I second that Dawn… Anne be prepared to submit yourself for cloning! J

 

Paula

 

 

I think the best solution is to clone Anne and set her up in locations around the UK J

 

 

Paula
The content of your email saddens me but it is unsurprising.

It may be worth pointing out that when we advertised for the last three OHN educators, other than the people I had headhunted who were my graduates  we did not have one single suitable applicant. The same was true when we advertised for an lecturer for a H&S lecturer. We advertised three times and had one suitably qualified applicant. He stayed for six months then went to a conference and we never saw him again. I ended up running that course as a result and bringing in subject experts when required. God bless Roy Bedson who stepped in to help me out over that period.  Some of you will have been taught by Roy. I find it very difficult to answer the Q would you recommend OH education as a career, it feels like constant battles and jumping through hoops with a few back flips required in order to satisfy all the stakeholders ranging from NMC, university, purchasers, employers and students. We can’t conjure up PTs and educators out of thin air. I use simple “magic” tricks within my teaching, sadly I can’t pull that particular rabbit out of the hat.

Anne


On 22/06/2017 15:33, "Paula Highton" <[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Thank you Anne
 
I have to say that my students are reiterating the same comments and opinions expressed in this article and I would be lying if I said that I had not witnessed this myself a few years ago when I was training. I fully agree with your concerns and it is devastating to think that the OH speciality has the potential to become extinct. I really don’t know what the answers are and to some degree this is the reason I haven’t lobbied the NMC. It is one thing to outline everything that is going wrong but I haven’t got a clue how this is going to be turned around and I don’t have any ideas or suggestions which would bring about an effective change. It feels like we are past the point of no return. How do we conjure up OH educators out of thin air?
 
 I love my role as a practice teacher but as you say there is a vast difference between that and being an academic educator. We should be grateful that people like yourself are still striving to ensure that the education is meaningful and fit for purpose but there are not many of you to go around.
 
Kind regards
 
Paula
 

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From: [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]
Sent: 22 June 2017 15:17
To: [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [OCC-HEALTH] OH Practice Placement

Hello Paula
Not to put too fine a point on things I believe that the specialism of SCPHN OH nursing is on the verge of extinction for the reasons you state.  

I have serious concerns that non-OH educators see nothing wrong with having a school nurse or a health visitor managing an OH course and wheeling in an OHN or two to do some of the teaching. A few years ago that was the case at another university in London. An HV lecturer was the course director for all the SCPHN pathways, including the OHN pathway. I gather the pathway specific teaching was undertaken by OHNs who were probably practice teacher/s.  I am unsure who would mark students’ work. Practice teachers are experienced in assessing practice, appropriately marking essays is a different thing altogether.

 Patricia Garnhame wrote of her experience of this approach to OHN education in an article published in the Occupational Health journal. http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/nmc-needs-a-radical-rethink-on-course-content-for-scphns/

These are just 3 quotes from Garnhame ‘s article which are extremely worrying:

Quote 1
“At university, I continued to struggle with the relevance of the course content and its application to my field of practice. The one-size-fits-all method of teaching didn’t provide the support some of my fellow students required. The university advised me to relate working with families to working with groups of builders or dustmen. There was no OH tutor or even access to an OH-qualified member of staff, as most tutors were district nurses.”

Quote 2
“In trying to push everyone under the same SCPHN umbrella, it became increasingly apparent that the district nurses, practice nurses and health visitors were well provided for, while the smaller     specialities lagged woefully behind.”
Quote 3
“At university, I continued to struggle with the relevance of the course content and its application to my field of practice. The one-size-fits-all method of teaching didn’t provide the support some of my fellow students required. The university advised me to relate working with families to working with groups of builders or dustmen There was no OH tutor or even access to an OH-qualified member of staff, as most tutors were district nurses.”

Quote 4           
“The final straw for me was when two of the tutors showed an interest in my assignment, stating they would “learn something in advance of your specialist module”.

