Showing we care

The NHS holds a special place in the hearts of the British public. It’s one of the few totally publicly funded healthcare services in the world, providing treatment and support based on need rather than
the ability to pay. And on bringing it into existence on 5 July 1948, the then-Health Secretary, Aneurin Bevan, described it as “a great and novel undertaking.”

But faced with an ageing population, increased demand for its services, and tackling the COVID-19
health crisis, the NHS has had to modernise and adapt. And weathering such huge changes is reliant on a highly skilled workforce of 1.4 million people — the largest in the UK.

Each year, Manchester Met delivers thousands of high-quality graduates, ready to take up roles
across the NHS and meet the demands of a 21st Century health service.

Like the NHS, education has had to move with the times, and the University’s programmes are continually updated to keep abreast of modern practices, professional guidelines, advances in healthcare technology and scientific knowledge.

And while all graduates benefit from a world-class education, there’s another crucial aspect to
prepare them for a life and career in healthcare.

Placements

The University’s work placementshelp to equip students with knowledge and skills through teaching from NHS clinicians as well as exposure to cutting-edge technologies and practices.

Balancing work and studies can be a challenge, but the benefits of gaining hands-on experience are
clear, as first-year adult nursing student, Jaide, explained:

“Learning at the University and then going into practice gives you more experience than just sitting in a classroom and completing essays and exams. I get to see first-hand what it is like to be a nurse and learn practical skills with professional healthcare workers in a multidisciplinary team.

“On placement, we obtain different skills such as professional values, medicine management and episode of care. Gathering a collection of tips and tricks from people who have done this for years has allowed me to gain more invaluable experience and knowledge from my placements so far on my
journey.”

Director of Placements for the University’s Faculty of Health and Education, Deborah O’Connor,
said: “It is about continual support from us as providers to help train the future workforce. As academic institutions, we’re providing programmes, but we are responsible for that pipeline of future nurses. There is quite a substantial shortage of nurses across the country, and we’ve got shortfalls in some of our allied health professions, too.”

Mark Hayter, Head of Nursing at Manchester Met, said: ‘The success of our professional programmes is rooted in the strong relationships we have with our NHS and other healthcare providers across the North West. Providing our students with diverse, challenging yet supportive clinical placements is essential in helping them become the high-quality practitioner they aspire to be.

“We work closely with all our practice partners to ensure that support for students is seamless as they move from the University to clinical placement. Our clinical partners work closely with academic staff to ensure students experience a rich and varied healthcare environment experience — and can develop a broad range of clinical skills.

“In addition, our clinical partners also deliver teaching to our students to ensure we link theory to practice effectively, and that the latest clinical evidence is incorporated into the learning experience.

“The placements that our students experience on their programme are, in most cases, the places where they gain employment as registered nurses or nurse associates. The fact that so many of our students take up employment in the North West is a testament to the quality of healthcare providers in the region. It is through this close working relationship that we ensure that the next generation of practitioners is suitably prepared to join the workforce, making a significant contribution to healthcare across the region.”

Masters and apprentices

Meanwhile, some students aren’t new to working in the NHS.

Paramedics, nurses and physiotherapists are among those who have embarked on the University’s MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP) Apprenticeship programme. It’s a masters apprenticeship degree, which is a relatively new type of postgraduate qualification that incorporates
industry experience and earning a salary.

The programme has been developed in collaboration with NHS employers to provide experienced
healthcare professionals with the skills and knowledge across clinical assessment, diagnosis and management. It also teaches communication and leadership skills to help the degree apprentices
progress their careers, becoming advanced practitioners with greater responsibilities.

To date, more than 200 people have taken the course, and the current cohort comes from a range of
healthcare providers, including seven NHS trusts in the North West.

Chris is one such apprentice, a former RAF medic and paramedic in the London Ambulance Service,
who is now employed by Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (TGH) and spends one day a week studying at the University.

Now in his third and final year, Chris said: “As a pre-hospital ambulance clinician, I have seen
first-hand the continued struggle patients, families and caregivers have endured. TGH offered the
apprenticeship alongside the role of an ACP trainee in geriatric medicineand advanced care of the elderly.

“This has allowed me to develop my practice in line with enhancing my skills and knowledge from the
University programme. These two elements have rounded my practice and given me the time to explore the medical profession outside my own speciality.

“In my view, the collaboration of frontline practice and academia is the only way advanced clinical
practice can be taught. Academia on its own isn’t suitable for the advancement of practice, nor is
frontline practice alone. Trainees need the contemporary evidence and skill gained from both components.”

The degree apprentices also undertake research focused on changing practices in their own
workplaces, whether that’s across education, services or development, allowing them to contribute to the development of services in the NHS.

Anna Kime, Programme Lead for the ACP, said: “It’s a massive area of collaboration. These projects are done very much with their employers as well as the universities. What do their employers want them to achieve? What do they want them to do? What practice do they want them to change? What outcomes do they want to see?”

“We have a multi professional specialist teaching team from both the nursing and health professions
departments, plus we bring in people who are specialist clinicians within the NHS. We also now have our first alumni teaching on the programme, bringing their expertise back into the
University.

“What is unique at Manchester Met is that we have a tripartite approach to how we teach advanced
clinical practice in the fact that we’ve got high-quality teaching, 360-degree support with the University, but also then our links with employers are second to none and fit for the future.”

Simulation-based education

Picture the scene.

A patient is rushed into the trauma room as he goes into cardiac arrest. The monitor flatlines. Alarms scream from surrounding machines as a distraught relative looks on. There are just seconds to make vital clinical decisions that could be the difference between life and death.

That wasn’t a real-life situation or a TV drama. It was just one of the many scenarios nursing and healthcare students get to experience on campus as part of their training.

Simulation-based education (SBE) is a growing area of education — and is integral to both undergraduate and postgraduate healthcare and nursing education at Manchester Met.

Artificial environments provide students with immersive and realistic learning experiences, allowing them to practice skills and apply knowledge in a safe and controlled environment.

The University’s facilities are among some of the best available. Life-sized high-tech
mannequins costing £60,000 occupy each bed in a replica ward where students can practise
giving CPR, taking blood pressure, and even communicating with them.

The faux wards are kitted out with everything from NHS beds and equipment to hand gel
dispensers and chairs.

Behind what looks like a regular front door is a mock-up of an apartment where social work students gain vital experience of visiting patients (played by actors) with different issues.

Meanwhile, the trauma room is where students re-enact emergency scenarios. It’s connected to a control room where technicians and tutors change the situations in real time, continually generating new experiences for students to react to immediately.

Perhaps the most advanced of all the facilities is the CAVE (Computerised Automatic Virtual
Environment), a virtual reality facility that provides an immersive and interactive experience.
It’s a large room made up of projection screens that display 3D computer-generated images onto
the walls, floor and ceiling.

Here, there is no limit to the environments that can be created. It could be anything,
such as a hospital ward or even the London Underground.

Anne-Marie Borneuf, Practice-Based Learning Team Lead and Senior Lecturer in Nursing, said: “Simulation is being seen as a way of helping students who are having to hit the ground running when they qualify and start work, [which without this kind of learning] can be very overwhelming.”

So, while the NHS celebrates the 75 years gone by and all its advancements and achievements, it’s reassuring to know that technology, education and people are working together tirelessly.

For its future. For our futures. And for the futures of generations to come.