Students' perceptions towards their clinical placement.

Abstract

Clinical placements are a vital tool, necessary for students to gain vocational practice and experience, not to mention the attainment of various skills required in this field. The purpose of this study was to assess the students' perceptions of their hands-on practicum performed in the radiography department at St. Luke's Hospital. The researcher made use of a structured questionnaire as a research method and as a source of obtaining quantitative and qualitative data from forty students. Since the response rate was high, there would not be much systematic differences between those who returned the questionnaires and those who refrained from doing, contributing to making the study more reliable, realistic, possibly giving a more valid picture of what the researcher intends to measure. Despite the number of students who claimed they were unhappy with particular components of the clinical placements, findings clearly confirm that most students felt that clinical placements are advantageous and go beyond helping the students in their studies, also orienting them in their future careers as health care professionals.