Education and courses

For the Master's program in Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Antwerp, we are seeking internship placements specifically for our students specializing in 'Researcher in Health and Care'.

Our students are nurses or midwives who often have hands-on experience in healthcare and make a conscious choice to obtain a Master of Science degree. Those seeking an internship within this call have opted to graduate as researchers in health and care. They have a broad methodological and statistical foundation and delve into more complex designs, methodologies, and data analysis techniques within their specialization, encompassing both quantitative and qualitative research. They also receive training in setting up a research project, project management and financing, science communication, data management, context analysis, implementation strategies, and patient & public involvement. Their experience as healthcare providers adds value to healthcare research.

Practical Information:

The internship is planned in consultation with the placement and can be conducted in person, remotely (telework), or in a hybrid form. The internship starts at the earliest on December 1 (after the mandatory preparations have been made) and concludes no later than the end of May. The student completes a 21-day internship, equivalent to 160 internship hours. The internship days are scheduled in consultation with the placement. The working language at the placement is Dutch or English.

Requirements:

The internship placement must have a demonstrable link to healthcare in the broadest sense, with research being the main task or at least a clearly defined task within the organization's scope. The internship mentor must have at least a master's degree and work as a researcher, or research should be one of the main tasks of the mentor's job. We expect the mentor to actively guide the student during the internship period. Finally, together with a coach from the program, the mentor will evaluate the internship at the end of the academic year.

Student Contribution:

The student works independently on an assigned individual project under the mentor's guidance. This project aligns with existing or new projects underway at the placement. Under guidance, students can take on all research-related tasks as long as they have the opportunity to acquire various competencies as predetermined in the internship plan.

Interested?

If you are interested in offering one or more internship positions for the upcoming academic year, please officially register your internship placement via the link at the bottom of the page.

Contact:

If you have further questions, feel free to contact us directly by emailing the internship coach at kelly.sabbe@uantwerpen.be or the internship coordinator at lien.desteghe@uantwerpen.be.

Kind regards,

The Internship Team

Innovation and organizational changes have become integral to everyday life. The healthcare sector, too, is strongly influenced by continuous processes of change. The implementation of innovations primarily focuses on improving the quality of care, patient safety, patient satisfaction, and the professional well-being of healthcare providers and staff, taking into account financial and logistical resources. There is a growing demand for leaders in health and care who excel in managing and coaching change processes, considering both the hard and soft aspects of innovation implementation. Through this individual practical assignment, we aim to prepare students to inspire stakeholders, utilize capacity, and achieve the set goals in this rapidly changing and complex world as Clinical Leaders.

Throughout the Master's program in Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Antwerp, project-based learning is an important pedagogical form. In the master's year, students within the specialization 'Leadership in Health and Care' will undertake a project in a real-life practice setting. This assignment aims to translate theoretical concepts, scientific evidence, and skills provided within the courses Management and Innovation in practice under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Filip Haegdorens (course coordinator), Prof. Dr. Erik Franck, Prof. Dr. Peter Van Bogaert, Mr. Stijn Slootmans (education coordinator), Mrs. Sandrine Meynendonckx (teaching assistant), and Mrs. Ines Vercalsteren (teaching assistant).

Around 30 students will individually work on a small-scale project in the context of a healthcare organization, such as acute care, rehabilitation, chronic care, mental healthcare, elderly care, home care, etc. The chosen project will address one or more essential leadership themes: (1) people management, (2) work organization and interventions, and/or (3) learning and innovation. The student will be guided by two internship coaches from the program and a content expert/project supervisor and mentor from the field. The project is a concrete, project-based exercise that starts from a question or issue in practice. The question may be based on various objectives, and depending on the goal, students will execute a project.

The assignment may involve addressing an improvement idea or problem at the departmental level. A complete improvement cycle (PDSA cycle) is followed from problem statement to intervention. For example, a (nursing) guideline or best practice from literature is adapted to the local context. Additionally, the assignment may also be part of a multi-year program or long-term project. In this case, the student may work on a specific component, such as a problem analysis with well-founded advice, from advice to a concrete design, or the implementation of a subproject.

The project assignment is formulated by a project sponsor and/or content expert from the field. The project assignment includes general project information, a business rationale, objectives, and a timetable. The project leads to a presentation with defense as an exam assignment. Additionally, the student is required to submit predetermined end products and scientific justification. After assessment, these documents are provided to the project sponsor as a structured response to a problem statement and/or question.

Students are divided into three groups, each coached by two program internship coaches. Additionally, they are guided by a field internship mentor and are encouraged to engage in peer coaching and feedback.

For more information, please contact the project coordinator at stijn.slootmans@uantwerpen.be.

Additional information on the project assignment and evaluation:

• Total 15 ECTS points:

1. 5 ECTS points (course component Development into Practice): Elaborate on the project plan.
2. 10 ECTS points (course component Project Work as Practice): 280 study load hours, including 240 internship hours for project work and 40 hours for the project report and defense.

• The student can allocate 240 internship hours specifically for the project in consultation with the project sponsor and internship coaches. At least 30% of the internship hours must be spent at the internship site.
• The student will be assessed based on:

1. The portfolio with a description of the project progress, achieved learning objectives and competencies, and a 360° feedback from two members of the project team and the project sponsor.
2. The final presentation of the project (defense).

• Starting from January, the student, in consultation with the field and internship coaches, will further develop the project (initiation phase in Q1), execute the project in Q2, and deliver the final presentation in June (part-time trajectory 2023).

For the Master's program in Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Antwerp, we are seeking internship placements specifically for our students specializing in 'Nursing Specialist.'

