Not so long ago, if you went to the doctor’s you were expected to keep quiet while you were examined. The doctor was interested in your observable symptoms, not in what you thought about them.

 in modern healthcare practice, the patient’s own perspective is taken more seriously. In particular, patients with life limiting or long term conditions are encouraged to articulate their experience of living with the condition, to “Tell their story”. There are at least three good reasons for this change of emphasis.

First, and most important, “Telling the Story” can make a big difference to the patient. Patients report that if they can find words for their pain, or the way their condition makes them feel, then they sometimes feel much better. Illness can be isolating, and in “Telling the story” we can reach out. In addition, there is some evidence that, if somebody with a long term condition like diabetes or C0PD is given a chance to talk about how the disease affects their life, they are more likely to look after themselves properly. 

 Secondly, for clinicians the patient story can be a really important diagnostic tool. For example, if somebody says they have a bad back, the cause could be cancer; or depression; or weightlifting; or maybe a hundred other things. The doctor is more likely to reach the correct diagnosis if they let the patient tell their story.

Finally, patient stories have a really important part to play in informing the public and changing social attitudes. People are frightened of illness, and express that fear in different ways. I am old enough to remember when HIV/AIDs arrived in the 1980s and was referred to in the newspapers as the “Gay Plague”: public attitudes were transformed when courageous individuals came forward to tell their stories of living with HIV. At the moment, we are witnessing the same process happening around dementia, as people with dementia and their carers share their experiences.

In the School of Health and Social Care, we are collaborating with a colleague from the Journalism department to research how journalists represent “The Patient’s Tale” for a public audience, and the role they have in changing attitudes. Why do people often mistrust journalists, and why do they fear they will be misrepresented? How do they decide how to edit and re-tell the story to make it easier for their audience to understand?  How do they make sure the story is still true to the patient’s experience? We hope as we explore these questions, we’ll gain some insights into how journalists can work with patients to “Tell the Tale”.

 Dr Peter Kevern

Associate Professor in Values in Care

I am writing this on the long journey back from Accra. I am already half way through my 4 week elective placement in Ghana, time is going by very quickly.
For my blog today I was wanting to focus more on life in Ghana and how I have felt while calling it my home.
The house that the students live in is amazing, very clean and has everything you need. I have a room to myself as there are so few of us in the house at the moment, I am in a bunk bed with a mosquito net over and I have my own bathroom with plenty of wardrobe space and a lockable box. There is no air conditioning in the house, I have a ceiling fan in my room which is sufficient, the nights can get warm when you’re trying to sleep but with placement I seem to sleep fine. There is no hot water but I actually appreciate a cold shower with it being so hot. We have to hand wash our clothes outside, but there is a lady that lives next door who will hand wash our clothes costing approx 20p an item, which I have taken full advantage of as I’m pretty sure I would do a terrible job myself.
We have 2 cooks who prepare our breakfast and evening meals from Monday to Friday, We normally have leftovers for our lunch or use some of the food in our kitchen to make our own meals, they are also very good at keeping the snacks cupboard filled well. Every Thursday there is a BBQ at the house, everyone sits together outside with the music on with the house staff and even the lady who washes our clothes has us up dancing to many well known European songs such as the Macarena and Saturday night. The house does have Wi-Fi, which, as we are all very reliant on is good to have, it can be very temperamental but we all appreciate having it. The hospital is about 10 minutes away from the house and we share a taxi each day which works out about £2 each way, most of the drivers know where we live and work so it is very easy to get about. The taxis aren’t as we know them back home, these are mainly very old cars and because the roads have many large speed bumps and pot holes the cars are damaged quite badly.
We are very lucky and have a seamstress who comes to the house once a week, she comes each Tuesday evening after dinner and we buy the fabric we want and she takes measurements and makes whatever you require, fabric shopping was so much fun, there are so many amazing patterns and styles of fabric, I could have bought them all, but I didn’t, I have an order for a summer dress and trousers for myself and also a few bags and purses as presents for when I am home. Within a week she has all of your items done and the price is reasonable and the quality of her work is brilliant. We also learn the local language once a week, I am terrible at this but I try my best as it is very much appreciated by the people of Ghana if you can speak some ‘Fante’, this week we even learnt a song.
The first weekend I was in Ghana, myself and 3 of the girls from the house went to a Lake, We booked a lodge and made the epic 6 hour journey there, the lodge was basic but we were all very excited about there being prawn curry on the menu, as we do eat a lot of chicken and goat at the house so the prawns were a nice change. The next morning we set off on a bit of a hike to a horse ranch by the lake, plenty of stunning views as we walked, but typically I had only brought flip flops to wear so I was filthy by the end of the day. We reached the ranch and were met by a French lady who owns and run the ranch which is also a lodge. They have 9 horses and you can ride for as short or long as you want. We chose to ride for 1 hour, I was a bit, actually very apprehensive about getting on a horse as it has been well over 10 years since I’d been horse riding, my horse Eclipse didn’t seem to like me much but once we set off I started to feel more comfortable, the views around the lake were stunning and I felt like Eclipse was starting to warm to, right up until the end when he got spooked and tried to buck me off, but I am here to tell the tale and now it’s in the past I really enjoyed it.

