schedules and tasks and be proactive. Even tasks that feel insignificant can be useful experiences.
If you encounter problems during your work placement or feel that you are not getting enough guidance or that the workplace environment doesn’t support you towards your learning aims, please don’t hesitate to contact your supervising teacher or guidance counsellor. They can get in touch with the placement supervisor and arrange a joint discussion.
If you need additional support, contact your supervising teacher or the student welfare team.
Your educational institution has insured you against accidents. If anything happens to you at your placement, submit an accident report to your institution. You can find more detailed information about the insurance on the Student Insurance page.

Working hours

The working hours are 40 hours per week, except in clinical training in social services, which is 38 hours per week.

The average work day is seven hours long. Alternatively, the work day can be eight hours if it is more appropriate from the point of view of your learning and/or the operation of the workplace organisation. In this case, the student can be given shorter days or occasional days off, but please note that you cannot accrue the hours so as to have several days off in a row.

If you participate in camps as part of your work placement, your working hours will correspond flexibly to those of a tenured educator. In this case, you will be entitled to a statutory camp counsellor’s leave. For example, if you have a work placement in the church organisation, the collective agreement for church employees applies, which entitles you to one-day leave for camps lasting over three days.

Medical absence during placement

If you become ill during your work placement, please notify your supervisor and the coordinating teacher. In the case of a longer illness, you should also notify your study guidance counsellor. You can continue to use student health care services during your work placement.

If your illness lasts for a longer period and you need to re-plan your studies, please contact your study guidance counsellor. A long illness may entitle you to an extension of studies, so make sure you keep copies of sick leave certificates until graduation.

The student’s learning aims are taken into account when considering absences. If you have shown good progress towards your learning aims, you may be absent for one day in a 4-week work placement period without having to make up the hours. Correspondingly, two days of absence are permitted in a work placement period of 8–10 weeks.

This also applies to absences due to medical rehabilitation. If you attend prescribed medical rehabilitation, contact your supervising teacher and the workplace in order to arrange the periods of absence.

Ongoing rehabilitation may prevent you from completing a work placement in certain types of workplace environments. If you know that you will be attending rehabilitation, make sure that you check this before the start of the work placement period.

National holidays

National holidays do not reduce the total number of working hours in a work placement period. If you are not able to attend work during a national holiday or if attending would not be beneficial from the point of view of learning, possible alternative arrangements include e.g.

an extensive work practice assignment or a separate learning assignment to make up for the additional leave,
a separate learning assignment that benefits the workplace organisation, as agreed with the workplace,
working eight-hour days or, in exceptional cases such as during night shifts, longer than eight hours per day.

Students can make planned learning visits as agreed in advance. You can utilise other work placement organisations in your town. The visits must support your attainment of the objectives of the work placement period.

The work placement period can be extended if both the student and the workplace wish to do so. The supervising teacher ensures that the extension is logged in the work placement register.

Any substituting hours or assignments must be agreed with the supervising teacher and the workplace supervisor in advance.

In some workplace environments such as local parishes, national holidays can offer learning opportunities that are not available on regular weekdays. In this case, it would not be appropriate to substitute separate assignments for work on national holidays.

Meals during placement

Students are entitled to meal subsidies during work placements at qualifying restaurants by presenting a valid student card or a Kela meal subsidy card. Read more about the meal subsidy.

Some workplaces provide meal vouchers that entitle you to a staff discount in the workplace restaurant. Individual organisations may also have other arrangements in place. You should check the meal policy of your workplace at the start of your work placement period.

At the end of the placement

At the end of your last placement day please make sure you have filled in the time sheet and all required information on Workseed correctly.
Complete the self-assessment on Workseed.
Mark your Workseed as done.
The teacher approves the placement by making a course credit in MyDiak.

Is it possible to fail a placement?

In some cases a student may fail the work placement module, for example, if he or she breaches an agreement or the working principles of the workplace organisation.

The student will be given an opportunity to comment before the decision is made. If there is a risk of a student failing the work placement module, the supervisor will contact the teacher, who will then organise an assessment meeting to determine the reasons and justification of the possible fail and discuss what action could be taken to remedy the situation. The meeting will be attended by the supervisor, the student and the teacher.

At the end of the discussion, the participants agree on a target level the student needs to achieve in order to successfully complete the work placement. The target level will be determined based on the competence assessment criteria of the programme stage and the general assessment criteria for a Fail grade in a work placement module. In addition, an assessment schedule will be agreed.

