1. Fold or cut poster here
Integrating the Patient Voice in to the BSc (Hons) Radiotherapy and Oncology Programme at Ulster University
Terri Flood BSc PCert Ed. FHEA ; Terri Gilleece MSc DCR(T) FHEA and Paul Shepherd OBE MSc DCR(T) FHEA
Ulster University, School of Health Sciences, Jordanstown campus, Newtownabbey, BT37 0QB
Background
Process of Initiative
Student Feedback
Patient Volunteer Motivation
The Health & Care Professions’ Council (HCPC) introduced a Standard of Education and Training (SET) requirement for all sixteen currently regulated health professions to clearly evidence how patient/service-user involvement is incorporated into the pre-registration curriculum.1
We highlight our experience integrating the patient voice in to the Radiotherapy and Oncology programme at Ulster University. Facilitating patient involvement has not only served to meet the HCPC requirement but has also enhanced the student learning experience and proved beneficial for the patients that participate.
1. HCPC website :
The Radiotherapy and Oncology programme team liaised with local Cancer Support Groups (Figure 1) in order to identify suitable patient volunteers who might be interested in participating in the initiative. Face-to-face meetings were convened with the potential volunteers in order to fully explain the initiative, explore involvement and gain informed consent.
From September 2015 to May 2016, seven patient volunteers diagnosed with cancer a minimum of one year previously, were recruited to participate. The patient volunteers engaged with students at academic level 4, 5 and 6 of the 3-year undergraduate programme.
Feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive; they found the experience enjoyable and inspiring and most felt that it increased their empathy and awareness. When asked what they enjoyed most about the session, here were some of their responses:
Despite often feeling apprehensive of being ‘on show’, patient volunteers were all able to overcome nerves and concerns in order to share their patient experiences.
They cited the following as motivators that encouraged their contribution:
To deepen student empathy and understanding of their experience including types of loss which can occur through cancer.
To highlight the importance of a personal approach to care and recognition of patients’ individuality and uniqueness.
To increase awareness of how the hospital environment affected their experience and ways in which this could be improved upon.
‘ The patient’s honesty and the opportunity to speak to the guest as a student in an informal setting as in the hospital we don’t get this opportunity.’
Patient Topics
Coping with long-term side-effects
Impact to family and social/work life
Treatment;
what went well  and not so well 
Emotional impact of cancer
‘ … the whole patient experience, as we only come in contact with patients throughout their radiotherapy journey and don’t hear anything about their struggles after they have completed their treatment. ‘
‘ I particularly enjoyed how she explained her coping strategies
and how she coped emotionally throughout her disease.’
Patient Volunteer Feedback
All patient volunteers felt that the educational session was enjoyable and beneficial for themselves. Some reported feeling that it was therapeutic and aided their personal wellbeing. All volunteers indicated that they would participate again and some have taken part in more than one session.
Recruitment for the initiative
Future direction
Initial evaluation supports the continued integration of the patient’s voice and perspective within the academic learning environment. Feedback indicates that it helps inspire student learning and can also be considered potentially therapeutic for the patients participating.
Moving forward, we will strive to embed the experience of many more oncology service users into the pre-registration curriculum and to recruit and involve patients/service-users in planned future curriculum design and development workshops.
Figure 2: Variety of topics discussed in educational sessions
The patient volunteers met with the academic module coordinator prior to the educational session. This provided ample opportunity for questions, exploration of the university environment and discussion regarding the learning outcomes and format of the session.
Patient volunteers had freedom to propose the room layout, group size, session content and the presence or otherwise of the coordinator during the session. Most chose to speak individually while some spoke in pairs and others asked their partner to attend in support. Most sessions were informal with everyone sitting together in a group.
‘.. it was quite beneficial to think it all through again from a distance of when it happened… because it helped put it to rest sort of thing.’
‘I left on a high you know, I left … I sort of left thinking yeah you know, I’ve done something, I’ve given something back you know…’
‘Speak from the heart. Share your experience. Your experience is unique to you.’
Overview of Educational Session
Number of students per session
12-16
Length of session
45 – 90 minutes
Number of volunteers 7
Macmillan Cancer Support
Cancer Focus Northern Ireland
Cancer Lifeline
Northern Ireland Cancer Research Consumer Forum
Table 1: Overview of the educational sessions
Contact information
If you are interested in sharing your cancer story with our students, please Ms. Terri Flood (contact details below).
Rm14J10, School of Health Sciences, Jordanstown Campus, Shore Road, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim BT37 0QB. T:
Figure 1: Local support groups central to the recruitment process.
Figure 3: Example of comments from participants after the session