As I mentioned I am currently travelling back to the Work the World house from Accra, we left the house on Friday and made the 5 hour journey to Accra, this time just 3 of us, one of the girls was flying home on the Saturday night and we didn’t want her to travel on her own so we went with her to Accra with her and stayed over for 2 nights. The hotel was nice and I managed to have my 1st hot shower in 2 weeks, we had Wi-Fi and air conditioning in our rooms and even filter coffee with our breakfast, which made us all very happy. Yesterday the 3 of us ventured to James Town in Accra, we had a tour guide who took us to meet some of the children at the local school, the children are very friendly and want to hug you and hold your hand, they always want to have photos with you too. We spoke to some of the children that were having lessons there then we moved to the fishing village, this is the poorest part of Accra and I don’t think anything could have prepared me for the level of hard work and poverty that I saw, also a lot of fish. We all felt very privileged to go and see this community of fishermen, their wives and families, it really did leave a lasting impression on me. We then heading to the mall in Accra and the contrast of the way people live was shocking, from extreme poverty to how the rich live and shop. That night we said our goodbyes to one of the girls who flew home, even though I’ve only known her for 2 weeks, I am going to miss her. So as I write this travelling back there are 2 of us, with 2 other girls travelling somewhere else this weekend. I am now the only student nurse as all the other girls all training to be doctors, but it is nice to exchange views, skills and experiences between each other.
My next blog I will talk more about my experiences at the hospital as I did manage to visit the morgue, twice, and also be part of the mother and baby HIV clinic. Tomorrow I start my 2 weeks in NICU which I am looking forward too as I thoroughly enjoyed my Neonate placement in my 2nd year and it is an area I may pursue once I am qualified. Until next time I’ll say bye, once again thank you for reading my blog and I hope you are enjoying it. If you are on Twitter you can follow university account for my more regular updates with photos @A011340fKatie

Hello from Ghana. I have now been in Takoradi, Ghana for 10 days and I can’t quite believe how fast the time has gone and how much I have seen and experienced.
I arrived in Accra late Saturday night and was met by a Work the World representative Alhaassan, we took a short taxi ride to a local hotel to stay in before our long journey to the house in Takoradi the next day. The hotel was basic and adequate, I was exhausted from the travelling and managed to get a good night’s sleep even though everything was so unfamiliar to me.

The next morning myself Alhaassan set off to Takoradi, being in and amongst the local people while getting on the bus made me feel like this was going to defiantly be an adventure. After 5 hours on the bus I arrived at the Work the World house, the house can sleep up to 32 students so as you can imagine is a huge house. I initially met two of the girls who are from the Netherlands, with my tour of the house complete I was ready to relax. My room sleeps 4 people in 2 sets of bunk beds with an ensuite bathroom, I have this room to myself for the 4 weeks as there are so few of us here. All the beds have mosquito nets over them and a ceiling fan. The other three girls returned from their weekend away at the beach and I soon got to know them. Two British girls and a girl from Canada. It is just myself and one other who are student nurses, the others are student doctors.

My 1st day was an orientation of the hospital in the morning to meet the staff I would be working with while I am in Ghana. The hospital is much bigger than I had expected and I was introduced to many members the nursing team  on various wards including the children’s ward and Neonatal intensive care unit, My first impression was that everyone was very friendly towards me. I had a briefing and a tour of the local area later that day, there are some beautiful spots in Takoradi and also some extreme poverty. In my briefing I was told about the local culture and how to great people, this is something I have found very important, ensuring that you great everyone you meet with a good morning. I was also told to keep an open mind about that I will see on the wards and that the ‘caring’ side of nursing is very different to the culture of home. You should never wave with your left hand as it is considered as a person’s dirty hand.

