Midwifery students at University of Lancashire train in a maternity suite built to simulate a realistic medical environment.
I met students and staff on a recent tour of the university where a variety of lifelike models enable these trainee healthcare professionals to practice techniques they’ll use in the workplace. The baby in the picture is in fact a mannequin but looked, and felt, so realistic.
An immersive suite uses technology to take students through different scenarios to hone their communication skills, while a room containing an ambulance allows care to be practised in the small space of the vehicle.
Environments like this, offering safe places to practice, are vital as getting placements in hospitals can be a challenge. But it’s also about the soft skills they encourage, like how to speak to patients of different ages and backgrounds.
Brilliant programme
I know from lots of the discussions I have with midwives how much work they put into their training, so it was great to see some of that in action and know that we have such a brilliant programme here in Preston.
During the visit, we also looked around the university Wellness Centre where physical and health education students were delivering fitness sessions for real patients referred through social prescribing.
It’s a win-win situation, enhancing their learning and enabling the university to take some of the pressure off the NHS as patients get help quicker.
Our next stop was student support services, where staff told me about the peaks in demand during the first months of a student’s first year and around exam times.
Evolving
The university itself is in strong health, evolving through new facilities and, of course, a new name. Vice-chancellor Graham Baldwin showed me the scale of that change and the reach it now has on a 3D map.
Growth has been huge since I was a student and it was great to see just a fraction of the amazing facilities we have in this part of Lancashire.
I’m really grateful to the university for the leadership it is showing in the regeneration of Preston.
