Category Archives: Covid

Guinness, the Mourne mountains and COVID-19 recovery

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In January 2021, Lecturer in Education, Conor Hamiltons’ dad contracted Covid. In this blog post, Conor reflects on the impact of not being connected to him during his illness and on using his Dads connection with the Mournes (and Guinness) to  aid his recovery.

By now just about everyone on the planet is aware of Covid-19. Very few have been untouched by its grasp. Since March 2020 we have all had to change the way we live our lives, be it work, school, shopping, exercise, face to face socialising or visiting family. We have missed parties, pubs, restaurants, holidays and foreign travel. Parents became teachers. Nurses and doctors became unlikely superheroes. As nurses and nursing students some of us were redeployed from our normal day to day jobs to frontline nursing and caring for the sickest of those affected. Personally, I was redeployed from running endoscopy lists in a Day Procedure Unit, to night shifts in Covid Emergency Theatre and having to run from Theatre to the Respiratory Ward or E.D. to intubate the sickest patients and bring them to ICU via the CT scanner. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t affected. We all were whether we care to admit it or not. I know some of those patients sadly didn’t make it. I took my work home with me every morning and I thought about little else until I went back in again that night.

My family remained untouched directly by Covid until January 2021. My parents are both in their seventies. My mother has multiple comorbidities but my father is an ex-marathon runner, and indeed clocked 2 hours 38 minutes for the distance in the mid-eighties. He still walks ten miles a day, and loves hiking in the Mournes. For almost a year they isolated and did everything by the book. My family and my brother’s family visited the back yard and spoke to them through the glass window of the porch. They exercised once daily in Loughgall Park or Gosford Forest Park and stayed within a short radius of home. Shopping was all done online. Yet somewhere over the Christmas period of 2020 Covid caught up with them. Mum had mild flu-like symptoms. Dad initially had the same, but on 7th January his chest became tight and the GP was called. He was ill, but not ill enough for hospital. We were told to monitor him overnight and ring 999 if he deteriorated. Being a typical man, he went off to bed assuring us he would call if he got any worse. At 8am the next morning, my mother found him almost blue, struggling to breathe with oxygen saturation levels below 80%. He didn’t want to go to hospital so he decided to tough it out overnight and hope it would clear up. He was blue-lighted to Craigavon Hospital and the paramedic said had he waited another hour he might not have made it.

So began a month of no contact with dad other than text messaging and passing messages via nursing staff. Dad doesn’t do technology so Facetime, Whatsapp and all those other video messaging services were out the window. It was this very week that I started as a Lecturer in Nursing at Queen’s and I also tested positive for Covid four days after my first vaccination. So, mum was on her own, dad was in hospital and we were all isolating. It was a pretty busy and stressful week. Having been called out to 2 North Respiratory a number of times to help intubate patients while working in Covid Emergency Theatre, I could picture the scene and appreciate what was going on around him.

Dad continued to deteriorate over the next two weeks to the point where he was put on CPAP and told the next step was ICU and ventilation. He found the CPAP intolerable and not only was he physically deteriorating, but mentally he had reached rock bottom. His friend from school, over 60 years ago, had passed away suddenly overnight as a result of Covid in the bed next to him. Dad then developed pulmonary emboli (clots on his lungs). At his lowest ebb, he rang my mum one morning and said he didn’t think he would make it out of hospital, and gave her his bank account details – that’s how we knew he was really sick!

Not knowing how to lift his spirits, myself and my brother David decided to set him a goal. We promised him we’d have a pint of Guinness on top of Doan (one of the smallest peaks in the Mournes) when he recovered. Every time we spoke to him on the phone between then and his discharge weeks later, we reminded him of the goal. For six weeks after discharge either myself or David would call for dad, no matter what the weather, and take him for a walk at 6pm. He started with 400 meters on 8 litres of oxygen pushing a rollator. Again, being a proud man, known around Armagh and beyond for his marathon exploits in the eighties, he would not go out in daylight with the rollator – this was all done under cover of darkness, wearing a big hat and a buff! Over the six weeks we weaned him off the oxygen and increased the distance gradually. Eventually he was walking six miles non-stop with no oxygen. On 1st of April he rang and said he was ready for Doan on the 3rd – I thought it was an April Fool prank, but no, he was ready. His two youngest grandchildren were there to set an easy pace, and in just over 2 hours we had walked the four miles to Doan and made it to the summit. I had three cans of Guinness with me and three glasses to fulfil the promise. That’s him below with the pint…. on Doan. It was a perfect day. It wasn’t a bad pint either. Just before we took this photo we met two of the anaesthetists from Craigavon who were delighted to see him up there. I think they got a bit of a lift from seeing the benefits of their work.

