I already lead a large interprofessional module to over 1000 students each year. This is delivered to student nurses, midwives, AHP and social workers, as well as post grad district nurses.
I have been working to review the content to make it more inclusive for social work as well as healthcare and to up to date the materials with a focus on change as a social movement, utilising social media and a way to learn about the amazing ideas already out there and to encourage my students to get involved and share my passion for this area.
Fab Change Week was a fantastic opportunity to showcase this and to introduce the staff and students to the idea that they can make a change.
I became a Fab Ambassador so that I could meet with like minded people and learn from them, Jane Douthwaite was especially supportive and helped me develop my plans. I also approached colleagues to come on board and help me spread the word. We decided a website would be the best means of engaging with students even if they were on annual leave or on placement.
So we used WordPress to develop this and even managed to secure a video from Roy Lilley introducing the week, explaining that being a student was no barrier!
It explained that students are the future of health and social care and that change starts with them if we want an NHS for years to come which provides safe, cost effective care and a good patient experience. We publicised the website across the university and encouraged people to make pledges in the run up to Fab Change Week.
It was really challenging trying to get people to make a pledge (fear of a selfie seemed to be one reason)!
So I targeted individuals and asked them to consider their favourite issue e.g. mental health awareness, patient safety, public health and dementia or stroke awareness.
I was hopeful that initial contributions may lead to more engagement as the week approached. Its now a couple of weeks before Fab Change Week and our website is ready to go live.
We will add more resources to it as the week progresses so that people can engage with it daily.
We can also share some of the amazing service improvement ideas our students have developed in their module and inform them about events such as the School for Change Agents, and existing ideas already out there that they may choose to implement when they qualify.
We have already taught them the theory around tools and techniques like PDSA cycles and process mapping but now we need to engage their heart and make them want to make a change!
https://fabatshu.wordpress.com/