Phyllis Tuckwell Promotes Learning At Work

17th-23rd May is Learning at Work Week, a national campaign that promotes a learning culture in the working environment, encouraging employers to promote learning and development, and employees to engage with it. This year’s theme is ‘Made for Learning’. It focusses on learning as an innate part of human nature, highlights the importance of following our natural curiosity to become lifelong learners, and promotes connecting with others to share our learning.

Local charity Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care, which provides supportive and end of life care for patients and families living with an advanced or terminal illness such as cancer, understands the importance of learning at work, and supports its staff to develop their individual skills and knowledge. Its Education, Learning & Development team promotes learning across the organisation, with dedicated education co-ordinators for clinical and non-clinical staff. It offers a wide range of job-related training courses, some of which are accredited by the University of Surrey, and has an online training programme, Training Tracker, which ensures that all staff are up-to-date with training on topics such as data protection, infection control and health & safety. Staff can also request funding to undertake specific training which, for more senior nurses, might include nurse prescribing, nurse practitioner and MSc courses.

As well as providing ongoing education for its staff, Phyllis Tuckwell also offers training sessions for other local healthcare providers too. As a Centre for Excellence, with many highly trained and specialised staff, part of its remit is to improve palliative care in the local community, and one of the ways it does this is through the provision of qualified training courses. There are specific courses for GPs, Community Nurses, Care Home Workers and other healthcare professionals, all of which follow the ‘End of Life Care’ core skills framework, and encourage joint learning across specialities and sectors, reinforcing the value of inter-professional working.

As well as face-to-face training sessions, Phyllis Tuckwell’s Education, Learning & Development team has also developed a range of online training resources, which it has made available free of charge to clinical colleagues during the pandemic. Follow-up telephone support and live online training sessions have also been made available to local healthcare providers, ensuring that they are supported throughout their completion of the training modules. Specific Covid-19 e-training modules were also developed and rolled out shortly after the pandemic reached the UK, giving specific support on matters including symptom management, end of life care, and care after death.

“We are firm believers in the importance of learning at work, and strive to make ongoing education and training available to all of our staff, and the wider local healthcare community,” said Sian Williams, Clinical Education Manager at Phyllis Tuckwell. “We have had a great deal of positive feedback about our training sessions, which we have continued to provide online throughout the pandemic, and are pleased that they have been so well-received.”

To find out more about education and training at Phyllis Tuckwell, visit www.pth.org.uk/education-and-training.