Our students are nurses deeply involved in healthcare, and by choosing this specialization, they aim to further develop themselves as academic clinical nursing experts within a healthcare domain. Through lectures and workshops, students receive theoretical preparation for role development as Nursing Specialists according to the 7 CanMeds roles. Through our education, they evolve in roles as clinical experts, autonomous professionals, care coordinators, researchers, leaders, mentors, coaches, and health promoters. They also build in-depth knowledge of pharmacology, clinical research, diagnostics, care planning, and consultation. In this specialization, we immerse students in the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need in more advanced nursing roles, such as nursing specialist, specialized nurse, nursing consultant, care coordinator, etc.

During the Nursing Specialist Internship, competencies are acquired, deepened, and/or applied on an independent basis under the guidance of a mentor and internship coach within a specialization domain. The specialization domain can include a healthcare domain, patient population, intervention(s), and/or method(s). The internship is a form of workplace learning, allowing the student intern to apply or deepen already acquired competencies and acquire new competencies by participating in a real work situation. Through the internship, the student can gain insight into the future work context, professional possibilities, and personal strengths and weaknesses within this work context.

Practical Information:

The student completes a 30-day or 240-hour internship after going through a series of preparatory steps. In consultation with the placement and mentor, the student intern develops an individualized internship plan. This plan includes four concrete, measurable internship goals that must contribute to the practice of the placement and have a connection with the CanMeds roles as a Nursing Specialist. The internship runs throughout the academic year, with an eight-week period in the second semester designated as free from lectures for the internship.

Requirements:

The internship placement must encompass a context where advanced clinical nursing practice is possible. The mentor is someone with at least a master's degree and works as a doctor, nurse, department head, or clinical expert within the healthcare domain. We expect the mentor to actively guide the student during the internship period. Finally, together with a coach from the program, the mentor will evaluate the internship at the end of the academic year.

Student Contribution:

The student independently works on an individualized internship plan under the supervision of the mentor. The internship plan is developed by the student after completing a maximum of 2 observation days and always in consultation with the placement. The student is asked to develop 4 internship goals, according to the SMART system, within 4 different CanMeds roles as a Nursing Specialist. The internship plan forms the basis for the internship evaluation carried out in consultation between the internship coach and mentor.

Interested?

If you are interested in offering one or more internship positions for the Nursing Specialist specialization, please officially register your internship placement via the link on this webpage.

Contact:

If you have further questions, feel free to contact us directly by emailing the coordinator of the Nursing Specialist Internship: eva.goossens@uantwerpen.be.

For the Master's program in Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Antwerp, we are looking for internship placements specifically for our students specializing in 'Midwifery Specialist.'

Our students are midwives deeply involved in healthcare, and by choosing this specialization, they aim to further develop themselves as academic clinical midwife experts within a healthcare domain or as facilitators in implementing innovations within perinatal care.

Through lectures and workshops, students receive theoretical preparation for role development as Midwife Specialists according to the 7 CanMeds roles. Additionally, they gain theoretical insights into implementation sciences: the importance of context, stakeholder engagement, the choice of suitable implementation strategies, procedural actions, and the evaluation of implementation outcome measures.

During the Midwifery Specialist Internship, competencies are acquired, deepened, and/or applied independently under the guidance of a mentor and internship coach within a self-selected specialization domain. The specialization domain can include a healthcare domain, patient population, intervention(s), and/or method(s). The internship is a form of workplace learning, allowing the student intern to apply or deepen already acquired competencies and acquire competenties by participating in a real work situation. Through the internship, the student can gain insight into the future work context, professional possibilities, and personal strengths and weaknesses within this work context.

Practical Information:

The student completes a 24-day or 188-hour internship after going through a series of preparatory steps. In consultation with the placement and mentor, the student intern develops an individualized internship plan. This plan includes four concrete, measurable internship goals that must contribute to the practice of the placement and have a connection with the CanMeds roles as a Midwifery Specialist. When choosing an implementation internship, 6 of the 24 days of the internship can take place in the back office.

The internship takes place in the second semester, and a lecture-free period is designated for the internship.

Requirements:

The internship placement must encompass a context where advanced clinical practice or an implementation internship is possible. The mentor is someone with at least a master's degree and works as a midwife, doctor, clinical expert, healthcare manager, or head of department within the healthcare domain related to perinatal care. We expect the mentor to actively guide the student during the internship period. The internship mentor, however, is not alone in this role. The training program's internship coach will be available throughout the internship, and both the intermediate and final evaluations will be conducted in consultation.

Student Contribution:

The student works independently on an individualized internship plan under the supervision of the internship mentor. The internship plan is developed by the student after a maximum of 2 observation days and always in consultation with the internship site. The student is asked to formulate 4 internship goals according to the SMART method. The goals are linked to one or more CanMEDS competencies. There should be a clear distinction between the goals of the bachelor-trained midwife and those of the Midwife Specialist. The internship plan forms the basis for internship monitoring and evaluation. The student is expected to have a self-directed learning attitude. This also means that the student will self-evaluate during the internship. This self-evaluation is compared with the evaluation of the internship mentor and internship coach. The final internship evaluation is conducted in collaboration between the student, internship mentor, and internship coach.

Additionally, during the exam period, the student will give a presentation for fellow students, internship mentors, and coaches. The final grade consists of various elements.

Interested?

If you are interested in offering one or more internship positions for the Midwifery Specialist specialization, please officially register your internship placement via the link on this webpage.

Contact:

If you have further questions, feel free to contact us directly by emailing Stages.VenV@uantwerpen.be.