I posted this photo on the Mourne Mountains Hiking Facebook page and it was picked up by a member who is a journalist for the Irish News. They ran a story about dad’s pint of Guinness on Doan and stated that the photo was “the” photo of the pandemic. The Newsletter then picked it up. BBC Radio Ulster rang and did an interview with us on their morning slot. It went to my dad’s head a bit and he started practicing his signature for autographs. We were told last week that the story had made it to newspapers in India, via Canada. Good news seems to travel fast. It seems everyone wants to grab a positive story from the pandemic.

I’m extremely proud of my dad. He is back to walking eight to ten miles a day with his wee rucksack on his back. He takes a stick now, just for a bit of peace of mind. I’m not sure if he takes any Guinness though. If nothing else this wee tale shows the benefits of goal setting in recovery. I’m not sure what would have happened to dad if we hadn’t set him a goal. I’m not sure if it was the goal that helped him recover, or the fact that he realised he had given mum access to his bank account. I like to think it was the goal. He has since changed his bank account password. Set yourself goals in life – believe and you can achieve. Never give out your bank account details. Stay safe.

All in this together….staying connected

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In this post Pauline Cardwell, Year 2 Lead and Lecturer in Children’s and Young Peoples Nursing, reflects on the difference connection can make.

It is hard to believe we are almost 10 months into this pandemic event, which has caused each and every one of us to review and reflect on every aspect of our lives, personally, professionally and as a community.  This evolving and uncertain period of time has challenged us as individuals and has also afforded us some real opportunities to create and deliver on new ways of working, providing engaging and inspiring learning activities, whilst being mindful of the human cost individually, whilst ultimately remembering we are all trying to navigate this difficult and unpredictable time.

Essence of nursing

Nursing has always prided itself on being a caring and compassionate career, where at the heart of its DNA is the privilege to care for individuals and communities at vulnerable, challenging, difficult and joyous times in their lives. This act of caring is the essence of ‘what we do’, to hold the hand of someone who is frightened or scared of the journey ahead or celebrating the end of a successful treatment plan, a newfound independence, a recovery made, or a new life delivered. Whilst this may be the essence of nursing it can sometimes require a heavy payment. We have all seen so many images of those heroes after a demanding, draining and sometimes devastating shift and still we come back and do it all again.

Every one of us has paid the cost in a plethora of ways. The worry of supporting each other, hoping we can deliver a curriculum fit for the future and as educationalists caring for our students. I experienced this acutely one day in November where I unexpectedly was contacted by a student in distress, they were overwhelmed at the acuity and challenging clinical environment they were currently working in. The student was upset, tearful and visibly distressed, the wise ward manager had asked them to take a break and suggested taking a walk outside to assist in reducing the stress they were feeling.

The power of connection

It was a bright, clear day and I reassured the student I was here to listen and asked them to explain what they were feeling. I felt the need to assist the student to achieve some grounding and perspective of what they were feeling, and I asked them to describe what they could see and if there was any greenery around. The student allowed me to view their surroundings and I noted a tree nearby and asked them to do something for me, I asked the student to go to the tree and rest their palm against the trunk of the tree. Initially, they were reluctant to carry out the activity, I reassured them I was with them and encouraged them to go ahead and trust me. We then both closed our eyes and I asked them to focus on their breathing. I then began to talk quietly and calmly to the student asking them to consider how the tree had lost its leaves and looked ‘dead’ essentially but also consider that come spring the tree would bud again and burst into life once more. I noted their breathing patterned had calmed and their speech was not as rushed as previously. Eventually we concluded the conversation when the student felt able to return to their shift.

Making a difference to others

Reflecting on this event, I feel grateful I had the opportunity and privilege to support this student at such a personally vulnerable time for them. On further consideration I truly appreciate that this is truly a momentous time for our professions, we are courageous, we are caring, we are compassionate but ultimately, we are human. So, my wish for us all as we move forward and hopefully to a more ‘normal’ way of life is to; be kind to ourselves and others, be keen to learn, develop and progress and to be confident we are capable of delivering, growing and most of all making a difference for others.

