Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this blog are entirely our own and not necessarily those of our employer or any other occupational therapist.

Tuesday 25 January 2011

Fame at last.................

Oh dear, can it really be nearly February?!! My good intentions to keep a more regularly posted blog seems to already have gone out of the window (or perhaps been buried underneath the frantic assessments of semester one and preparations for semester 2!).

So, I hope all our readers are ready to face the challenges and delights of another year. Here in the Directorate of Occupational Therapy we are busy making plans for the year ahead with some very interesting projects and innovations on the table for further discussion - watch this space for more info as we move forward with some of these. Of course we are watching the government agenda closely both for the future of Higher Education and Health and Social Care. We are quietly pleased with ourselves that we are ahead of the game in terms of widening access to potential students and in the flexible delivery utilising principles of e-learning and of course the work that myself (Angela) and Sarah are doing in terms of using virtual environments for education in health care. We are intending to complete the report on our qualitative research very soon and are well underway in moving forward with a piece of quantitative work over the next year.

One very successful arena is the role-emerging/non traditional placements that all our full time and part time students experience in Level 6. This last placement period just before Xmas last year found us in the news - fame at last!!

Credit must go to the students involved (Jason and Lauren) and to Chris Kenney our colleague here at the university for all the hard work and creativity involved. In a nut shell Jason and Lauren were placed in the Manchester Health Academy in Wythenshawe and engaged with students to beat bullying by involvement in trust exercises, anger management and grooming etc. This enabled the Academy students to consider issues of self-esteem and communication which resulted in them reaping the benefits in terms of their occupational engagement (reported that there was improved behaviour and improved communication). Chris has been experiencing more than her 15 minutes of fame as she fields calls from a variety of media sources both local (Manchester Evening News) and national (Sunday Telegraph, Daily Star).

A mention must also go to our students Anna and Maureen who were placed in Refugee Action. It was reported by managers of this organisation that the students offered a choice and collaboration with the users that no other worker had previously addressed (they introduced a role checklist amongst other things). Managers have indicated that they see a definite role for occupational therapists within their organisation but unfortunately government cuts of up to 60% of their budget will make this difficult in reality.

Of course, I cannot mention these types of placement without acknowledging the role that many practitioners play in supervising our students whilst they are out on placement. Any one wishing to be involved should contact Chris Kenney (c.kenney@salford.ac.uk).

Wednesday 19 January 2011

Latest Leadership Event

Events

Leadership for the Allied Health Professions

Thursday, 10 February 2011
12.00pm — 1.00pm
Seminar Focus
The seminar will highlight the importance of leadership for the Allied Health Professions (AHP).

Seminar Content
Karen will discuss the importance of leadership for the AHP and discuss opportunities for leadership development. The seminar will also include a question and answer session, giving students and clinicians from the AHP groups the opportunity to raise any questions and add to the debate.
Karen Middleton
Karen was appointed as Chief Health Professions Officer for England in March 2007. She is the Government's most senior AHP advisor, providing advice on all aspects of the 12 professions classified in this group. In this role, she has raised the profile of the contribution AHPs can make to transforming health and social care through a range of initiatives including the launch of the Competence-based Career Framework for AHPs, the Service Improvement Programme and the AHP Leadership Challenges.
Karen began her career when she qualified as a chartered physiotherapist in 1985 and went onto specialise in musculoskeletal therapy. She became a Fellow of the Society of Orthopaedic Medicine in 1994, and taught at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in both orthopaedic medicine and hydrotherapy.
For further information or to reserve a place:
Email: chsc-events@salford.ac.uk