The Queens Nursing Institute celebrated 150 year of District Nursing back in 2009. Few people realise that the origins of District Nursing go back so far, indeed prior to the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948 and the outbreak of war.

In fact, you have to go back to Victorian times and a wealthy Liverpool merchant by the name of William Rathbone who employed a nurse to care for his dying wife at home. After his wife’s death William then employed the nurse to go into the poorest districts of Liverpool to nurse the poor, teach hygiene and relieve suffering.

Going further he then financed a training school in Liverpool to prepare nurses for working in the community and home setting. Liverpool was divided into eighteen districts hence the name ‘District Nurse’ and with this District nursing was born.

William Rathbone was supported in his endeavour by Florence Nightingale and investment from Queen Victoria that ensured that training of this workforce grew and continued throughout the country.

The first District Nursing students would have to first train in the hospital setting for a year. They would work an eight-hour day with two hours dedicated to study and two hours allowed for leisure. Training would also include the nursing of mothers and infants post childbirth, and if in a rural setting at least three months of approved midwifery training.

“The syllabus reflected Nightingales dual aims of curative care and preventative education by including sanitary reform, teaching health matters, ventilation, drainage, water supply, diets for the healthy and the sick, the feeding of infants, infectious diseases, monthly nursing of lying in women and the care of new born infants”

Howse (2007) Pg.74

By 1876 District Nursing Institutes existed in Manchester, Derby Leicester, London, Glasgow and Dublin. However, District Nursing was not without opposition The Lancet questioned investing money into such a service and felt that the money may be better invested in increased hospital beds or improving housing.

Staffordshire university is extremely proud to have trained District Nurses since 1998 and continues to this day.

For further history related to District Nursing with video footage and gallery follow this link: – http://www.districtnursing150.org.uk/film_05.htm

Sources

The Queens Nursing Institute (2009) 2020 vision: Focusing on the future of district nursing. London:QNI.

Howse, C.(2007) The Ultimate Destination of all Nursing: The development of District Nursing in England, 1880-1925. Nursing History review 15,.pp.65-94.

Shelley Howles, lecturer, School of Health and Social Care, Shelley.Howles@staffs.ac.uk

Social Work Programmes at Staffordshire University

The University offers a range of social work programmes at both pre-qualifying and post-qualifying levels. We deliver a BA (Hons) Social Work; this is a qualifying undergraduate degree, available as full time or part time. The full time route is delivered at Stoke; the part time students attend Lichfield Campus. The undergraduate programme reflects the recommendations of the Social Work Reform Board, the professional regulator (Health and Care Professions Council: HCPC) and the implementation of the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF). The BA programme was approved by the HCPC in 2015.

For more information about the Health and Care Professions click on the link below: http://www.hcpc-uk.org.uk

Range of Involvement

Service-user and Carer involvement in social work education is essential to the quality of our courses and experience of our students. This includes involvement in assessing the calibre of entrants via admissions processes, teaching skills based work, curriculum development and assessment. Members of the group are therefore involved in a range of activities; this includes sitting on admissions interview panels, facilitating group discussions, developing communication skills via role- play work and involvement in assessing student presentations. Members are also involved in validation processes, fitness to practice procedures and research activity. Members can be involved in all these activities, or may prefer to be involved in just one area of work.

Throughout the academic year the service-user and carer group meet to confirm involvement, contribute to the evaluation and development of involvement across the social work programmes, and discuss training needs. These meetings are chaired by Maqsoodah Ashraf and take place approximately every two months.

Service Users and Carers at their meeting on Wednesday 7^th June 2017.

Service Users and Carers discussing and developing written social work based scenario’s.

Thank you everyone for all your hard work and will see you all at the next meeting on Wednesday 16^th August 2017

Maqsoodah Ashraf, Lecturer, School of Health and Social Care, Maqsoodah.Ashraf@staffs.ac.uk

There have been some developments in the management of Practice Learning Placements recently to enhance the student experience.