#proudofourstudents #IloveNursing

‘Practicing what we preach’: Teaching mental health and wellbeing in a pandemic.

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In this post Karen Galway, Pauline McCarthy, Debbie Duncan and Aine Aventin (with contributions from the module teaching team and Sept ’19 nursing cohort) practice what they preach and reflect on an initiative to protect their own and their students mental health.

Picture the scene: It’s September 2020 and a second wave of Covid-19 pandemic has started impacting our health Service in Northern Ireland. Semester one of 2020/21 in the School of Nursing and Midwifery starts in a few short weeks. Our students face continued uncertainty about the future of their degree programme. Teaching is now online with students on campus for essential skills only. Whether the programme will follow the usual pattern of six weeks on campus and six weeks of placement is anyone’s guess.

Our brand new undergraduate nursing curriculum, developed pre-covid, rubber stamped by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, now needs fleshed out under totally new and by now, clichéd unprecedented circumstances. Learning curves are steep, tensions are high and energy is [at times] low.

One teaching team is focused on a new module; Working inter-professionally to improve mental health and wellbeing. This module isn’t presenting a new topic per se, but it presents a consolidated approach to teaching mental health to nursing students, during the toughest of times. With two Lecturers co-ordinating plus eight teaching staff, the module team must now place a new level of focus on mental health and wellbeing for all nursing specialties; adult, children’s, learning disability and mental health.

Week one focuses on models of mental health and wellbeing, stigma and discrimination along with self-care. We introduce mindfulness, self-care principles for nurses and an overview of how covid-19 may be impacting on nurses’ mental health. Week two considers social epidemiology and inequalities to address risk and protective factors for mental health and wellbeing. We also address communication skills and the basics of a mental state examination. Week three addresses issues related to self-harm and suicidal ideation and prevention. It’s challenging content, for lecturers and students alike, in challenging times, taught under challenging conditions.

We worry about how the students and the staff will manage the online environment. We worry about whether we will recognise who is struggling or indeed over identifying with the content. Beyond our self-care content, we also provide links to support, across the university and in the community and we consistently remind our students to reach out and to practice self-care.

Despite our efforts, there seems no easy way to maintain our connections to the students while we all get used to these new technologies and grapple with a new societal normal. Meanwhile three other modules are in full swing for these year two students. We are still groping about awkwardly with a lot of the processes such as developing a meaningful attendance monitoring policy. The timetable can feel brutal, with students and teaching staff online, in classes for up to 6 hours straight. Still ahead in our module specification is week four, focused on physical and mental health interactions, week five addressing trauma informed practice and adverse childhood experiences, with the final week explaining the symptoms of common mental health problems and an understanding of the stepped care model and other useful supportive responses.

Something about this feels very wrong. We are teaching the students about mental health and wellbeing in the middle of a pandemic, while expecting staff and students to perform as normal. In reality, nothing inside or outside of university life is feeling anything like normal.

Day one and week one involve shell shock and eye strain. The materials are well received but the challenge of online delivery intensifies. After two weeks of teaching at ‘business as usual’ pace, we stop to consider this rock of necessary progress against the hard place of exhaustion, frustration, worry and potential disengagement. We brainstorm on how to give ourselves and the students some space to breathe. Can we alter our timetabling? Can we switch live content to recorded content? Would that help? Can we provide adequate breaks and importantly can we identify students who are struggling?

A few actions were tabled and adjustments made to the format for week three. We decide to cut back screen time. In our mental wellbeing module we replace a live online tutorial with a self-care activity.

Students were notified that the two-hour session would now involve a discussion board, instead of a live session. We sent a simple request that the students go and “practice what we’ve been preaching”. The instructions were to take the time to do something to protect and maintain their mental wellbeing, to post a photo or video and comment about the activity on a discussion board. That amounted to a small concession to the Covid-teaching challenge, but it had a big impact.

Within 10 days the discussion generated 546 posts, 250+ photos of stunning autumn scenes, a variety of video clips, poetry, art, music, pet appreciation, baking and a huge amount of shared joy!

A selection of photos and comments from the discussion board

We can confirm that the Sept 19 students are a cohort of dog-lovers, walkers, runners, sports stars, artists, empathetic and caring parents, siblings, children, flat mates and all round philosophers. Contributions were authentic, honest and entertaining personal accounts of how each individual took care of their mental wellbeing, in two hours of me- time, designated for self-care. Reading and commenting on the joy of free time, downtime, the positivity and the creativity was more than a pleasure. It was addictive! Perhaps the discussion board felt like a surrogate for the missing sense of community that the pandemic has taken away. Perhaps it should not be surprising that such a simple idea was embraced in such complicated times.

