Whatever the question, I'm not sure leaflets are the answer...

I am a magpie for leaflets... anywhere I go, I try and pick some up. This is primarily because of my role as a self-management coach, having a 'resource table' of leaflets at courses I run and generally wanting to keep in the know about what is available in terms of information and support for the people that I work with.  I am not normal in my approach to leaflets.

HEA Powerful Partnerships Summit

On Wednesday this week, I attended the Higher Education Academy's Powerful Partnerships summit in London. It was a day to explore how partnerships (between many different people, but you can guess that I was there championing patient partnerships!) can support and promote excellence in medical and healthcare education in the UK. There were plenty of tweets during the day (#ppsummit) and food for thought. I was asked to present providing a patient perspective on what needs to change in education of health care professionals.

The who, what, why, when, where and how of PPI in Meded

I recently had the pleasure of giving the plenary session at the BeSST (Behavioural and Social Scientists Teaching in Medicine) one day conference and AGM. With a brief to explore how patients, carers and members of the public can contribute to medical education, I went down the who, what, why, when, where, how route. As promised, here is a blog to summarise the key points of my plenary session.

Partnerships are possible

I've recently had the privilege of working in a great collaborative partnership with two different professionals: Alf Collins to write an editorial in the BMJ on the Oldham Commission; and Trevor Kettle to co-design and co-deliver workshops on patient and public involvement in healthcare professional education at Southampton University.

I know there is a lot of talk about what it feels like when patients and patient leaders aren't able to work in these kinds of environments, so I wanted to document what is feels like when it does work - to prove it is possible!

Bittersweet #tipsfornewdocs

I have never been a fan of the word 'acceptance', in that particular form, suggesting something completed. I much prefer 'accepting' which gives a hint of an ongoing process. The phrase "acceptance is a journey not a destination" is one I strongly believe. Some days I feel more accepting of my situation that others, and that is just the (bumpy) path of recovery.

Yesterday was one of those days where I found accepting my condition particularly challenging. Having such a health focused twitter feed, I noticed a fair few tweets using the hashtag #tipsfornewdocs and #changeover. We are at that time of year when newly qualified doctors start working as F1s. 

If I had not been ill and had to stop medical school, that would have been me. I would be preparing to don my stethoscope as Dr de Iongh. But illness got in the way. Although many of the tweets were full of advice to cope with the many physical and emotional challenge of being a doctor (try being a patient!!!), and I love my work now, I still felt pangs of jealously and anger. If only I hadn't been ill... 

My NHS Change Day Pledge

The 13th March 2013 is NHS Change Day - a national day where staff, managers and patients collectively improve the NHS through a number of pledges to change little things. I must admit I have only recently realised that patients themselves can be involved in NHS Change Day, but think it is only proper that we are. The NHS is often referred to as "our NHS" and leaders say it "belongs to everyone", which it does. As patients, we are in the privileged position to influence the NHS for the better (patient power!) and both as individuals and together, we have the potential to catalyse the transition to a more effective NHS that delivers better services for us more often.
So what can I do on the 13th March to add my little bit to this great big movement?

What to learn?

Source: The Guardian

Recently, I have been given the opportunity to review the syllabus and course specification for a pharmacy Masters course in the UK. A opportunity I feel very privileged to have had, but a task that was far from easy . . .

As I scoured through the specification, the objectives and outcomes, I was struck by the enormous amount of ground work and background the students were given in their first year, to build upon in subsequent years. Thinking back to my experience at medical school (albeit a course at a University with an unusually strong focus on academic science), I recall so much detailed biochemistry, pharmacology and anatomy, much of which was not needed directly during my brief stint of clinical training, but which provided the building blocks for the later learning.