University of the West of Scotland (UWS) recently hosted a two-week summer school which gave student nurses, registered nurses and nursing teachers from China the unique opportunity to experience university life in Scotland.
The UK Healthcare Practice Summer School initiative, which was delivered by UWS at its Lanarkshire campus from Monday the 29th of July 2019, saw 15 students, nurses and teachers representing the Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine embark upon the two-week course.
Closely aligned with Nursing and Midwifery Council requirements, the programme was designed to provide nurses from outwith the European Economic Area insight into the skills and knowledge necessary to practice in the UK. The initiative was created to prepare nurses who are considering a career within the UK.
The two-week course was organised by the School of Health and Life Sciences at UWS and included lectures, workshops, practice visits, excursions and clinical simulation, delivered within UWS’ cutting-edge nursing and midwifery facilities - the most modern of their kind in Scotland.
The activities ensured participants were able to learn about the context of UK healthcare practice while also developing knowledge and skills in a range of areas including injection technique, in-hospital life-support and medicines management.
Commenting on the event, Julie Edgar, Dean of the School of Health and Life Sciences at UWS, said: “The recent UK Healthcare Practice Summer School hosted at our Lanarkshire campus was a fantastic event, further cementing the University’s ties with the Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine in China. UWS is one of the leading institutions providing nursing and midwifery education in the UK, therefore we were delighted to host the two-week initiative, welcoming visiting nurses, students and teachers to experience the University’s cutting-edge simulated learning environments, which no doubt gave those in attendance a real flavour of what it’s like to practice nursing here in the UK. I’d like to thank everyone involved in ensuring the event was such a great success.”
Rachel Sun, Lecturer at Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, said: “This trip has been very beneficial for our students. It has allowed them to upgrade their fundamental nursing knowledge by comparing practice in the UK with that of China. Although the practice is different at times, the principles remain the same and this summer school has provided a great foundation for our students’ future learning across all areas of nursing.”
Student, Xi Ting Huang, from Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, said: “The facilities we have been able to use at Lanarkshire Campus have been excellent and have really helped with our learning. I particularly enjoyed working with SimMan which allowed us to learn in a much more realistic environment than we ever have before.”
