February 2023 - elearning for healthcare
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Archive for February, 2023

End-of-Life Care For All sessions recently updated

Posted on: February 17th, 2023 by Louise Garrahan No Comments

Health Education England elearning for healthcare (HEE elfh) has worked with the Association for Palliative Medicine to update 5 existing sessions within the public access End-of-Life Care (e-ELCA) elearning programme.

The updated sessions focus on symptom management, care after death and bereavement support, as listed below:

  • Management of physical deterioration
  • When the dying process is protracted or unexpectedly fast
  • Introduction to care after death
  • Providing personal care after death
  • Practical support after a bereavement

All sessions within the Advance care planning module have also been updated.

Since October 2022, e-ELCA has been made public access so that everyone, regardless of their employment status, can access vital elearning resources on providing end-of-life care. We have now retired the previous public access end-of-life care for all programme but all content can be found on the main e-ELCA programme page.

To access, learners need to register on the HEE elfh Hub. When registering you will be asked for information in the ‘About you’ section. If you are registering with a personal or with a non-NHS work email address, please select ‘None of the above option’. If you are a care worker or hospice worker and your employer hasn’t given you a registration code, please also select the ‘None of the above option’.

e-ELCA offers more than 175 sessions grouped into 9 modules including assessment, communication skills, symptom management and bereavement care. The programme also contains learning paths which provide targeted learning for specific staff groups, defined curricula and condition-specific end-of-life care.

Please note, the programme covers sensitive topics including death, dying, the different stages of end-of-life and bereavement which may be distressing to some learners.

For more information and to access the programme, please visit the End-of-Life Care For All programme page.

Clinical incidents: Foundation update (February 2023)

Posted on: February 8th, 2023 by Kieron Bradshaw No Comments

Welcome to your February 2023 update from the Foundation elearning programme. This month focuses on what happens and what you should do if you are involved in a clinical incident.

The reality is that sometimes errors will occur in medical practice. From exploring how things can go wrong, to ensuring that clinical incidents are reported, the following sessions use case studies and key subject areas to address the principal steps to take when dealing with a clinical incident.

Sessions:

The sessions cover key areas in your curriculum on:

FPC 1: Clinical Assessment

FPC 2: Clinical Prioritisation

FPC 3: Holistic Planning

FPC 4: Communication and Care

FPC 5: Continuity of Care

FPC 8: Upholding Values

FPC 11: Ethics and Law

FPC 12: Continuing Professional Development

FPC 13: Understanding Medicine

The Foundation elearning programme has been developed specifically for Foundation doctors by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in partnership with Health Education England elearning for healthcare (HEE elfh), and is approved by the UK Foundation Programme (UKFPO).

The Foundation programme has a range of other sessions that might help you. Please log in to the programme page to view more.

You can sign on to the elearning with your login supplied by elearning for healthcare at any time during your foundation training: https://www.elfh.org.uk/programmes/foundation-programme/

HORUS and TURAS have deep links to elearning for healthcare sessions from the Foundation Curriculum and are therefore accessible to all trainees, making it quicker and easier to access the appropriate session linked to the curriculum.

An evaluation survey is also available to capture feedback on these sessions.

Urge for practitioners to increase support around internet safety

Posted on: February 3rd, 2023 by Kieron Bradshaw No Comments

People who access support around suicide and self-harm are urging practitioners to have more conversations around online safety.

The plea follows a survey of over 80 people with lived experience carried out by Samaritans, which revealed that almost all respondents (94%) had never been asked by a practitioner about their online activity around these issues.

The survey respondents were all over 18 years old and had experience of suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, and self-harm.

Ahead of Safer Internet Day (Tuesday 7 February 2023) we are sharing some key themes taken from the feedback to help practitioners increase support around online activity relating to suicide and self-harm.

We are also highlighting training that is available to assist anybody who provides support around these issues, enabling you to have conversations about online safety.

Asking about online activity

Most respondents to the survey thought that practitioners should ask about online activity when talking about their self-harm or suicidal thoughts or feelings. They said that this could address stigma and make people feel more comfortable talking about their online activities. They felt that these questions could help the practitioner understand people’s suicide and self-harm risk and their support needs better.

 “If they didn’t ask me, I would never talk about my online use for fear they’d think it was weird or wouldn’t understand. By asking it would stop me feeling so embarrassed.”

It’s important to ask in the right way

A small number of respondents worried that these questions could be intrusive. They highlighted the importance of approaching these questions in a non-judgmental way. They said it was important to ask about online activity directly, but that building rapport first can sometimes help people feel comfortable opening up. They encouraged practitioners to make sure there’s plenty of time for the conversation, avoiding interruptions.

“Make sure there’s no judgment or shame in the reaction. Be very careful about getting them to stop. It has to be their decision if they’re going to give up viewing content.”

How practitioners can help people stay safe online

Respondents said that by asking people what they do online in relation to suicide and self-harm, practitioners could help people reflect on their online activity and how it makes them feel. They said that practitioners could help challenge harmful online behaviours and signpost to more supportive online spaces.

Guidance for practitioners on internet safety around suicide and self-harm

The majority of respondents (69%) were concerned that practitioners might have gaps in their knowledge around how people use the internet in relation to self-harm or suicide. They thought they might have negative preconceptions or assume that online issues only affect younger people.

“They think it is a negative thing but sometimes you can get good support from recovery communities… You just need to make sure you follow people who are positive influences and good for you.”

Respondents recommended that practitioners access regular training to stay up-to-date with the latest internet safety knowledge.

Access to training

Samaritans recently launched an elearning course on internet safety, suicide and self-harm in partnership with Health Education elearning for healthcare.

The training takes approximately 20 minutes to complete and gives an introduction to how to support people around their online activity relating to suicide and self-harm. The course is free to access and relevant to anyone providing ongoing care around suicide and self-harm.

Visit the elearning programme now and start these conversations today.

elfh is a NHS England programme in partnership with the NHS and professional bodies