My 1st day on the children’s ward was quite daunting, as with any 1st day on a new placement there is the anxiety of being new and not knowing anyone, this was on another level. The nursing staff don’t teach in Ghana, it will be the doctors that I will learn from, but I also feel that by observing and asking questions the nurses have grown to like me and see me as a part of their team. Out of respect I am to address the female staff as Aunty or Sister and they call foreign people ‘Oburoni’, this isn’t meant as an insult and I have quickly learnt to respond to this when they call me to assist. The ward had capacity for approximately 40 children with two isolation rooms, there are normally two sister’s and two nurses on shift at one time, I did speak to a nurse who told that that when you are newly qualified you can be responsible for up to 30 patients. The nursing staff do not have patients assigned to them, I’m still trying to understand who takes responsibly for what, as there doesn’t seem to be much structure or delegation. I will say that team work is very strong and they do work together well. Many of the cases I have seen have been malaria, with a few cases of sickle cell and meningitis. The healthcare system is very different and the lack of money is very obvious by the lack of equipment in the hospital. When I child is admitted onto the ward they are then prescided the medication needed and the parent has to take the patient folder to the pharmacy to collect the medication to bring back to the nurses who then administer it, This can be at the nurses station, the patient bedside or just wherever the patient is.

The hardest part so far is when a child has blood taken or they are canulated, this is done by the nurses mainly and is an example of how we at home do things very differently, the needle size depends on what is available and the cuff of the gloves is used as a torneque, the parent is asked to hold the child down and squeeze the arm or leg to assist the nurse, a child can be screaming and kicking and this is deemed normal, they will have many attempts with the same needle and I have seen them try up to 15 times on one child. This is when I realised during my training at Staffordshire University and while on placement at home I have learnt best practice and distraction techniques, it makes me appreciate the resources and specialist staff we have to ensure a child is at ease as they can be, it is also something I have stayed true to. Over here I am still the person who comforts a child and wipes their tears, reassuring them and trying to care as much as I can, I believe that the 6 C’s are running through my veins are are truly a part of who I am. This does not mean how the staff her do things are bad practice, this is how in their culture they have and will continue to do things their way, all I can do is be myself and let them see how I carry myself as a student nurse and represent Staffordshire university, we recognise bad practice but who is to say that over here things are being done incorrectly?

The level of treatment and care that is given all depends on how much money a patient and their family has, for example a CT scan can cost up to £100 and in Ghana that is a lot of money, if a family cannot afford it they will not get the treatment.
All medical notes are written in English and one thing that is very similar to how we write at home is the terminology, if someone was to read the nursing or doctors notes here you could be mistaken to reading notes from home, this does make me wonder is the level of treatment and care down to lack of money and resources?

So far my experiences have made me greatly appreciate what I have learnt so far in my nurse training and it has also made me realise that I have learnt a great deal already, without thinking about it I can recognise a deteriorating child, I always have best practice in the back of my mind and I am constantly aware of what is going on around me including correct documentation.

I am enjoying this experience and I am looking forward to what comes next, with a trip to the mourge planned and time in the mother and baby HIV clinic I am sure there is a lot more to learn.

On a final note I am grateful for this opportunity and how the nurses and doctors have allowed me to interrogate into their team on the ward and answering my questions honeslty and professionally.

Until next time I thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

What does it take to make me feel nervous?  Well, this week I started week 1 (of 4) of my nursing elective at the beginning of Year 3 of my nursing degree. I haven’t opted for an easy one – an inner city Accident and Emergency department.  As I walked from the train station towards the hospital, I was struck by the neighbourhood and the towering building in front of me getting ever closer. What awaited me at the front entrance was an assortment of police vehicles, armed police officers and ambulances rushing round to the main Emergencies entrance. I thought “oh dear, what have I done?”

However, once inside the safety of the building, the nerves began to ease.  I spent my first shift (all 13.5 hours of it) in Resus – within a few hours I was helping treat an elderly patient knocked down by a car who had sustained 3 fractures to his leg.  He was on his way to work at the time!  Then came a female patient in acute respiratory distress with chest pain. The red telephone had alerted the department to her arrival (locally known as ‘Standby’). The receiving team quickly assembled, preparing everything in a calm and organised way. Later a male patient was whisked off for a CT scan – no time was wasted as we wheeled his trolley at breakneck speed along countless corridors in this vast hospital.

