Social Work: Placement

As a Social Work student in the Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health, you will spend a proportion of your time in a social work setting away from the University campus. This page brings together information on resources and services for students on placement.

The following checklist will help you to remember the things you need to do before you go on your placement:

• Return or renew all existing items on loan.  You can do this using the My Account link in Library Search; enter your University username and password. We do not charge fines on overdue loans, but please help us to keep books available for other Library users by returning your books on time - for more information go to Borrowing and returning books.
• Make a note of your central username and password - you will need it to access resources remotely
• Remember to check your University emails for any library reminders
• Before you go on placement or while you are on placement you can join the SCONUL Access scheme (Society of College, National and University Libraries). SCONUL Access is a scheme which allows many university library users, including placement students, to borrow or use books and journals at other libraries throughout the UK and Ireland. You will be able to apply for borrowing rights at other university libraries geographically nearer to your placement location.

Electronic Resources

• You will have access to the full range of University of Manchester Library electronic resources while you are on placement. Please read the search resources pages for full details. You can access the vast majority of online resources remotely with your UoM username and password. 
• You can use our Database Directory to browse a broader range of databases that are relevant to Social Work as well as other subjects. The directory also allows you to identify databases that provide access to specific types of resources (e.g. Full Text Articles, Streaming Video, Patents, Theses and Dissertations, and much more).
• Check out My Learning Essentials tab for online tutorials and further tips.

Getting the books you want

• Most University of Manchester Library sites are open in the evening and at weekends, please check the opening hours before you visit.
• Academic Libraries North is a consortium of 33 higher education libraries in the north of England and a subgroup of SCONUL. Through collaborative activities and mutual support, we provide opportunities for our members in the exchange of knowledge and experience.. For borrowing rights from these libraries please see SCONUL access information.

While you are on placement you can register for an NHS OpenAthens Account. This will enable you to access a wealth of electronic resources from wherever you're logged in. It is much quicker to register for an NHS Athens account from an NHS computer either on a hospital site or in a GP practice. If you are using a non-NHS computer or email address, your registration could be delayed for up to 15 days.

Sources accessed via NHS Athens include:

• Ovid (Medline, Embase, AMED, HMIC and PsycINFO)
• ProQuest (BNI)
• EBSCO full text databases (Cinahl and Health Business Elite)
• Journals from the BMJ and AMA collections
• Online access to eBooks from MyiLibrary

• Cochrane Library

• NICE Guidance - Evidence-based recommendations for the health and social care sector, developed by independent committees, including professionals and lay members, and consulted on by stakeholders.

• PubMed