As Head of Midwifery and Allied Health Professions, yesterday I found myself talking to my staff about the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), through which universities will be given a rating of Gold, Silver, or Bronze.

Ratings are part of everyday life and we hear about them in relation to schools and hospitals, as well as credit ratings for ourselves, so now universities will join the system in rating teaching quality; obviously we want to be Gold.

Reflecting on the type of teaching and learning activities that the staff are engaged with each day I assume that we are already excellent. All staff hold accreditation with the Higher Education Academy as Fellow or Senior Fellow, 5 members of staff are applying for the Teaching Excellence Fellowship, and one member of staff has been shortlisted for the Student Union awards ‘Lecturer I would Get Out of Bed For’ and ‘Student experience Award 2016’. All courses receive over 90% in the ‘teaching on my course’ category of the National Student Survey.

The teaching activities vary considerably depending upon the subject that is being delivered. Students are sometimes engaged in large lectures with all of their cohort, sometimes they are in small groups of 8-10 learning specific clinical skills and sometimes there are individual tutorials to discuss assessments and general progression issues. Regardless of the type of activity that is being undertaken at any one time, staff continue to engage the students in apt and innovative ways, the use of whiteboard video animations to explore physiology; interactive PDF’s to assist clinical decision making and 3D models to explain complex bodily functions.

Do staff regurgitate lectures time after time? NO! Staff constantly stretch themselves to ensure students get the best experience they can, teaching & learning is seen a mutual responsibility, through negotiation and understanding students achieve their optimum potential. Staff learn from students as much as students learn from staff and if we do not heed the lessons from students we need to question whether we are in the right job.

Jo Carruthers, Head of Midwifery and Allied Health Professions J.Carruthers@staffs.ac.uk

I am the course leader on the Social Welfare Law, Policy and Advice Practice degree here at Staffordshire University. We are the only university in the UK which delivers a degree of this nature. If you want a career working with vulnerable people and have a passion for social justice then check out our course page on the Staffordshire University website and these pieces that I have written for The Guardian and Adviser magazine give a good flavour of the type of issues that we explore on our course.

Of course the most important people at our university are our fantastic students. Our final year students are busy finishing their assignments and projects before embarking on a range of exciting careers (our graduates work in a wide range of settings such as Housing Associations, Local Government and large community sector organisations such as Shelter, MIND and Citizens Advice).

This week I sat down with one of our students Phil Tweats. Phil will be graduating in the summer and I talked to him about his experiences of studying with us over the last three years. As we were finishing our conversation I asked Phil if he could sum up what it has been like to study at Staffordshire University. His response ‘It’s a roller-coaster ride but what a ride’ seemed to me to be a brilliant way of summarising student life. Being a student is exciting and fun, you will meet lots of interesting new people and learn new skills that you can take forward for the rest of your lives. Of course there are also challenges to being a student – we want to stretch students to think about things in new ways and to push them to reach their potential. At this time of year there is the stress of submitting lots of assignments. I’m sure that every student at some point in their academic journey thinks ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘this is too hard’ (I know that I did!), but with the excellent support that is available at Staffordshire University we are with students on every step of the journey. Getting a degree isn’t easy but it wouldn’t mean much if that were the case.

Phil talked to me about being the first member of his family to attend university and how it is important that there is a high quality university here in Stoke. He described the conversations that he had with long-term work colleagues who were surprised that he wanted to study at university (Phil is a mature student) and how he explained to them that it is something important that he wanted to do for himself.  He talked about how time management and preparation is key to be a success at university and the pride he felt when he achieved his first ‘first class’ mark on an assignment. He reflected that university has had a significant impact on him on a personal level:

‘I have changed as a person, I have become more tolerant and patient, you become more empathetic to other people, you sit you listen and you learn.’

And Phil’s advice to those who are thinking of studying at Staffordshire University:

‘Just do it. Yes it is hard work you do make a lot of sacrifices but in terms of what you get back – knowledge, experience, new friends its priceless’.

Why not join us for the ride this September?

