Role-emerging placements are an essential risk for the development of the occupational therapy profession: the debate

There is an increasing awareness of the use of role-emerging placements within occupational therapy education. A greater number of higher education institutions are recognising the value of their students undertaking at least one of their practice placements within a role-emerging setting. Similarly, students are developing a sense of the depth of the learning experience that can be gained from these placements. However, with these developments are the inevitable challenges, posed to academic staff, students, clinicians, staff within the voluntary sector and the profession as a whole. This opinion piece discusses both the challenges and the opportunities posed by the increasing use of role-emerging placements within the United Kingdom, and whether or not role-emerging placements are actually essential to the development of the profession.