• 2017/18 academic year practice placement planning is commencing, with Mental Health, Child and Midwifery with the placement leads for checking and authorising.
• Adult nursing is planned for Monday 5^th June in conjunction with the 2 placement leads and myself to plan the full academic year and the full programme year for the cohorts to enhance the strength of the profiles and hopefully minimise changes made prior to placements starting.
• Work done on the Release of Placements to students is now complete. This enables me to plan placements in a draft environment and then once all the checks by placements leads and trusts are done we can make the allocation live to the students a minimum 6 weeks prior to the placement starting. Hopefully again we can minimise last minute changes with this tool.
• New starters March 17 will be informed of their confirmed placements this week now that all they have been authorised.

In addition, I delivered a short session with the new starters in September 2016, to show them how to use E:Vision and view their placements, placement contact details and absence reports. This has been well received and commenced also with March 17, students will now have the independence to manage their attendance with an at a glance view of their live absence reports so that they are aware of any hours that needs to be made up prior to them mounting up. This will continue with all new cohorts now for all students.

Sam Davies, Placements Administrative Co-Ordinator, S.C.Davies@staffs.ac.uk

In December 2012, the NHS launched a new initiative underpinned by a set of core values that its staff would endeavour to communicate and demonstrate to every patient using NHS services, be they paramedics, nurses, midwives, operating department practitioners or any other of the host of NHS roles.

This initiative was called “Compassion in Practice” and these values, known affectionately as ‘The Six C’s’, comprise of:

• Care
• Compassion
• Competence
• Communication
• Courage
• Commitment

Each has its own merits and is undoubtedly important in communicating to patients the value we place on human life, that is, their life.

As a lecturer on the paramedic science program, I have the privilege of working with some outstanding paramedic students, many of whom demonstrate these values on a daily basis.

However, what we also encounter, are stories of patients that are difficult to have compassion upon. We have stories of paramedic students being spat at, verbally abused, and attempts of physical assault, things that I have also experienced in my own clinical background.

According to NHS Protect, 70,555 NHS staff were assaulted in 2015-2016; a figure that reflects a steady increase in incidents since 2011.

What does this mean?

I take it to mean that NHS employees, and by extension, our students, are increasingly coming into contact with people that are difficult to have compassion on.

Synonyms of compassion include empathy, understanding, care, concern, sensitivity, warmth, love, tenderness, gentleness, consideration and kindness.

How can we possibly extend these qualities to those who sometimes express the complete opposite qualities towards us?

Well sometimes that is difficult, nigh-on impossible. And there are circumstances which should not be excused or belittled. Attacks on our NHS staff or students are never acceptable, and should never be tolerated.

But, is it possible, in dealing with and experiencing the ugly side of the job, that we lose something of our ability to have compassion on patients?

Possibly. I know I have encountered that challenge.

So how can we ensure that we maintain compassion?

Simple:

Tenacity(n) – “the quality of being very determined”

 Synonyms: determination, perseverance, strength of will, resolve

I believe that as clinicians, we can commit to making compassion a non-negotiable quality of our practice. That regardless of our experiences, we can choose to rise above the ugly side of the job, and refuse to compromise on compassion.

That whatever circumstances we encounter, we can endeavour to make compassion a hallmark of our practice.

Compassion is an art form.

The ability to move on from difficult situations, from challenging patients, and greet the next person with warmth, gentleness, understanding and kindness is a challenging, yet beautiful thing.

Can I encourage you to practice the art of compassion.

And refuse to compromise on it.

Tim Davies, Paramedic Lecturer, Tim.Davies@staffs.ac.uk

I am a senior lecturer in nursing with a special interest in travel health, though sadly I am not in a position to give individual advice here is a timely reminder for you all students and colleagues alike.

