Today, May 8th, was one of the best days yet in Birmingham! We started off our morning with a taxi ride to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where we went on a tour and talked with nurses about healthcare in the UK as well as the nursing education system. In our tour, we visited the children’s hematology/oncology unit, emergency department, intensive care unit, the school, and more. I was so interested by the hospital because there were so many things that were similar to the US, and so many things that were quite different! For example, this hospital is not computer-based, so all charting is handwritten, and nurses do not scan patient wrist bands in order to monitor medications. Also, in the UK it does not cost families anything to receive the services provided by the hospital whereas in the US, hospital bills can be debilitating if insurance does not cover the costs of treatment.
This is a resuscitation room in Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Another fascinating difference is the school within the hospital. I learned that with patients who become quite ill or withstand an injury that changes their physical or cognitive abilities forever, it is within three days that the hospital obtains their curriculum and begins teaching them from the hospital or the home. There are teachers within the hospital that either bring patients to the hospital’s school, teach on zoom for chronically ill patients who stay at home, or they can even teach at the patient’s bedside. This is a perfect example of how intertwined education, social work, and nursing are in the UK as compared to the US. Specifically, in the UK children with severe disorders or disabilities that impact their ability to learn, obtain an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which is a legally binding document that lists out the child’s disabilities and special needs, as well as the support they require. Since this is a legal document, it becomes the responsibility of educators to provide the support the child needs in order to learn. This is a rigorous document that can take months to obtain, although the hospital educators are passionate about advocating for their students to ensure an entire school year is not wasted by the logistics of waiting for a legal document to be processed. This is like the US equivalent to an Individualized Education Program (IEP) which is a legal document made for children with disabilities and outlines the special education needs of the child in public school. However, this document does not include the health aspect of the student like the EHCP does, so this can make it difficult for students with disabilities to get all of the support they need as their health issues are not completely accounted for.
This is the primary school in Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Another interesting fact I learned today is that the UK has nurse preceptorship programs for the year after graduation from uni which has 6 mandatory study days. The following six months after that the new nurse is independently working, but is still well-supported by their preceptors and educators. This is essentially the same as new grad orientations and nurse residency programs in the US.
After our tour, we had a post-acute care enablement (PACE) nurse speak with us and she explained that her job is to provide early intervention on pediatric floors which prevents cardiac arrests and intubations. By focusing on preventative care, deterioration is prevented and better health outcomes result. PACE nurses also go back to school for a 6 month certification course to prescribe medications, so they have full autonomy in prescribing the medications needed to treat their patients.
W.A.I.T.S
After visiting the children’s hospital, we visited the charity WAITS, which offers free support, advocacy and accommodation to empower women from a wide range of educational, social, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. We discussed domestic abuse and the many different types of abuse that it encompasses, as well as the long term impact on women. After talking and doing activities, we then met the CEO and many members of the team! It was an amazing experience to get to speak with such amazing women who put in so much time and effort to help other women who are stuck in abusive environments.
Family Style Thai
For dinner, BCU treated us to the most amazing dinner at Chaophraya Thai Restaurant. We started the dinner with drinks and an open conversation with BCU administration as well as BCU alumni. It was inspiring to hear personal stories from a post-grad midwife, and two post-grad secondary education teachers. Billy, one of the teachers, shared their passion for teaching as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and as a person with autism. They said that their classroom has been called a safe space for the “weird kids” and that was an amazing complement because it allows everyone to show their “weird” side and forget about superficial differences in order to share a love of learning with intrinsic motivation. Listening to the alumni made me realize just how active of a role teachers have in making society a better place, and helping children to grow into well-rounded individuals who can embrace their challenges to work hard and become successful. This is especially true for students who previously had no expectation of obtaining an advanced education, and this is the attitude of many students that live in poverty in the city of Birmingham.
After drinks and chatting, we moved into the dining area where we had a family style Thai dinner where I sat with two second year nursing students at BCU. At first, we did not know what family style dinner was but we quickly realized when plates after plates of food were brought out that we would all be sharing and trying various types of food! I had never been to a Thai restaurant before so it was so fun to be able to taste a variety of items on the menu. We started with delicious appetizers and then had a huge dinner that left us all very full and satisfied! I tried lamb, Thai green curry chicken, and passion fruit for the very first time tonight. I am so grateful to BCU for welcoming us so kindly to their university and giving us amazing opportunities to embrace different cultures and experiences that we wouldn’t have experienced anywhere else!
These are our delicious appetizers!