A follow-up assessment discussion will be organised between the student and the supervisor to review how well the student has achieved the objectives. If the student has not achieved the objectives by that stage, he or she will receive a Fail grade for the work placement module. The teacher records the reasons for the Fail grade in a work placement report form, which has to be signed by the student, the supervisor and the teacher. Follow-up measures will be agreed between the teacher and the student on a case-by-case basis.

Programme specific instructions

Clinical practice in the BA programme in Health Care, Nursing

In healthcare, it is possible to complete your clinical practice in a variety of environments. You can complete your clinical practice in, for example:

a health-care centre
a district or central hospital
a university hospital
a nursing home
health services provided by the private or community sector
child welfare or disability care

Clinical practices give you the opportunity to deepen your competence and develop your readiness as a healthcare professional. Clinical practices give you clinical experience while strengthening your professional growth in an authentic healthcare environment.

The objectives of the clinical practice placement are determined by the intended learning outcomes of the study module and contents of the clinical practice as well as the phase of the student’s professional growth.

Read more about the different phases and guidance practices of the clinical practice above. The clinical practice path for nursing is available in Teams (access only for Diak students and staff).

Do notice that placements in health care services might require the students to make sure they have certain vaccinations and adequate protection against infectious diseases before starting the placement. Read the instructions for social and health care students concerning infectious diseases and vaccinations on the FSHS website.

The healthcare clinical practice can also be completed as a module. In module clinical practice, students operate as a team and take care of patients agreed upon in advance. The supervisor will guide the entire team while ensuring basic safety.

Module clinical practice strengthens self-direction, decision-making skills, customer focus, learning from the patient, learning from and teaching peers as well as peer evaluation skills.

Duration of the clinical practice placement and clinical practice paths

The clinical practice path will show you all of the clinical practices included in your studies. The clinical practice path for nursing is available in Teams (access only for Diak students and staff).

The mandatory clinical practices in nursing must be completed in the following areas:

general and specialist medicine
general and specialist surgery
child care and paediatrics
mental health and psychiatry
care of the old and geriatrics
home nursing.

Clinical practice forms are available under Forms.

You can also utilise the competence requirements of a registered nurse, which have been linked to on the Assessment page.

Clinical practice path

General information

1. The placements are carried out in an environment in which the objectives of the course can be achieved.

2. In the clinical practice unit, the supervisor of the student must be a nurse (2013/55/EU).

3. One credit (ects) of clinical practice is equivalent to 27 hours. The duration of the clinical practice is determined by the number of credits. The table shows the recommended length in weeks of the clinical practice periods for the Jobiili booking. The length may be affected by RPL (Recognition of prior learning) and by the work practice opportunities offered by the work community.

4. The work placement hours include the following:

Information events about work practice and Jobiili (2 hours)
Preparing/updating CV and finding placement for practice (1 hour)
Goal setting (1 hour)
Reflections (4 hours)
total 8 hours.

These 8 hours are deducted from the total hours for each practice, leaving the remaining hours to be spent in the placement. E.g. PRA1 (5 ects) 135 h – 8 h = 127 hours.

5. The number of hours of practice at the placement must be completed in full. If there are public holidays during the practice, they do not reduce the number of hours.

6. Absences during the practice must always be reported to both the practice placement unit and the supervising lecturer. Compensation for absences must be agreed with the lecturer supervising the practice.

7. The mandatory clinical practices in nursing must be completed in the following areas:

home care
internal medicine
surgical care
mental health work, crisis work and substance abuse work
nursing of children, adolescent, and families
elderly care
maternity care (linked to studies of the nursing of children, adolescent, and families).