Acknowledging student contributions
Sept ‘19 undegraduate nursing students: Leon Daly, Shannon Campbell, Cliodhna McIntryre, Marianna Donahue, Deirdre Boyle, Siobhan Duffy, Emma Shields, Chloe Truesdale, Edelle Brown, Caroline Devlin, Roisin McCann, Holly Brown, Megan Elloitt, Roisin Byrne, Orlagh Carson, Santina Campbell, Heather Gould, Caitlin Duffy, Grace Espie. Thanks for allowing us to share your discussion posts and photos.

It would be great to hear how you have managed your own mental health or that of your students since the beginning of the academic year. Comment below- or send us a photo!

The Positive Power of Connections

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In March 2020, nursing and midwifery students found their studies interrupted as a result of the Covid pandemic. They were given a choice to opt in to finishing their programme in clinical practice with online classes as required, or to pause their studies. This week Hannah Angus, Eimir Martin, Jenna Doherty and Tina Adams, who decided to pause their studies, reflect on that decision and discuss how the QUB Connections initiative worked to support them.

When the news broke that we were going into lockdown in March due to the Covid 19 pandemic, we all had only five months left of our training to become nurses and midwives. Because of this, the remainder of our nursing and midwifery training would be concluded in clinical practice and whatever classes we had left would be online. There was an “opt in” or “opt out” choice to this arrangement but to some of us there didn’t feel like there really was a choice at all as the option to opt in was not viable due to personal or family commitments or health conditions that would inhibit some of us from going into the clinical area which was deemed too unsafe. 

So whilst there was Zoom call after Zoom call with our lecturers understandably sorting the arrangements of what opting in meant – our classmates entering the unknown and clinical areas during a pandemic, whilst being a part of the meetings we couldn’t help but feeling isolated as the things talked about were nothing to do with us as we couldn’t and wouldn’t be entering the clinical area and didn’t know when we would be either. The whole unknown and uncertainty was extremely hard and unsettling as we couldn’t help but going down the rabbit hole of thinking, when will be we able to re-join practice? Will it be safe? Will we re-join in time to finish the course and graduate with our peers? Will we finish in time to take up the posts we had already interviewed for and been offered jobs for? Although we were at home surrounded by family and connecting to friends and classmates through video calls and texts etc we felt alone. 

As the weeks passed it seemed our classmates were moving on without us and we were stuck at home, alone and feeling worthless as our personal circumstances were stopping us from entering and helping the workforce and society during a global pandemic. After all , one of the reasons why we want to be nurses and midwives is to help people but yet here in a global pandemic when help was needed we had to face the reality – we couldn’t enter the front line to do what we were made to do and it was heart breaking. As the weeks went past there was nothing but a sense of loneliness. We were made aware that when we were spoke to individually that there were other students who were also in the same situation but not knowing who these students were made things that bit harder as that feeling of being alone was still there and we couldn’t support each other because we didn’t know who also had to pause.

A few weeks into being paused on our programme we were invited to join a QUB Connections group for students who were paused on their programme during the pandemic. Whilst initially everyone was nervous it very quickly became a place where everyone could speak honestly, openly and felt safe to share how they were feeling. It really helped to see we weren’t alone, and everyone was feeling the same – alone, isolated, worried, guilty, anxious feeling a sense of loss, feeling left behind and having no control over our current situations. Clare, Deirdre and Monica were fantastic, listened to us, offered support, advice and encouragement and by being there showed they really cared, wanting to help us in whatever way they could. We felt we were no longer alone and there were others out there who cared and knew and understood exactly how we were feeling.

We learnt coping mechanisms from each other and encouraged each other on by setting positive targets/goals to achieve between each meeting. We shared positive stories, sad stories and best of all through our connectedness we had a laugh and felt a sense of camaraderie with each other. The saying goes everything in life happens for a reason and during the worst times in our lives we meet some of the best people, well It is only because of the Covid pandemic did we all have the opportunity to come together, got to know each other and made friends along the way. 