In my view the above approach seriously disadvantages OHNs. At London South Bank  we try very hard to give good support AND I have had to fight my corner to ensure that five out six modules on our course are totally OH specific. The sixth is a research module which is delivered across pathways. Indeed at our recent validation our student and graduate reps highlighted that course content and lecturer support were the reasons they had chosen to study at this university. This was commented upon by both the Chair of the Validation Event and an Associate Professor from Engineering who was a university rep on the panel.

The NMC recently involved educators in discussion regarding delivery of courses that the NMC approve. I believe that there was an OHN practitioner involved and possibly one or more SCPHN educators representing other pathways but not one OHN educator. It is the OHN educators rather than the HV & SN educators who face the most difficulties and only an OHN educator, not an OHN practitioner or an HV educator would have experience of the challenges. So, I pass this over to JISC subscribers to suggest an appropriate a solution – perhaps you would like to consider lobbying the NMC for change.

Best
Anne


On 22/06/2017 11:09, "Paula Highton" <[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]> wrote:
    
I must admit I have become increasingly worried about this over the last two years.
 
I appreciate that one of the main causes of the downfall in OH education is a lack of Practice teachers but based on experience with our nearest OH education provider,  which is on the verge of collapse; it is not the only factor.
Just as there are a lack of PTs there is also a lack of OH educators at a level required to teach in Universities. The uptake of course places is also very poor in our sector. I currently have 2 part-time SCPHN students and when one qualifies in September I will be taking on another but I have some serious concerns about the level of support that they have and will have from the Universities. I too am more than happy to facilitate alternative placement days. I have also started taking pre-reg nursing students since January this year to introduce them to the world of OH, but at this rate there won’t be any University courses in the north of the UK that we can sign post interested parties to.
 
I wonder what is going to happen to our profession going forward. L

Paula
 

From: [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]
Sent: 22 June 2017 10:07
To: [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [OCC-HEALTH] OH Practice Placement

Dear JISCers

As list users will have noticed, several of our prospective students have
posted on JISC in the last few weeks asking for practice placements in order
to undertake their SCPHN degree programmes with us.

I am now posting in support their requests. You may be unaware that the
situation with regards to OHN education is now getting very serious. Based
on very strong evidence I believe that SCPHN occupational health nursing is
on the verge of collapse. This results from a lack of practice placements
and practice teachers. Crystal ball gazing, unless we get the support of
people to facilitate the practice learning of OH students I suspect that
over the next four years or so several NMC SCPHN (OH) courses will be
forced to close.

OH Nursing education in the UK has a long history going back to 1932 and I
have taught OHNs for well over 20 years and many JISCers are my graduates. I
would be very sad to see SCPHN OHN courses die.

Please can some of you help people such as Barbara and earlier posters to
secure placements. Using Barbara's request as an example, her breadth of
experience is phenomenal and she has many skills transferable to the OH
setting.

Best
Anne
Anne Harriss
Professor in Occupational Health
London South Bank University


On 22/06/2017 04:28, "Barbara Grohs"
<[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Dear all
>
> I am pleased to have secured a place at London Southbank University to study
> Occupational Health at Post Graduate diploma level and am now looking for a
> practice placement.
>
> I firmly believe that I have the qualifications and transferrable skills to
> successfully fulfil OH placement requirements. I achieved a distinction for my
> diploma in Adult Nursing and have 8 years proven experience in effectively
> managing patients in complex community care settings, Intensive and High
> Dependency Care Units.
>
> I am a very hard working, extremely organised professional with excellent
> communication and health care skills. I have the ability to work autonomously
> and calmly to deliver high standards of care under pressure. I have the
> passion for effective, efficient delivery of Gold Standard care to patients.
>
> I would be very grateful for a placement opportunity and look forward to
> hearing from you. I live in Central London but have my own car and I am
> willing to travel.
>
> Yours sincerely
>
> Barbara Grohs
>
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