Schedule	Bachelor Of Health Care, Nursing (Registered Nurse)	180 ects/ 210 ects
1st term	PRA 1 Basic clinical work placement in nursing 5 ects – Nursing homes and different daytime activity centers – Long-term care – Health centres, regional and central hospital, private health care providers	5 ects = 135 hours (recommended Jobiili booking 4 weeks)
2nd term	PRA 2 Work placement in health promotion and clinical nursing 6 ects – Care units and service homes (including services for immigrants and various services for people with disabilities) – Health centres, regional and central hospital, private health care providers	6 ects = 162 hours (recommended Jobiili booking 4 weeks)
3rd term	PRA 3 Work placement in internal medicine 8 ects – Care units and service homes – Internal medicine wards (Healthcare centers, regional and central hospital, private healthcare providers, including some policlinics)	8 ects = 216 hours (recommended Jobiili booking 6 weeks)
	PRA 4 Work placement for surgical nursing 6 ects – Surgical care wards, day surgery, operating theatres (Health centres, regional and central hospital, private healthcare providers, including some policlinics)	6 ects = 162 hours (recommended Jobiili booking 4 weeks)
4th term	PRA 5 Work placement for the care of older people/home care 7 ects – Nursing homes and service homes and different daytime activity centers – Home care/medical care and home hospital – Health centres, regional and central hospital and university hospital, private health care providers	7 ects = 189 hours (recommended Jobiili booking 5 weeks)
	PRA 6 Work placement in mental health promotion and substance abuse work / home care 8 ects – Health centres, regional and central hospital and university hospital, private health care providers – Outpatient services and day centers, home care/medical care	8 ects = 216 hours (recommended Jobiili booking 6 weeks)
5th term	PRA 7 Work placement in the nursing children, adolescents and families 6 ects – Regional and central hospital and university hospital, private health care providers, health centres – Child welfare institutions, services for children and adolescent with disabilities	6 ects = 162 hours (recommended Jobiili booking 4 weeks)
	PRA 8 Work placement on sustainable wellbeing and nursing expertise 6 ects – Health centres, regional and central hospital and university hospital, private health care providers – Nursing homes and service homes and various day centers – Home care/home nursing and home hospital – Disability services, child welfare institutions – Services for immigrants	6 ects = 162 hours recommended Jobiili booking 4 weeks)
6th term	PRA 9 Work placement in applied nursing expertise and decision-making 8 ects – Health centers, regional and central hospital and university hospital, private healthcare providers – Nursing homes and service homes and various day centers – Home care/home nursing and home hospital – Disability services, child welfare institutions – Services for immigrants	8 ects = 216 hours (recommended Jobiili booking 6 weeks)
7th term	Alternative Advanced work placement 15 ects – Specialisation placement: The placement is chosen in relation to the alternative advanced theoretical studies and the related clinical practice objectives. This practice can be divided to different nursing settings – General advanced placement: The placement is chosen according to the clinical practice objectives. This practice can be divided to different nursing settings.	15 ects = 405 hours (recommended Jobiili booking 11 weeks)
	Clinical practices consist of the following studies: Work placement 75 ects + Thesis 15 ects (fulfilling the 90 ects of the EU Directive (2013/55/EU)

Voit vierittää taulukkoa

Placement in the BA programme in Social Services

In the BA programme in Social Services, the total credit load of work placements is 43 ECTS credits.

Work placements are supervised and goal-oriented practical learning, and they are assessed in the same way as other modules. They include both active work and observing tasks.

During the work placement, you will be supported by the supervising teacher and a workplace supervisor. The teacher provides information about the contents, goals and methods of work placements.

The workplace supervisor works with the student on the specific aims of the work placement, supports your professional growth and organises weekly review discussions.

You will also receive feedback from your supervisor and colleagues in your daily tasks.

Work placements are usually unpaid, unless you complete your work placement under an employment contract.

Do notice that placements in health care services might require the students to make sure they have certain vaccinations and adequate protection against infectious diseases before starting the placement. Read the instructions for social and health care students concerning infectious diseases and vaccinations on the FSHS website.

1 ECTS in placement is 26,7h of work. If you do your placement with children under the age of eighteen you must apply for a Finnish Criminal Records Extract.