Twitter: @RMachinStaffs

Email: Richard.machin@staffs.ac.uk

Sensory impairment is known to be associated with a range of psychosocial issues, such as loss, quality of life, identity and independence, all of which are of concern to social work. Despite this, Luey (1994) observes that work in this field has been somewhat marginalised by the profession, both in practice and academia. Deafblindness in particular has received little attention in social work and research on the experience of dual sensory loss is still very much in its infancy (Dammeyer, 2015). However, in England, the Care Act 2014 and its accompanying Regulations and Statutory Guidance have placed new duties on Local Authorities in assessing and responding to the needs of deafblind people. In response to these new responsibilities, I was delighted to host a ‘Deafblindness Day’ for the Level 4 BA (Hons) Social Work students as part of their ‘Readiness for Supervised Practice’ Module; we were also very fortunate to be joined by three experts by experience: Ann, who has Usher Type II, Lilias, who is the mother of deafblind son with additional needs, and Molly Watt, who has Usher Type II. The day started with an overview of the emerging findings from my PhD research on vulnerability amongst deafblind people (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26733322 ), and was followed by three excellent presentations from our guest speakers. Ann described her experiences of ageing with dual sensory loss, the daily challenges, her voluntary work with Sense’s Legal Team and her desire not to have social work intervention…. at the moment! Lilias gave a moving account of her son’s development and achievements, which challenged the predictions of professionals. She also offered the students an insight into why certain social workers had been better than others. Our final speaker, Molly (accompanied by her guide-dog Unis) explained the challenges she experienced at University as a deafblind student, her passion in raising awareness about deafblindness/Usher Syndrome, and her use of a range of technology in supporting her day to day life and role as Deafblind International Ambassador and motivational speaker. Further information about Molly’s work and charity, The Molly Watt Trust can be found here: http://www.molly-watt-trust.org/ . Feedback from the day was really positive, with students describing it as ‘Amazing’, ‘The best session on the module so far’, and ‘The session that will always stay with me’. I’m hopeful that the next generation of social workers will respond positively to the challenges faced by those with sensory impairments; the day might even have inspired some to specialise in the field!

References:

Dammeyer, J. (2015) ‘Deafblindness and Dual Sensory Loss Research: Current Status and Future Directions’ World Journal of Otorhinolaryngology. 5(2): 37-40.

Luey, H. (1994) ‘Sensory Loss: A neglected issue in Social Work’ Journal of Gerontological Social Work. 21 (3-4): 213-224.

Peter Simcock, Senior Lecturer in Social Work P.Simcock@staffs.ac.uk

As part of Student Health Week students at the Centre of Excellence – Stafford have been taking part in the ‘Step Challenge’ (as many steps as possible in 60 seconds whilst holding 20kg of weight) and the 100m rowing challenge.  All students are invited to get a free health MOT whilst they attempt to top the leader board.

Even the staff got involved, with what must be near-record breaking times on the rowing challenge.  Full leader board stats to follow at the end of the week!!!

You might wonder why a midwifery educationalist has chosen to blog about a subject that at face value appears to contradict the very purpose of midwifery – to help bring life into the world. My blog is about the control (or lack of it) American women have on their reproductive system. A university is the very place where we should be arguing and exploring philosophical viewpoints or as Newman (1852) eloquently describes it as a place in which ‘the intellect may safely range and speculate, sure to find its equal in some antagonistic activity, and its judge in the tribunal of truth’ .

In January, a seemingly innocuous picture went viral – it depicted a group of men witnessing President Trump sign a ban on funding for international groups on abortion (without one woman being present). Although this action does not directly affect women in USA, it could be argued that it represents a subtle misogyny which is starting to pervade the country.

In Oklahoma, women (or ‘hosts’ as described by the Committee) wishing to have a termination, will have to name the father and have his written consent if a bill is approved later this year.   More recently, the Texas Senate passed a law which ostensibly is designed to protect doctors from litigation if they fail to tell women about a fetal deformity – critics have argued that it gives pro-life doctors an opportunity to avoid providing the information if they feel that the woman might terminate the pregnancy.

