Our latest edition of TEL News includes an update on new immersive technology case studies, details of the next TEL Network CPD Session, new dates for the Virtual and Hybrid Learning Faculty’s latest masterclasses and many new elearning sessions.
Author Archive
Celebrating the 3rd Anniversary of the Virtual and Hybrid Learning Faculty
More than 2,500 educators and colleagues across health and care are now part of the thriving Community of Practice (COP) who share knowledge, insights and ideas through the Virtual and Hybrid Learning Faculty (VHLF) which reaches its third anniversary this month.
When VHLF launched on the TEL Learning Hub in October 2021, there were just 800 members, 2 catalogues and 20 resources. Fast forward three years and the numbers have continued to grow attracting more members who are involved in education design, delivery and assessment as they adopt and embrace new technology and ways of working. The VHLF now has over 2,500 members, 3 catalogues and more than 100 resources within its offering.
The VHLF is a successful example of the evolution of education and training and is driving systemic and behavioural changes which will support the ambitions to grow and upskill the health and care workforce at scale.
The VHLF is a core programme for NHS England’s Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) function and has continued to grow and evolve, increasing the capability, professionalism and maturity levels of education professionals across health, care and further. It is focused on providing strategic support, guidance and leadership supporting educators to choose the methods of learning which best meet their needs and the needs of their learners.
Alongside the community of practice, the Faculty offers CPD masterclass events and specialist resources to help the education community design, develop, deliver and assess virtual and hybrid learning which is evidence-based best practice. It is accessible, equitable and quality driven and activity is continually evaluated to cater for new and emerging needs and technology.
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) was published in June 2023, recognising the need to change how we educate and train the workforce to support its big ambitions to grow the workforce. The commitment to the expansion of the Faculty in the LTWP notes the important role VHLF plays in supporting educators and changing education within the NHS.
The VHLF is committed to supporting all educators across the professions in health and care and this past year has seen several new initiatives launched including a CPD and certification service, various pilots to explore new and emerging tech (AI, Dynamic Learning Environments (Virtual Escape Rooms) in education delivery), VHLF Surgeries and the continuation of role modelling hybrid learning opportunities.
VHLF numbers
Since VHLF launched in October 2021 we have:
- delivery of more than 100 CPD events
- released over 100 resources on the Learning Hub which have been launched more than 3,000 times
- welcomed a selection of guest speakers to deliver masterclasses in our CPD programme
- have over 2,500 members as part of the Community of Practice (COP)
- successfully delivered a Master Educators Programme (MEP) pilot, an AI COP pilot and Dynamic Learning Environments (Virtual Escape Rooms) pilot
- Have a dedicated MS Teams channel to support the COP
- Introduced a CPD and Certification service
Get Involved
To join the VHLF Community of Practice (COP), please register here.
Visit the Learning Hub to access the Virtual & Hybrid Learning Faculty (VHLF) catalogues:
https://learninghub.nhs.uk/Catalogue/VHLF-getting-started
https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/VHLF-increasing-your-impact
https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/VHLF-community-of-practice
For further information, please contact england.vhlf@nhs.net
Supporting GP registration for people experiencing homelessness
People experiencing homelessness are known to have unmet health and social care needs, and experience significantly poorer health outcomes than the wider population. To address this, a new training module has been developed to support GP practice staff and compliment the new online GP registration service – to reduce the risk of worsening health inequalities for the homeless population.
This training will help GP staff, particularly receptionists and practice managers, learn skills that can be used to interact with homeless individuals in a trauma-informed manner. It includes comprehensive guidance, including links to documents, websites, and external videos.
Topics include:
- the types of homelessness
- inclusion health, what does that mean
- the roots into homelessness
- consideration of trauma-informed practice
- homeless and inclusion health
- the challenges people may face when accessing and registering with general practice
- what steps you and your practice could put in place to address these challenges
- the contractual duty of GPs to ensure that everyone has access to healthcare
All practices are expected to have processes in place to demonstrate (e.g. practice policy, records of refusals) that it has not refused any registration unreasonably, including refusal on the grounds any patient was unable to provide proof of identity or address or any evidence of immigration status.
For more information and to access the training, please visit the programme page.
Foundation Programme October Update - When should you call for help?
The most important skill that a resident doctor can develop is to know the limits of their ability. When should you call for help?
Available in elearning for healthcare Foundation Programme (2021 curriculum) – these sessions cover 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 6: Sharing the Vision, FPC 9: Quality Improvement and FPC 12: Continuing Professional Development:
- Competency in Practice https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/700571
- Senior Advice Who When and Why? https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/700575
- Senior Advice: When to Stop for Help https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/700579
- Explaining Evidence/Guidelines/Protocols to Patients https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/700675
- Guidelines in Clinical Practice https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/700679
- Safe Practice the Doctors Perspective https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/700371
- Pain Management https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/700459
Check the programme to see other sessions that might help you.
You can sign on to the elearning with your login supplied by elearning for healthcare at any time during your foundation training:https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/foundation-programme/
HORUS and TURAS have deep links to elearning for healthcare sessions from the Foundation Curriculum and therefore accessible to all trainees, making it quicker and easy to access the appropriate session linked to the curriculum.
