Supporting Healthcare Students

The impact of the pandemic has been disruptive for all students in so many different ways but significantly for Healthcare Students. Some Healthcare Students were deployed into paid placements during the first wave, others moved to online learning so have missed out on their placement experience. During the current second wave, some students continue to join the frontline workforce on placements and others must follow a purely theoretical route because placements are cancelled for certain year groups. Due to the potential impact on the mental health and wellbeing of healthcare students, Deb Boughey our NHS/Liaison Officer has been working closely with Keele School of Nursing and Midwifery and Staffordshire University School of Health to assess and evaluate the impact of the pandemic on this particular group of students.

A significant amount of support and resources were developed and shared during the first wave. Since the second wave hit, Deb has been working with Paula Dalziel Head of Wellbeing at Staffordshire University to facilitate focus groups with students to identify what students feel they need to prepare them for placements and what they find most supportive prior to and during placements. Deb is also part of a group of staff from both schools of Health who are planning to research and evaluate the support and impact of the pandemic on Healthcare Students experience. Deb is also planning to hold a workshop in March with UHNM staff to raise awareness about the support available to students while they are on placement which will improve access to support and ensure that signposting is timely, informative and appropriate.