June is upon us and many of you may be thinking of what you will be doing with your holiday time. Remember if you are heading away from UK shores it is advisable to seek travel health advice six weeks before travel.   Book your appointment with your practice nurse soon, you may even need to consult a specialist travel clinic.   Some vaccinations are free but others will cost you – remember to factor this into the cost of your holiday. You can find out information about vaccinations and the many other health and safety risks you may encounter on holiday – some may affect you in the UK as well as abroad – by looking at the following websites:

www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk

www.travelhealthpro.org.uk

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

Two thinks to remember:

1. In Europe the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is only valid for five years and will only cover for emergency treatment of the level provided to citizens of the country you are in so additional travel insurance is essential as for places beyond Europe.
2. Vaccination only protects you against 5-10% of potential health related risks, our behaviour is responsible for the other 90-95% consider what you do, take care with food, water, alcohol, sexual activity, general activities, using locally hired equipment and vehicles as there is always a potential risk.

Finally just to say don’t forget to enjoy yourself and return safely.

Sharon Graham, Senior Lecturer, Department of Nursing, S.R.Graham@staffs.ac.uk

Building professional resilience in student social workers.

No one ever said it was going to be easy! Social and health care professionals will face emotional pressures within their profession, which comes hand in hand with supporting people in times of difficulty. But, here too lies the job satisfaction in applying professional skills to bring positive changes and even save lives.

Previous research has helped to highlight the impact on social care professionals of occupational stress. For example, a major study by Community Care (2015), in which 2,000 social work staff were interviewed, found that:

• 97 % respondents felt mild to moderately stressed
• 80% of social workers believe stress levels are affecting their ability to do their job.
• 16 % said that they had received no guidance or training on stress

As in all research, there are methodological limitations, such as the self-selective nature of respondents, and the focus on the negativity of the role whilst ignoring the positive aspects of a career in the care profession’s. Nonetheless, the importance of developing emotional resilience has now become embedded in the recently revised Standards of Practice for social workers (HCPC, 2017), which now include the need to:

• Be able to identify and apply strategies to build professional resilience. 

It is argued that HEIs teaching social and health care students have an increasing responsibility to respond to this and explore ways of building emotional resilience within the curriculum. In addition to established methods of support, the social work academic staff at Staffordshire University are exploring and developing further means to support our up and coming social work professionals, with new innovations that include:

1. A requirement within placement portfolios to demonstrate the use of professional support to cope with dilemmas and challenges
2. Targeted lectures with specialist guest speakers
3. Improved signposting to student support services
4. Guidance and training for practice based educators on student support
5. A recent collaboration at a major conference organised by SAGE publications where Fern Basnett was invited to speak on this topic and become involved in future development

Further ideas and suggestions and innovations from across the university on this topic are all welcome – please email me on: F.Basnett@staffs.ac.uk

Fern Basnet, Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Work and Social Welfare,               F.Basnett@staffs.ac.uk

So here we have it then, I’m now a second year paramedic. It doesn’t feel like five minutes since I was starting the first year. There has been blood sweat and tears, some of them have even been mine. There have been tears of joy, sadness and sheer exhaustion, however it is still the best decision I have ever made.

During my time at Staffordshire University I have had the privilege of being involved in some amazing experiences either as part of the course or due to being on the course.

I have supported the university with open days by answering questions of any potential new students and being involved in the patient journey which enables others to see of our skills we use out on the road. Being part of the team that showcased the facilities and skills learnt when Staffordshire University opened their centre of excellence, which also included being interviewed for the local radio station and being in the presence of the fantastic Ruby Wax.

I have been involved in the Stafford Police Open day again talking to people about what we do as a student paramedic and being involved with a scenario of a road traffic accident alongside the police and fire service, this was a particular exciting and nerve racking experience as I was the one in the back of the car giving support to the casualty whilst the fire service cut the roof off the car. With just a few hundred people watching and it being filmed live for facebook. It must have been the hottest day of the year and for our own safety and that of our patients we had to wear the full protective equipment so as you can imagine I nearly melted into my boots.

Understanding how other disciplines work is a key focus for any paramedic and sometimes our patients aren’t always at home or even in an accessible area so when Staffordshire Search and Rescue were looking for volunteers to be patients in the middle of a woodland I jumped at the chance. Sitting against a tree in the middle of nowhere pretending to be unconscious during a rain storm is definitely not for everyone but it was certainly a learning experience to see just how quickly and efficiently a group of volunteers work together to not only find someone but to transport them down a hillside quickly and safely to enable the patient to be seen by the ambulance service.