Placement schedule

Schedule	Bachelor of Social Services 210 ECTS	210 ECTS
2nd semester (in Finland)	PRA1007B20S PRACTICE IN FINNISH WORKING LIFE 7 ECTS Placement is completed in appropriate social and community work settings, where the student works with service users and as a member of a work community. Detailed placement aims are described in the implementation plan. One of the learning aims in PRA1 is to support Finnish language skills for students. If a student must study Fin 1B, student has to make PRA1 placement in a Finnish speaking environment. Suitable placement environments, for example: youth work, work with older people, playgrounds, daycare, low threshold places offered by public, private and NGO sectors. You plan the work hours together with your work-life supervisor. Make sure that you complete the total placement hours for PRA1, which is 187 hours. The orientation session, individual supervision, learning assignment and the final reflective workshop are included in the 187 hours, which means that you should include these hours in your placement timesheet. It is recommended that you agree with your work-life supervisor a time schedule that will work best for you. Remote work: You should follow the placement organization’s guidelines for working remotely. A written plan about remote work should be drafted with the work life supervisor in the beginning of the placement. The plan should be sent to the teacher supervisor for future reference.	7 ECTS = 187h 38h per week = approx. 5 weeks including placement orientation, reflective workshop, assignment and professional reflection. If the student carries out the placement outside the given placement schedule (e.g. in the summer), s/he needs to compensate the reflective workshop by a written reflective assignment.
4th semester (in Finland/in international exchange)	PRA2018B20S PRACTICE WITH DIVERSE SERVICE USER GROUPS 16 ECTS + 2 ECTS PRA2116B20S PRACTICE WITH DIVERSE SERVICE USER GROUPS 16 ECTS Placement PRA2202B20S REFLECTIVE WORKSHOPS 2 ECTS Reflective workshops and professional reflection Placement takes place in appropriate social and community work settings, where the student works with service users and as a member of a work community. Detailed placement aims are described in the implementation plan. The focus of PRA2 is client work and supporting service users. Students will apply participatory, social and community work methods with diﬀerent service users in the placement context, understand the importance of documentation in client work and understand the value of working in a multi-professional team and the importance of professional networking. Suitable placement environments, for example: child welfare, family work, mental health, substance abuse, rehabilitative social work, adult social work, disability, youth work, work with older people, community work. Completion of PRA1 is a prerequisite for PRA2 and PRA3. The following study modules should be completed before PRA2: DEV, WYO, EXO, DIS, CHF, MEN and SUB. For non-Finnish speaking students, it is recommended to include improving your Finnish language skills in your placement objectives. This will ensure that you will get the necessary vocabulary needed in the social services field. (If possible, some of the supervision sessions with the work-life supervisor can be held in Finnish.) You plan the work hours together with your work-life supervisor. Make sure that you complete the total placement hours for PRA2, which is 480 hours. The orientation session, individual supervision, reflective workshops, professional reflection during the placement and the final reflective workshop are included in the 480 hours. You should include these hours in your placement timesheet. It is recommended that you agree with your work-life supervisor a time schedule that will work best for you. Remote work: You should follow the placement organization’s guidelines for working remotely. A written plan about remote work should be drafted with the work life supervisor in the beginning of the placement. The plan should be sent to the teacher supervisor for future reference.	16 ECTS + 2 ECTS = 427h + 53h = 480h 38h per week = approx. 13 weeks including placement orientation, reflective workshops and professional reflection. If the student carries out the placement outside the given placement schedule (e.g. in the summer), it is approx. 12 weeks of work (480h of work in total). Also, student completes an assignment (2 ECTS) as instructed instead of participating in reflective workshops during the placement period. If the student carries out the placement in the same organization as PRA1, the context and tasks of the student should be different from the preceding placement. It should meet the goals and objectives of PRA2.
5th semester (in Finland/in international exchange)	PRA3018B20S PRACTICE IN DIVERSE SETTINGS 16 ECTS + 2 ECTS PRA3116B20S PRACTICE IN DIVERSE SETTINGS 16 ECTS Placement PRA3202B20S REFLECTIVE WORKSHOP 2 ECTS Reflective workshops and professional reflection The objective of PRA3 placement is to deepen the student’s professional development and to strengthen professional skills and competencies in the chosen work setting. Detailed placement aims are described in the implementation plan. Placement takes place in appropriate social sector or community work setting. PRA3 placement allows diverse work environments including project work. PRA3 placement does not require direct work with service users. Completion of PRA1 is a prerequisite for PRA2 and PRA3. For non-Finnish speaking students, it is recommended to include improving your Finnish language skills in your placement objectives. This will ensure that you will get the necessary vocabulary needed in the social services field. (If possible, some of the supervision sessions with the work-life supervisor can be held in Finnish.) You plan the work hours together with your work-life supervisor. Make sure that you complete the total placement hours for PRA2, which is 480 hours. The orientation session, individual supervision, reflective workshops, professional reflection during the placement and the final reflective workshop are included in the 480 hours. You should include these hours in your placement timesheet. It is recommended that you agree with your work-life supervisor a time schedule that will work best for you. Remote work: You should follow the placement organization’s guidelines for working remotely. A written plan about remote work should be drafted with the work life supervisor in the beginning of the placement. The plan should be sent to the teacher supervisor for future reference.	16 ECTS + 2 ECTS = 427h + 53h = 480h Approx. 40h per week = approx. 12 weeks including placement orientation, reflective workshops and professional reflection. If the student carries out the placement outside the given placement schedule (e.g. in the summer), it is approx. 12 weeks of work (480h of work in total). Also, student completes an assignment (2 ECTS) as instructed instead of participating to reflective workshops during the placement period. If the student carries out the placement in the same organization as PRA1 or PRA2, the context and tasks of the student should be different from the preceding placement. It should meet the goals and objectives of PRA3.
Placements in total	The total amount of placements´ credits in DSS Programme. Semesters apply to those students who follow the regular study path of DSS Curriculum.	7 ECTS 18 ECTS 18 ECTS
Diak´s Degree Regulations on placement matters	20§ Students who fail to complete their practical training cannot begin the next practical training without special permission. Respectively, students who fail to complete the studies required for the previous semester can be denied the right to participate in the next practical training. Practical training may be conducted when school is out of session, provided this is specified in the student’s personal study plan and follows Diak’s practical training guidelines. 27§ The practical training of students studying in accordance with the English-language curriculum approved in 2020 is assessed as pass/fail.