The department was under siege with patients needing attention by mid afternoon but the staff, whilst working under enormous pressure, never lost sight of what they were doing or the care and treatment required for each admission.  Their calmness helped my nerves, and I didn’t feel too much like a fish out of water as a nursing student.

I breathed a sigh of relief at the end of the shift, but as I sat on the train going home, I took a moment to reflect on all the good that had been done in very challenging circumstances. Despite tension and stress, there were smiles, lighthearted banter and little acts of kindness throughout the day.

Hi! I’m Abbie and this is my first blog post! (This was written two weeks ago but due to technical difficulties it is only now being uploaded!)

I am an Adult Nursing Student about to start my 3rd year in September, which means going straight out onto our elective placement. I will be blogging throughout the placement when i get the opportunity.

As myself and 3 other students decided to travel abroad for this placement and we’re not entirely sure what to expect when we get there, I’ll be sharing what we all find and how it differs from placements here in the UK.

In just 3 days we will be making the long journey to Sri Lanka for our elective placement. There are 4 of us going from Stafford Campus and a 5th joining us the week after from the Shrewsbury Campus.

Truthfully, my reason for travelling abroad for this placement was because one of the girls going had decided way back in 1st year that she wanted to go abroad, and when it came to actually making the decision, we all decided we wanted to go to!

The costs seemed feasible, and we knew it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. It will be interesting to see how the healthcare system differs to here in the UK.

Not only that, we’ll be able to do a bit of travelling around Sri Lanka whilst we are there!

We chose the company Work the World as our tutors and other students had said that they had used this company before and they were reliable.

There were lots of places to choose from, from Cambodia, to Peru, to Tanzania. Prices ranged from £1340-£1890 plus a £300 fee when you first apply. On top of this we had to buy flights and save up some spending money, so cost is definitely something to consider if you’re thinking of going abroad for your elective.

We all set up a gofundme page and were able to raise some money through that, and I know the other girls were working a crazy amount of hours to afford it all, but we knew it would be worth it in the end.

On your elective placement, even as an adult nursing student, you can choose to visit any area, even midwifery or mental health areas, and so I’ve requested to spend two weeks on a General Surgery ward, and two weeks on Obstetrics and Gynecology to see some babies be born!

I’ll post some updates whilst we are there so keep a look out for future blog posts to see how we are all getting on!

The results are out! Now is the time to find out what our students think about their learning experience with us. Big drum roll…………. The National Student Survey (NSS) results say Operating Department Practice (ODP) is 100% overall satisfaction, for the third year running!

The National Student Survey (NSS) is aimed at final year undergraduate students, and gives them an opportunity to feedback their experiences about their course. The NSS informs us about the learning experiences of our students, and helps effect change. The results are publicly available to prospective students, enabling them to make informed decisions about the university and the courses they are applying for. The NSS gives students a powerful voice to inform and shape the future of their course and university.
As a team in ODP, we spend a lot of time developing our curriculum, striving to deliver creative and innovative teaching to stimulate and empower students as they progress on their journey to become registered healthcare professionals. We facilitate student engagement, developing underpinning theory and knowledge that student ODPs will transfer into clinical skills in the clinical placements. We use a variety of resources, from high fidelity simulation manikins, to case studies and role play. We incorporate digital technology, enhancing the learning experience, but reinforcing the human element of the ODP profession – that the patient is at the centre of all that we do. We also work closely with our practice partners to ensure our students have a valuable placement experience.

But the truth of it is, that we can’t do this alone. We work in partnership with our students, acknowledging that they are adult learners who will one day have ‘our life in their hands’. Communication plays a vital part, ensuring students are kept informed of changes and developments. We listen to our students, and respond to their feedback. We are connected, sharing the journey, resulting in 100% employment on completion of the course. We are incredibly proud of our students’ achievements, #proudtobestaffs and proud to be #ODP.

Angela Woolliscroft, Course Leader: FdSc Perioperative Care and Lecturer: Operating Department Practice and Health and Social Care, angela.woolliscroft@staffs.ac.uk

This is not a standard blog because it is deliberately intended for a few people, but bear with me. First and foremost….. congratulations! Your job has a parent is to ‘fledge’ your child and yes, we know it is hard but you have done a really good job! You have managed to bring him or her up so well that s/he has got a place at university. I suspect some of you are wondering how when you remember desperately encouraging revision, getting them out of bed or some of the scrapes that they got into. But you did it! Well done.