I’ve also had the opportunity to be a part of the first mentor workshop for health professionals at Staffordshire University which involved students from all the different courses to share our experiences of what makes a good mentor during our time of study.

During the course itself there is a lot of under pinning knowledge that needs to be learnt to enable us to make clinical decisions relevant and appropriate to our patients to ensure that they receive the correct and very best care. This means that not only do we have taught lectures with additional reading around the subjects, we also have practical sessions to improve and initiate key skills. These sometimes take place within the skills labs using the mannequins or each other (for assessment techniques only obviously not to be trying to cannulate or intubate each other), but also they sometimes take place at other locations.

In the second year we have the opportunity to go to SafeSide which is a fire service training facility that has a whole village inside, I know unbelievable or what, it has a railway track, a double decker bus, a canal, a shop, a doctors surgery, a police station with police cells, a court room to name but a few. This enables us to put all our skills into a real-life environment and they even use actors to play real life patients. This and alongside the extrication training we receive from the fire service I don’t think I could’ve been more prepared when I had to attend a road traffic accident for real. It’s like a muscle memory kicks in and I knew what needed to be done straight away but did it have to be again on one of the hottest days of the year so once again I nearly melted into my boots.

So now I am only 12 weeks away from completing my required amount of hours on placement with the ambulance service and when I look back to the short amount of time I’ve been doing this and the amount of skills and knowledge I have achieved I know I am a stronger person and I will be working as a registered paramedic in a small amount of time. This would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of all the lectures, staff, mentors and fellow students from previous years, current years and those yet to step into my shoes. I have learnt never to be scared to ask for help whether it be physically or mentally. There is never a stupid question that has not already been asked previously (mainly by myself) and there will be days when you think you can’t do this, you can’t go on, but you do and you will and it will definitely be all worth it in the end.

I look forward to seeing future students out on the road doing what I’m doing now and you never know one day that mentor that’s answering all those stupid questions may just be me.

Emma Bywater, Paramedic Student

Published by Eleanor Ball, Paramedic Lecturer, Department of Midwifery and Allied Health, Eleanor.Ball@staffs.ac.uk

As a student mental health nurse like many other students as soon as I received my acceptance to university the nerves commenced. It was so very hard to believe I was going to be a student nurse and even better it was at staffs, my chosen university. I was overjoyed and equally nervous at the same time. I since had studied psychology and public health at the open university so the delivery was very different as a self-directed degree.

March was soon upon us and welcome week arrived. The first day the nerves hit. Those butterflies in your tummy like your first day of school again. Yet the university were so welcoming. You knew exactly where to go and we all sat to have our warm welcome to university. The week went in a blur. There was so much to take in and it was made enjoyable, from a vicar who sang us a memorable song to get over university blues right through to services to access for support and the layout of our year. At the beginning of my course I did personally need to access support and the support services were incredible. We all felt greatly informed during our welcome week and so grateful to be studying at staffs.

We soon made good connections and warmed to our peers and we felt that we had brilliant welcome to the university. After our first week we were looking forward to lectures and getting in to our course content. Lecturers were approachable and understanding and above all the are eager for interaction which I think plays an important part to study. Every day is different and the content is always well delivered to us. We have excellent IT facilities and support readily available which is of great use and even better we have the most fabulous cafe when we are work free and need to get that much needed hot chocolate. There are rooms to book for private study and that important assignment planning.

Personally speaking I can’t rate the university highly enough. Everyone wants you to succeed and helps you along the way be this emotionally and clinically. There is always a smile to greet you and a humour alongside the serious nature to our work. I look forward to a fantastic three years ahead in my mental health nursing degree and I’ve even felt inspired to do my masters. I feel a valued member of the university and I am so very glad I chose staffs. I will certainly be recommending.

Published by Lisa Beeston, Senior Lecture, Department of Nursing: L.Curtis@staffs.ac.uk

Paramedic Science provision at the Blackheath Lane Centre of Excellence can boast the use of two new bespoke clinical skills labs and an array of equipment with which students can gain invaluable hands-on practice.

