Service user and carer Service user and carer involvement in educationinvolvement in education

Dr Elizabeth Boath, Emma Lewis, Dr Elizabeth Boath, Emma Lewis,

Prof. Bernard Moss & Wendy SullivanProf. Bernard Moss & Wendy Sullivan

Landmarks in SUC Landmarks in SUC Involvement in EducationInvolvement in Education

1994 1994 Changing the Culture: Involving service Changing the Culture: Involving service users in users in social work educationsocial work education

19961996 Learning from each otherLearning from each other

19991999 Patient and Public Involvement in the New Patient and Public Involvement in the New NHS NHS

20012001 Involving patients and the public in Involving patients and the public in healthcare healthcare

20022002 Requirements for Social Work TrainingRequirements for Social Work Training

Landmarks in SUC Landmarks in SUC Involvement in EducationInvolvement in Education

20032003 Learning from experience: involving service users and Learning from experience: involving service users and carers in carers in mental health education and trainingmental health education and training

20042004 Review of the literature on user and carer involvement in Review of the literature on user and carer involvement in the the training and education of health professionalstraining and education of health professionals

20052005 Principles for Practice: involving service users and carers Principles for Practice: involving service users and carers in in health care education and traininghealth care education and training

20062006 Participating and Learning: Citizen Involvement in Social Participating and Learning: Citizen Involvement in Social Work Work Education In the Northern Ireland Context: A Education In the Northern Ireland Context: A Good Practice Good Practice GuideGuide

20072007 EQuIP (Quality Assurance Framework for Healthcare EQuIP (Quality Assurance Framework for Healthcare Education) Education) Skills for HealthSkills for Health

Involvement in Education: Involvement in Education: our students said…our students said…

• ‘…‘…service users and carers perspective on things are service users and carers perspective on things are potentially different than an academic…its getting their point potentially different than an academic…its getting their point of view and generating that understanding. It is really of view and generating that understanding. It is really awareness and subsequent empathy.’awareness and subsequent empathy.’

(Adult nursing student, 2006) (Adult nursing student, 2006)

• ‘‘It is good to have the challenge that the users’ perspective It is good to have the challenge that the users’ perspective puts on the theoretical knowledge that you gain. It does make puts on the theoretical knowledge that you gain. It does make you think differently. It challenges what you have learned.’you think differently. It challenges what you have learned.’

(Social Work Student, 2006)(Social Work Student, 2006)

• ‘‘It’s the one lecture that sticks out in my mind because it was It’s the one lecture that sticks out in my mind because it was linked to somebody real.’linked to somebody real.’

(Midwifery student, 2006)(Midwifery student, 2006)

Service user and carer Service user and carer involvement at Staffordshire involvement at Staffordshire University – a fly pastUniversity – a fly past• Skills labSkills lab

• Community HouseCommunity House

• Forensic HouseForensic House

• CourtroomCourtroom

• SUCCIT&CSUCCIT&C

• Interview & selection of new studentsInterview & selection of new students

• TeachingTeaching

Developing students’ Developing students’ professional communication professional communication skills - service users and carers skills - service users and carers as trainersas trainers• One example from practice: One example from practice:

introducing the skills labintroducing the skills lab

• The story so far...The story so far...

The skills lab: over to The skills lab: over to youyou

• Introducing the documentationIntroducing the documentation

•5 minutes of fame - role play5 minutes of fame - role play

•FeedbackFeedback

The service user perspective

Key things that make the skills lab Key things that make the skills lab ticktick

• Training & preparationTraining & preparation

• Relevant & realistic scenariosRelevant & realistic scenarios

• Giving & receiving feedbackGiving & receiving feedback

• Effective administrationEffective administration

• Feeling valued Feeling valued

The service user perspective• 3 training sessions

– principles of good feedback– practice sessions to become familiar with roles, including group leadership– video-recording technology

‘We all need continual training. We don’t want to practise mistakes. We need to make sure that we remember what is expected …as well as to train new members. ‘

‘Each year as we’ve progressed through these courses we’ve learned by experience things that have and have not worked well, and those have been noted and brought to training sessions. I think the important thing is to learn lessons from the experience as we go along.’

‘This type of work is not suited to everyone, and great care was given at the outset to ensure that SUCG members whose strengths lay elsewhere were not involved in the skills lab. This ‘pre-selection’ was based on our experience in previous years, when we had found it necessary to move one or two members into different areas of the SUCG’s work as a result of student and other SUCG feedback. ‘

The service user perspective

• Essential to have match between role player and role so that it feels authentic for both role player and student

• Library of scenarios

‘We have had a number of very successful scenarios…it would be a good thing to set up a library of successful scenarios that we can draw on over time, rather than discarding them permanently and feeling the need to write a completely new set of scenarios each year. We could then just add successful scenarios to this collection’. (SUCG)

The service user perspective• Focus on communication skills and information gathering

‘The purpose of the Skills Lab is to improve students’ ability to communicate with service users and to give students a chance to build confidence before they go out on placement. Our hope is that through the practice interview sessions in a safe environment they will overcome any nervousness, and will be able to listen to, and hear what service users are telling them, so that this will contribute to their becoming effective and useful social workers. We will also remind them of the need to think about what they say to service users...professional conversational communication skills we are interested in, and not their knowledge of social work.’ ‘(SUCG)

• But...some students preoccupied with ‘solving the case’

• • Students felt would find the sessions more beneficial if they knew that the person they were interviewing was talking about their own personal difficulties.