I suspect you are right now planning the last meal before they go to university, you are probably looking at their packing and adding things (just in case) and you have possibly had a few episodes of anxiety. Calm down – they will be OK. This is not the last ever meal you will have with them and to be honest they will probably enjoy it so much more after the novelty of eating pot noodles every night for 2 weeks has waned. Similarly, we know that you pack for every eventuality (‘I have just put some anti-venom in your bags in case you are bitten by a snake’), but I suspect they know where to get supplies. So, some advice from someone who has gone through this:

Prepare for the first night away. Secret some treats in their bag with a note encouraging them to share with their new flatmates. You have no idea how much a bottle of wine or homemade cake can help people get to know each other. Don’t forget yourself here – plan something special at home so you are not brooding on their absence.

Agree communication. Stalking them on social media will only worry you (remember you do not know the context of why they are dressing up in a toga and seem to be really good friends with a psychopath). They will be enjoying their new independence, so asking them to call you daily is likely to cause you worry when they don’t because they have forgotten.

Have realistic expectations. Yes, we know that you have seen horrendous initiation ceremonies in the films and fear that your child will take up all sorts of nasty habits. The reality is that they will probably have a really good time initially and then will have no choice but to study. Certainly within the health programmes, students quickly learn that they cannot party too hard and be able to learn their profession. You might not have these fears, your child is perfect and you are confident that they will spend every day tidying their flat and reading, reading, reading. I speak from experience here – I spent 12 hours cleaning my daughters flat when she graduated and am sure there was a cure for any type of disease in their fridge! However, my daughter survived and yours will too.

Be prepared for their intellectual growth. You have been the most influential person in your child’s life and now they are entering an institution where they will be expected to be critical, evaluative and independent thinkers. They might develop different political leanings to you and have different perspectives, but enjoy it. You are now entering a stage in your relationship where you can explore these views together and you will develop a more grown up friendship with them.

Let them be adults. When I dropped my daughters off for the first time, it took all my self-will to resist finding anyone in authority and beseeching them to watch out for them. Yes, your child might find parts of the course tough, but this will develop them. Remember, there are support services in the university and although I am biased, I genuinely think this is where Staffordshire University comes into its own. If they fail something, don’t contact us but please encourage your child to. Our contract is with the student (not you) and we are bound by confidentiality. The way to look at it is that they are entering a very responsible profession, so they need to be autonomous and resilient.

Think about money. I am not saying that you need to bankrupt the Bank of Mum and Dad but if you are in a fortunate position to be able to subsidise, try thinking of ways that you can protect how they spend the money. Some supermarkets do student cards which means that you can top up the cards so they can at least buy food with it. There are some really good websites which give good advice, try http://www.savethestudent.org/save-money/food-drink/the-students-ultimate-supermarket-guide.html. A useful thing to do is to stock up on cheap tinned foods, so at least you are not imagining your child languishing hungry and miserable in their room (they make good fall back staple foods). It is useful to be aware that the rooms are often small, so it might be worthwhile investing in an underbed storage case (it will also give them somewhere to store items that they do not want ‘liberating’.

Give them memories. In reality, your child will miss you. Do not underestimate how comforting a photo of the family or a treasured cuddly toy can be.

Finally, this is the next stage of your lives. Things won’t be the same again, but it does not need to mean that it won’t be good again – it will be different (and possibly better). So, you need to enjoy it too.

Traci Hudson, Lead Midwife for Education/Course Leader, Traci.Hudson@staffs.ac.uk

One of our lovely 2nd year students recently gave the midwifery team a present.  It was a physical birth register – the idea is that every time a student delivers a baby, they post a token into the slot at the top so it gives them a visual and tangible reminder of their progress in achieving the 40 births they have to manage in order to qualify as a midwife.  Stacey explained that she regards our role as educators as being similar to that of a clinical midwife in that we help midwives to be born (sometimes kicking and screening).

The tokens with the register are shaped like butterflies and the symbolism is not lost on us.  The first stage of the butterfly life cycle is the egg, with some butterflies if you look close enough you can see the caterpillar inside.  This signifies the potential that we see in our new student midwives: their care, compassion and ability to evaluate and problem solve.  The larva forms the 2nd stage, this is a short period of time where all they do is eat.  This is like the first year of midwifery education: the students vociferously digest new knowledge and skills in order to be prepared for the increasing autonomy that the subsequent years bring.  As the students enter the 2nd and 3rd year, they slowly metamorphosis and become recognisable as the midwife they will become (the pupa stage).  Finally, they emerge with all the skills and knowledge needed to be registered midwives and similar to butterflies, they are expected to take on the role of adulthood straight away.