In addition to these facilities however, our paramedic students are given the opportunity to further their skills within problem-based scenarios in a variety of additional facilities/locations. This is important for Paramedic Science, which is unique in relation to the unpredictability of the pre-hospital working environment that students will eventually enter, and the levels of autonomy which will be expected of them almost immediately after qualifying. Whilst half or the course is dedicated to clinical mentorship in practice, it is still vital for students to learn in an environment which reflects the work-place and in which they can make mistakes which will not potentially cause harm to patients (Lateef, 2010; QAA, 2016).

In support of this, Staffordshire University has its very own fully-kitted training ambulance which allows students to experience arriving at an ‘emergency incident’; selecting which equipment they think they will need (based on limited information); assessing and treating a mock ‘patient’; considering how they will transport the ‘patient’ from the scene (whilst maintaining essential treatment); and maintaining care in the back of an ambulance.

We also have the use of our own fully furnished house at the Leek Road campus within which to conduct realistic scenarios. This house is fitted with audio and video recording equipment (accessed and viewed via an upstairs control-room), which allows the teaching staff – and fellow students – to provide very detailed feedback on scenarios.

A casualty extrication exercise is conduced at Staffordshire Fire Service HQ, where students are given the opportunity to learn how to triage and treat alongside Fire Service and Police trainees.

Students are also taken to the custom built Safeside at Eastside ‘village’ site at the West Midlands Fire Service HQ. This site boasts a furnished three bedroom house, a train, train tracks, a police station, a shop, a bus, a canal and a traffic crossing – allowing for the staging of an extensive range of extremely realistic scenarios.

The additional facilities/locations that our students experience assists with the ‘suspension of disbelief’ during simulation training, and greater immersion within the learning environment; an element which is considered to be important for healthcare clinical education (Muckler, 2017).

Lateef, F. (2010) Simulation-based learning: just like the real thing. J. Emergency Trauma Shock. 3(4) p.348-352

Muckler, V.C. (2017) Exploring Suspension of Disbelief during Simulation-Based Learning. Clinical Simulation in Nursing. 13(1). p.3-9

Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) (2016) Subject Benchmark Statement: Paramedics. Gloucester: QAA

Mark Garratt, Paramedic Senior Lecturer, Department of Midwifery and Allied Health Mark.Garratt@staffs.ac.uk

• CertMAP delivered online through a partnership with Staffordshire university and the Institute of Money Advisors (IMA)
• 150 hours of study over a 12 week period.
• To pass CertMAP you need to score 70% in the end of course exam.
• This is to ensure those that do pass have the expertise necessary for the role of a caseworker/specialist levels.
• CertMAP is a Higher Education qualification at level 4 (first year degree equivalent.)
• Students do benefit from tutor support provided by the university.

The entry requirements are:

• 1 year current full-time experience in a money advice role (or part-time equivalent) OR
• 2 years previous full-time experience in money advice (or part-time equivalent) OR
• Any other relevant experience that we will consider on a case by case basis

To study CertMAP, you MUST be a member of the IMA with membership fees paid up to date. Find out more about membership and benefits by clicking here: http://www.i-m-a.org.uk/membership/

Over 1,200 money advisers have obtained CertMAP, which is accredited by the Money Advice Service (MAS) to caseworker/specialist level. MAS is the principal funder in the free money advice sector and also accredits the services it funds. Recognition from MAS means that CertMAP plays a key role in assuring quality of advice across the sector. Many organisations state CertMAP is an essential or desirable qualification in job recruitment.

As the Award Leader, CertMAP, I wanted to blog information about this course. I also want to wish Cohort 23 the very best with their CertMAP on Saturday 29^th April 2017.

Watch out for the latest blog / twitter from the IMA Conference on Monday 15^th May 2017 in Bristol.

Good Luck Everyone

Maqsoodah Ashraf, Lecturer, Department of Social Work and Social Welfare Maqsoodah.Ashraf@staffs.ac.uk