Voit vierittää taulukkoa

Placement under employment contract

You can choose to complete a paid work placement under an employment contract, for example, as a temporary employee, provided that the placement supports the learning aims of your work placement module.

If you are thinking about this option, talk to your employer and read the advice provided below. Work placements are usually completed during the academic year, but other arrangements are possible.

You cannot complete several placement modules as part of your paid employment, unless your workplace is able to offer different tasks that support the required learning objectives.

Diak does not compensate employers for placement supervision or other costs.

Placement as part of employment during the academic year

If you want to complete a placement as part of your employment during the academic year, make sure that you meet the following conditions:

You have a valid, written employment contract with the workplace in question.
Learning opportunities offered by the workplace correspond to the learning aims of the placement module in question.
You can complete the placement during the scheduled placement module.
The workplace will assign you a named supervisor who is suitably qualified (at least to vocational college diploma level) and can commit to supervise you during the placement.
You will also have a supervising teacher who is responsible for planning and supervision before and after your placement.
The named workplace supervisor will give you instructive guidance during the placement and a written assessment of how well you have received your learning aims upon conclusion of the placement.

Diak and the workplace do not make a separate contract on your placement. However, you will need to discuss and agree on the arrangements with your placement teacher well before your placement starts. If you complete your placement under an employment contract, note down your job title on Workseed for the spot reserved for it on the Before the start of your placement tab.

If you will complete a placement during the academic year, you must notify Kela about any changes that may affect your student financial aid.

Placement as part of employment outside the academic year

If you want to complete a placement as part of your employment outside the academic year, make sure that you meet the following conditions:

You have a valid, written employment contract with the workplace in question.
Learning opportunities offered by the workplace correspond to the learning aims of the placement module in question.
The workplace will assign you a named supervisor who is suitably qualified (at least to vocational college diploma level) and can commit to supervise you during the placement.
You will also have a supervising teacher who is responsible for planning and supervision before and after your placement.
The named workplace supervisor will give you instructive guidance during the placement and a written assessment of how well you have received your learning aims upon conclusion of the placement.

A placement plan will be drawn up in advance between the student, the module coordinator, the supervising teacher and the guidance counsellor. The plan will be entered in your personal study plan.

Diak and the workplace do not make a separate contract on your placement. However, you will need to discuss and agree on the arrangements with your placement teacher well before your placement starts. If you complete your placement under an employment contract, note down your job title on Workseed for the spot reserved for it on the Before the start of your placement tab.

In addition to the work tasks, you will be required to complete other assignments related to the work placement.

Summer placements

Summer placements are discussed and organised beforehand always with a student counsellor. Summer placement has its own form (Agreement on placement in the summer) that you can find on the forms page. The teachers responsible for the placements either accept or confirm the placements by signing the agreement form.

Information about the summer placements is provided in the placement infos and in Tuudo between March and May. It is important to follow the information channels and to act on the given timeline.

International work placement

Would you like to complete your placement abroad? You can also carry out your work placement as a student exchange.

International exchange

Instructions for placement supervisors

Are you looking for information about placement allowances or guidance for placement supervisors?