The midwifery journey to becoming an ‘adult butterfly’ is not an easy one.  Our most senior cohort is flying away right now and their reflections are both painful and joyous in equal measure.  They have all cried, laughed and despaired – birth is one of the most intense, emotional and life-changing moments in anyone’s life and it is therefore unsurprising that the students do get affected by the experience.  During their time, they will have sat with a family quietly, letting them talk about what their stillborn baby could have been.  They will have witnessed miracle births which medics told the family would never happen. They will have had sleepless nights over child protection issues and families living in extreme poverty.   They have participated in emergencies where every instinct would have been to run screaming from the room – but they didn’t, they swallowed their fear and did the best they could do to help.  They will have grappled with complex physics, chemistry and biology trying to equate the science with the art of midwifery.  Most of all, however they will have really cared, this will have changed some of their political viewpoints and in doing so, made them question humanity.  Our students did not know whether they helped with the birth of the next Adolph Hitler or the next Mother Theresa but they didn’t care.  I know that each time they worked with families, they did so with warmth, professionalism and a real commitment to doing their best.

As I raise a toast to the newly metamorphosed adult butterflies, I hope that the eggs that are about to enter the larva stage this month become as bright and wonderful as the ones leaving us now.

Traci Hudson, Lead Midwife for Education/Course Leader, Traci.Hudson@staffs.ac.uk

If anyone out there is anything like me, you might be a little baffled by the Teaching Excellence Framework and what it actually means, so I thought I’d do a little investigatory work and summarise my findings and thoughts. Staffordshire University has recently been awarded the ‘Silver TEF award’. This means that we are in the 50% of universities awarded Silver in England for 2017. 26% of universities were awarded Gold with the remaining either not taking part or being awarded Bronze.

The TEF awards are all about measuring teaching quality and excellence with an aim to give students insight into the quality of education they can expect from a particular institute. After looking a little more into the TEF, I was surprised to learn a few things. Firstly, the TEF is a means by which the HEFCE is abolishing tuition fee caps. Universities awarded Silver or Gold can charge their students more in fees to study (the justification being that you can expect to pay more for better quality education). As you can imagine, this has provoked some heavy criticism and I’m not sure it’s something I totally agree with either. Surely, this is going to cause problems down the line? Especially for disadvantaged students, who may only be able to afford a ‘Bronze’ university.

Secondly, the TEF has been criticised for not being a valid means of assessing quality. Gone are the days of inspectors assessing teaching quality during ‘OFSTED’ style inspections by the QAA. Those methods of measuring quality have been damned for not appreciating the breadth and unique learning and teaching of adults in Higher Education. The TEF uses ‘soft’ data to award levels of Gold, silver or Bronze and this soft data is mainly gathered from NSS results (Yes, that’s right….our NSS is that important!!). Data is also gathered from DLHE (the Destination and Leavers Survey) and information held about student retention from the Higher Education Statistics Agency. There are six core metrics all gathered from existing data and three of the metrics are gathered from NSS data alone!!

Gathering data wholly from these areas has produced some interesting results, which is changing the basis of university league tables nationally. Some well-regarded universities (who may depend on their historical reputations) have taken a blow with their TEF results and have attempted to appeal their awards. For once, the quality of education is being heavily based upon what the students report. You may see this as a good or bad thing, but personally I think this has got to be positive. After all, isn’t everything about the students and the education we offer them? Interestingly, the results have uncovered that at some of the well-regarded universities student satisfaction is low and as a result these institutions have been given a ‘red flag’ capping the level of TEF award which can be achieved. Quite disappointing for some, but I think it’s positive in terms of measuring real quality in education. It’s when you delve into these statistics you realise that we are in a good position at Staffordshire University. The face of a ‘great university’ is changing and its now through our students that we can become a better university. It’s the students who tell the world whether we are a good university, and now it seems the future of the ‘evolving’ league tables rest on what our students report in surveys like the NSS.

Our challenges exist around doing what we can to ensure that student experience is good, our NSS is continually improving and making sure our student retention is maximised with students remaining highly employable.

Lauren Philp, Lecturer in Midwifery, Lauren.Philp@staffs.ac.uk