• Students are being judgemental here, before they even start the interview. How do they know that it is not the case? We do all use our own first-hand and second-hand life experiences in these interviews. (WS)

• Further, at this point they do not have enough knowledge and understanding to talk to anyone about their personal problems. We do these sessions so that they can learn to do this in a safe environment without distressing anyone – themselves included. Perhaps students forget they have three years in which to learn, not just one. (EL)

• The EL offered an additional comment upon those students who seemed to be quite shocked that they would not be discussing ‘real life’ situations;

• such an approach …. could place the role-playing service user or carer in an extremely vulnerable position, and could cause additional difficulties for the student.

• Reflections on the telephone interviews

‘The actual art of conversation is dying; text messaging , email and internet social networking (Face book, Bebo etc) are becoming ever more popular, and as a result students feel they are unable to talk on the telephone as well as they perhaps should. Therefore to practise this can be another confidence builder. (Student)

‘It would be useful if they could be taught how to start and end a telephone call; if these skills come naturally they have a better chance of staying calm and getting all the information they need.’ (SUC)

Service user and student perspectives

The Student Perspective The Student Perspective

Key things that make the skills lab Key things that make the skills lab ticktick

• Preparation of students Preparation of students

• Relevant & realistic scenariosRelevant & realistic scenarios

• Giving & receiving feedbackGiving & receiving feedback

• Effective administrationEffective administration

• Feeling valued Feeling valued

The student perspective

• Positive experience & positive impact upon learning for the students

• each student received a unique learning experience• students learning to develop communication skills• further learning also evident

When students review their video tapes and reflect on feedback given, a journey also begins in knowing the self and developing a sense of self-awareness. From video play-back you can see your own reactions, body language and see if what is said actually mirrors body behaviours and innate responses observed. (student 3)

“.[it]..really did make you sit and think, and reflect on how some of the little things that perhaps you thought didn’t really matter actually really did matter.” (student 5)

The student perspective

• Delivering a skills lab programme to meet everyone’s needs is a major challenge

– Students diverse in terms of age, previous experience, and ethnicity

• ‘It is an extremely difficult task, to deliver the skills lab programme and ‘get it right every time’ for each student. Learning in the skills lab will be different for each student and a variety of factors will influence this, including age, maturity, life and work experience, personal attitudes towards learning and individual learning styles. Some students are ‘fresh’ out of college; others are older and returning to study after a break, or from bringing up a family; some are progressing their careers while others may be embarking on a career change.’

The Student Perspective

‘Reality is a question of perspective’ (Salman Rushdie)• role plays ‘felt real’, and students became genuinely involved• learning experience felt ‘true to life’ but safe and secure

‘ ‘ It didn’t feel like they were doing a role play. It actually It didn’t feel like they were doing a role play. It actually feltfelt real.’ real.’ (student) (student)

  

   ‘‘I think that they’re fantastic actors, you really do feel that you I think that they’re fantastic actors, you really do feel that you believedbelieved everything that they said, and you forget that the camera’severything that they said, and you forget that the camera’s there there because you get really involved with what they’re telling you. ‘ (Student)because you get really involved with what they’re telling you. ‘ (Student)

• .

Read all about it!

Funding • Research informed teaching • £3K Funding Academic Development Institute

Publications• Moss BR, Boath EH, Sullivan W, Lewis E. Upskilling the Skills Lab: social work

students and service users and carers views of the skills lab. Social Work Education (In Press)

• Moss BR, Dunkerley M, Price B, Sullivan W, Reynolds M, Yates B. Skills Laboratories and the New Social Work Degree: One Small Step Towards Best Practice? Service Users’ and Carers’ Perspectives. Social Work Education 2007; 26(7): 708–722.

• Boath EH, Moss B, Buckley SL, Colgan AJ. The fount of all knowledge: A Delphi study to determine the training required to involve service users and carers in health and social care education and training. Social Work Education. (In press)

Getting to know you!Getting to know you!

• Who are you?Who are you?

• Where are you from?Where are you from?

• In what ways do you involve service users In what ways do you involve service users and carers in education?and carers in education?

Island Hopping- small group Island Hopping- small group exercise exercise

• Your vision of SUCI for the next 3 Your vision of SUCI for the next 3 yearsyears

– Draw your map of how you would like Draw your map of how you would like things to bethings to be

– What barriers might you encounter?What barriers might you encounter?

– How will you overcome them?How will you overcome them?

Treasure TroveTreasure Trove