So, why is this a problem? First and foremost, procreation affects women a lot more than men – their role (from a biological perspective) is completed within minutes, whereas the impact is a lot longer for women. In the USA, women are entitled to 12 weeks unpaid maternity leave (however, there are a number of limitations which means that a lot cannot even take advantage of this). American women are already poorer than their male counterparts: the gender pay gap currently stands at 20% (it is worse for certain ethnic groups and in some states), this means that women are further economically disadvantaged. One in ten Americans lack adequate health insurance, although this is a reduction since Obama’s Affordable Care Act (which is likely to be repealed under Trump) and there are very few options for pregnant women without health care insurance. Interestingly, it depends on the State whether the father is required to contribute to maternity fees. Unlike the rest of the world, the maternal mortality rate is rising (28 per 100,000 maternities) and this will be worse if women try to procure illicit abortions. The risks to women are not just death, pregnancy takes its toll on the body and a woman who is forced to ‘host’ a pregnancy that she does not want, could also have to contend with significant morbidity without access to health services. And as for the child? What are the implications for an unwanted baby born into a family in poverty?

This very brief foray into global health does affect midwives: the name means ‘with woman’ and part of this is understanding the impact of male dominated policies on female health. It is not a blog about pro-life or pro-choice but one about the ethics of self-determination. As an academic, I have a duty to challenge, to speculate and to antagonise and it is essential that all health students recognise political determinants of health to ensure that the UK does not fail women in the same way.

Traci Hudson, Senior Lecturer and Lead Midwife for Education Traci.Hudson@staffs.ac.uk

The value of Simulation Based Education extends way beyond learning clinical or procedural skills on mannequins.  The opportunities that exist to train students with a focus on, not only their technical skills, but also their ability to perform as part of a team, under heightened stress, is something which we will need to continue to embrace in order that our graduates go into the workplace with a rounded ability to perform within the multidisciplinary team, in the best interests of patient safety.

Patients coming to harm in a healthcare setting is depressingly common.  It often occurs as a result of failures within systems and processes combining with human error.  We don’t know exactly what contribution the ‘human error’ element makes in the healthcare setting, but in a parallel industry – aviation, it’s estimated that 70 per cent of incidents can be attributed to human errors.  Whatever the figure, we know that human factors are at the root of many serious untoward incidents, and consequently – epsiodes of patient harm.

We routinely train student nurses, midwives and paramedics how to safely move and handle a vulnerable patient.  We assess ODPs in their ability to safely prepare pieces of complex technical equipment.  How much attention do we give to ensuring that our students would know what to do if they thought a colleague was about to make a mistake?  How do we know that a newly qualified midwife would be able to summon help in a timely and appropriate way if maternal or foetal wellbeing suddenly deteriorated?  Or that a nurse could confidently deem him or her self unfit to care for patients because they have missed a night’s sleep?  Do we equip our students with the knowledge and understanding of the concepts of human fallibility and error?  If we do – how do we allow them to practise doing so?  We ensure they are taught how to change a dressing, or how to insert a catheter.  We wouldn’t dream of sending them off to do so if they’d not had that training.  Do we need to be more assured that we are sending them off into the complex, demanding and high risk environment of healthcare provision without affording them the opportunity to learn, practise and develop their skills in non-technical behaviours?

Simulation – whilst offering a wonderful array of incredible mannequins and kit to rehearse and develop technical skills upon, is also the solution to the question posed above.  The opportunity for healthcare students to be immersed in as realistic a clinical environment as possible and to be equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to work to minimise the risk to patients through enhancing their non-technical skills is of equal (if not – arguably greater) importance as learning how to insert a cannula, discharge a defibrillator or clean a wound.

I would urge all healthcare students and healthcare professionals to watch this video ‘Just a routine operation’.  If you’ve watched it before – watch it again.

To be followed by ‘Debriefing – the value added part of Simulation Based Education’…..

But in the meantime – have a look here http://chfg.org