Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) presented the Raising Concerns Reflective Toolkit to healthcare professionals at the Network for Educating in Healthcare (NET) conference, last month.
The conference, themed ‘Igniting Change: Breaking Boundaries with Digital Innovation and Creativity in Healthcare Education’, aimed to bring together healthcare education stakeholders from across the UK and around the globe. Its purpose was to foster inclusive and inspiring networking opportunities, while facilitating the exchange of best practices.
HEIW was invited to participate in the conference after an abstract on the Raising Concerns Reflective Toolkit was accepted. This digital toolkit has been developed to support and empower learners to feel safe and confident in speaking up and addressing concerns during their practice or work-based learning experiences.
The toolkit was commissioned by HEIW and led by Simon Cassidy (HEIW Head of Placement Experience and Improvement) alongside Programme Manager Patricia Brown (Senior Lecturer at Cardiff University). It provides comprehensive information and detailed guidance on identifying concerns, raising them appropriately, and fostering a culture where it feels safe to do so.
Delegates commented on the detail of the toolkit content and how it has significant benefits for healthcare profession students, trainees, and work-based learners across all professions, particularly when undertaking practice-based learning.
The presentation prompted significant reflection, questions, and discussion, particularly on workplace cultures, compassionate leadership, and recognition of what matters to students in terms of their learning needs and sense of belongingness. Delegates expressed interest in further network connections outside of the conference through further organisational invites to share the toolkit more widely.
Simon Cassidy said:
“Thank you to the conference organisers for the opportunity to present at the NET conference. External peer-review of HEIW outputs, participating in learning with key stakeholders, and sharing of best practice, is critical to our function as a system leader to deliver sustainable improvements to healthcare education, for people using services, and for people delivering services.”