We’ve been busy working on the Interprofessionary Education Conference at Moulsecoomb and we’ve seen just about everything from getting caught in hailstorms, assisting a community support officer with some dodgy parking to hunting down a makeshift dog bowl for a four legged workshop presenter. Need some further explanation? I don’t blame you.
The IPE Conference is a annual conference which brings together students across all courses from the School of Health Sciences to promote collaborative approaches to health and social care. The conference runs at both Eastbourne and Moulsecoomb campuses and consists of a series of workshops where students can meet expert practioners, service users and patients themselves.
The Southcoast team welcomed over 500 students over the two iterations of the conference which was made much easier by the introduction of using QR codes for checking in the students – all they needed to do is flash their smartphones with the QR codes for the Southcoast team to scan with their iPads and voila, they are done! Gone are the days of manually registering delegates.
Weather’s looking clear over Huxley building
Setting up our registration and help desk in the impressive Huxley building, the team were ready to welcome the students and presenters alike. The workshops themselves were spread across them campus in Huxley, Cockcroft and Watts buildings so it was vital to make sure the signage was clear to avoid losing anyone. Setting up a help desk in such a prominent location means that the team need to be on hand to assist with not just conference specific queries but also general University enquiries – which was never more true than today when a Police Community Support officer popped by to see if we could help with locating the owner of a car which was blocking a pathway at nearby Moulsecoomb station. Luckily it wasn’t one of our delegates but we did help direct him to someone who could help find the driver before the car needed to be towed away.
Working on events for the University, we are fortunate to meet a wide range of people and today, we were lucky enough to meet the four legged kind. One of the patient perspective workshops offered students the opportunity to meet a patient who is living with type 1 diabetes and her dog, Treacle who is specially trained to help her manage her glucose levels. Needless to say, both Treacle and her owner were a hit with the students… and the Southcoast team of course.
The personal biologically-based glucose sensor ‘Treacle’, the Medical Assistance dog.
The day drew to a close after a helping of afternoon tea and cakes in Huxley foyer and the students made their way home after receiving their certificate of attendance from the Southcoast team. It was a privilege for us to be involved in an event like this which gives students the tools to employ a collaborative approach to health and social care when moving forward with their chosen professions.