We are extremely thankful to have had the group as it really helped us through the emotional rollercoaster of being paused on our programme during Covid 19 but like riding a rollercoaster it was less scary and unsettling when we had others there supporting us through the bumps and twists and turns. The sense of loneliness, fear, isolation and guilt was all replaced by happiness, togetherness, and a sense of being a part of a team who were full of support and encouragement. 

We were all able to help each other in special ways that no one else would ever understand as they were not in our situation. They were not at home, they were on the frontline fighting for our NHS whilst we were fighting our own battles to better ourselves and support each other’s mental, physical and emotional health. This has then enabled us to become stronger student nurses and midwives that will eventually enter the frontline, finish our courses and do what we love to support the community that we live in. All of this could not have been achieved without the connection group bringing us closer together to fight one battle instead of our own battles alone.

Hannah Angus is student adult nurse, Eimir Martin, Jenna Doherty, Tina Adams are all student midwives. All four are currently finishing their final placements.

Continuing Professional Development during COVID-19

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‘Please remember many of us are working full time, trying to provide a service as well as studying”

I have always worked full time throughout my career, incorporating both work and education which can be challenging. Whether it’s an age thing but to me education should be conducted within university and not on-line. I firmly believe that you learn more within a classroom as it enables you to partake, ask relevant questions and gain knowledge and experience from both the lecturer and fellow colleagues. I don’t agree that this is achievable to the same standard when classes are online. 

My reason for this is as follows, 

I had never heard of Canvas until last year, even though I had completed a recent Intensive Care Nursing course in Queen’s University Belfast a few years previous. Technology constantly changes and unless you use it every day I feel you can fall behind very quickly.

I have worked in ICU and have trained hospital staff on how to use equipment, so I have excellent knowledge on medical devices however I don’t feel confident about Information Technology (IT), simply because I have very little interest! Believe it or not I actually like to communicate face to face, an art which I find sadly lacking in some nursing students and nurses today. To prepare for online classes during Covid-19, which I appreciate is unique and challenging time for all, I asked my NHS employer to ensure I had access to the required platform. Unfortunately my request could not be accommodated by the Trust and the platform could not be accessed from the Trust computers. This caused me a huge amount of stress at an already stressful time. Not only was I still providing a service during Covid-19, I was also anxious that I was going to miss out on valuable information required for my module and exam.  

After numerous conversations with my lecturer, who was very supportive, I was able to connect to the next class although very anxious that I might lose internet connection, sound, video link, etc. Once connected the quality wasn’t great, other class members struggled to get and stay connected and sound quality was poor. 

I had been reassured that classes would be recorded and could be watched at another time, should the technology let me down. However, other than my allocated day at university I unfortunately don’t have the time to go back and re-watch a class. My days off are and will be spent preparing for my exams as well as fitting in normal life activities outside work and study. 

Providing lecture material well in advance of the online class is so important. When presentations are not available at least 24 hours in advance, it causes unnecessary stress. Personally I like to be prepared,and not rely on my printer the night before or morning of the online class. If I do lose internet connection, for whatever reason, having the relevant written material in front of me enables me to work through it and make the most of the protected time.  

Consistency in communication is key and has been challenging throughout my course. Sometimes we would receive emails vis Queens online other times via Canvas, all I ask is pick one and use it, don’t have me guessing!

 I appreciate that Covid-19 is a difficult time for us all,  but to support post registration students through their programme of study please remember many of us are working full time, trying to provide a service as well as studying. The university needs to ensure that staff unfamiliar to studying online receive extra support, to get them through their course successfully and ensure that they actually enjoy learning and don’t see it as a burden, and that information is provided in a timely manner. 

About the author:

Sharlene, has been a qualified nurse for 27years, and has worked and studied in Northern Ireland, England and Scotland.  Her varied career which includes, Accident + Emergency, Surgical High Dependency, Outreach as Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Intensive Care Nursing and most recently as a Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist. 

Student nurses, Jade and Majella share their experience of moving online in the Covid -19 pandemic

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Jade:

Moving online was originally a daunting experience for me. Mainly because I thought I would never get the chance to focus on my work with a 4 -year-old at home! Nevertheless, we quickly developed a new routine and got to it. It really wasn’t much different to getting up and getting ready to go to uni. I got up and got ready but only had to sit at my desk at home! It was quite a novelty.