Menopause and people professionals eLearning
The latest in our series of menopause eLearning is aimed at people professionals across healthcare. It’s important that our people professionals have the knowledge and resources to support staff experiencing menopause symptoms to stay and thrive in the workplace. Studies have shown that one in 10 people leave the workplace because of their menopause symptoms. People professionals in the NHS play a vital role in supporting and keeping everyone working in the health service.
The session is aimed at delivering an overview and awareness of menopause for people professionals to help support individuals and line managers in the workplace. At the end of the session, learners will be able to:
- Explain what the menopause is and list its symptoms
- Describe how menopause symptoms impact people in the workplace
- Understand what workplace adjustments can be made to help and support people affected by their symptoms at work
- Signpost to further information and support
This module forms part of a series of menopause training. You can find out more on the programme page https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/menopause-awareness/. The training takes around 30 minutes to complete.
New training on understanding sexual misconduct in the workplace is now available
A new e-learning module on recognising and responding to sexual misconduct in the workplace is now available for the NHS workforce. Developed by NHS England e-Learning for Healthcare, this programme features sessions on critical topics to support all staff in handling disclosures of sexual misconduct at work.
By the end of the programme, learners will be able to:
- Identify and recognise the types of sexual misconduct in the workplace.
- Understand the impacts that trauma can have and how this can affect people who have experienced sexual misconduct.
- Have trauma-informed conversations and know how to support someone if they tell you that they have experienced sexual misconduct.
You can access the e-Learning module here.
If you have experienced sexual misconduct at work, you can find support and report the incident if you choose to here. It is important to remember to call 999 in an emergency.
For more information on what we are doing to tackle sexual misconduct in the workplace, contact: england.domesticabusesexualviolence@nhs.net.
Guidelines for the management of periprosthetic joint infection
A new programme of eLearning has been developed to provide all healthcare staff with information and guidance on how to manage patients with Prosthetic Joint Infection (PJI). It has been designed to support people in any healthcare role where they might be caring for someone with a suspected or actual prosthetic infection.
This eLearning module aims to ensure that staff are able to recognise and refer patients for the correct treatment in a timely manner so that they have the best chances of a good recovery.
The module provides essential information about Prosthetic Joint Infection, the Patient Experience of PJI, Guidelines for management of PJI, and key resources. A CPD certificate will be provided following the successful completion of the assessment.
Prosthetic Joint Infection is one of the most devastating events that can occur after joint replacement and significantly impacts both patients and the surgeons who treat them. The outcomes of PJI can be vastly improved if best practice guidelines are adhered to. This module uses evidence-based guidelines as a basis for understanding how PJI guidelines are relevant to all healthcare professionals who look after patients who have had a joint replacement, and how best to manage those patients.
The guidelines are the result of the INFORM: EP (INFection and ORthopaedic Management: Evidence into Practice) study, based on the evidence from a successful six-year research programme called INFORM led by the University of Bristol and funded by National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The guidelines aim to ensure that patients with infection after hip replacement surgery receive prompt and effective care and have the best chance of a good outcome.
The INFORM website also has a list of additional support services for your patients that you can download and share with your patients which covers finance, mental health, hip and pain support, carers and family. It also offers counselling and other support services, as well as useful links for patients.
For more information and to access the training, please visit the programme page.
Infection prevention and control: community
We’ve launched a new infection prevention and control e-learning programme for clinical staff working in the community. We’ve worked in partnership with community NHS providers to create bespoke e-learning for health training for clinical staff that carry out home visits for patients.
The module recognises the additional infection control challenges that home visits can present, and identifies the additional risks and precautions needed to ensure the provision of safe, high-quality care.
This training applies to several healthcare professionals and community settings, including paediatric, GP, and physiotherapist home visits.
The training pilots a new model of delivery – using short videos, followed by questions for users to answer. It follows National Infection Prevention and Control guidelines, and forms part of the existing Infection Prevention Control Level 2 session. Please set aside 30 – 60 minutes to complete the training.
You can now access the new module on the learning hub.
New eLearning for occupational therapists working in perinatal mental health
Three new sessions of the Perinatal Mental Health for Occupational Therapists eLearning programme have been developed in collaboration with the Royal College of Occupational Therapists and the NHS England E-Learning for health Programme.
The new eLearning sessions are designed to support staff in improving their knowledge and understanding of perinatal mental health to ensure better practice among parent infant practitioners including midwives, health visitors, psychologists, social workers and occupational therapists.
The three new sessions are:
- Perinatal mental health, physical health and disability
- Perinatal mental health: returning to work or study
- Perinatal mental health and neurodiversity
These new sessions were developed by a team of occupational therapists, with valuable input from a midwife and individuals who’ve accessed occupational therapy services. Case studies are based on real life examples and include assessment/intervention plans written by experienced occupational therapists for participants to compare with their own. They build on six existing sessions launched in 2020, covering various aspects of occupational therapy and perinatal mental health.
For more information and to access the programme, please visit the Perinatal Mental Health eLearning programme page.
elfh is a NHS England programme in partnership with the NHS and professional bodies