Participation

At the beginning, not many people went on screen to participate, it was mainly participation from the online chat or the microphone audio. I felt like my learning needs were still being met and I was actively engaging over the chat, there was something satisfying about trying to get your answer typed in first! However, it was evident that some people were not participating perhaps because it was easy to walk away. When we were encouraged to start and go on screen to participate, I thought this was a brilliant idea and might help with the connection of the class and concentration, especially with the longer topics. As we went on screen our learning really was maximised!

It didn’t feel all that different from being in class, and our tutorial lead was able to engage so much better with us, seeing our faces and reading our reactions, and the class operated more smoothly. This was much better than looking at the “… is typing..” bubble on the screen. It was fun, informative and honestly the best thing to happen in a ‘bad’ situation. I do not feel I have missed out on my tutorial classes at all, over the 12 weeks that were online, I definitely engaged more than I would have in class, as it is not as daunting offering your answers when you are in your own home. Overall, I had a really positive experience going on screen to participate in my learning and it 100% made the transition so much better and enjoyable.

Majella

At the beginning the thought of online classes scared me, with a young family I wasn’t sure how this would work.  I soon developed a routine and the lecturers understood the challenge of family commitments.  I attended every online lecture that was available.  When I settled into the new routine, I actually found that online learning suited me! Yes, its not the same as being in uni but the support was there regardless. Perhaps, as a mature student I settled quickly, knowing the demands of the degree were high. I actually found it easier than traveling 2hrs each day to university. I was able to be at home with my children whilst completing my degree.

Engagement

Engaging with the lecturers and having our own group sessions for tutorial was the biggest help throughout.  In the smaller tutorial classes, I knew most of my fellow students better and felt more comfortable.  Being able to interact with my lecturer and to physically see them eased some of my worries.  We all had the same questions or needed the same advice and sometimes just seeing each other spurred us on – it helped with class morale.  I still miss being around all the friends that I made and the hub of a uni environment, but i can honestly say it worked for me.  

About the authors

Jade is a second year student nurse, with 4 year old son. She has experience working in the the community as a Health Care Assistant and as a physiotherapy assistant. Jade has a real interest in oncology nursing and is looking forward to more practice experiences on placement!

Majella is a second year student nurse, with three children, aged, 11, 9 and 5. Starting university as a mature student has been daunting but with amazing support from her husband, children and parents, she has been able to pursue her career. 

How to ‘connect with’ students in online learning.

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By: Dr Patricia McNeilly

Whether you have come to higher education recently with a wealth of recent clinical experience or you are (dare I say!) a well seasoned educationalist one of the things we all have to think about most when delivering our classes online is student engagement.  Put quite simply -if the students don’t engage they won’t learn!  This is all the more important in times of covid-19 which, as you know, has brought many challenges for students and staff in terms of undertaking and delivering programmes in new ways. 

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Connecting Post Covid 

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By:  Iain McGowan & Maggie Bennett

These are challenging times and Nursing and Midwifery education. The last few months, with the COVID-19 situation, have challenged the creativity and resilience of nurses and midwives globally. Nursing & Midwifery students at QUB have played a pivotal role in supporting Northern Irelands registrants deal with the crisis as it unfolded. We write this at a time where it is possible that worst of pandemic may have passed, but the Covid 19 legacy is not just in the news headlines– the fundamental nature of nursing and midwifery education has changed.  

 Social distancing measures have drastically reduced the capacity for in class teaching. Large scale lectures will be curtailed and with the number of students in the school face to face tutorials are likely to reduce. As New York state governor stated in May, 

 ‘The old model of everybody goes and sits in a classroom and the teacher is in front of that classroom, and teaches that class, and you do that all across the city, all across the state, all these buildings, all these physical classrooms … why, with all the technology you have? … It’s hard to change the status quo. But you get moments in history where people say, ‘OK I’m ready. I’m ready for change. I get it’. I think this is one of those moments.’ 

 QUB generally, and the School of Nursing and Midwifery in particular, are embracing this challenge. Connected Learning has the potential to enhance the delivery of the educational experience for our students. This blog aims to provide a platform for staff and students to reflect upon and share their experiences of connected learning. 

Let us know your thoughts by clicking on the ‘leave reply’ link and commenting below.

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About the authors

Iain McGowan is Senior Lecturer (Education) at QUB. He is a mental health nurse with a passion for finding ways to automate the more mundane aspects of academic life.

Maggie Bennett is a Lecturer (Education) at QUB. She believes teaching like nursing is fundamentally about caring.

Maggie and Iain are co-editors of this blog. To contact them, please see the contact us page