Is hospital play covered in your course??

Everyone,

I'm just interested, are you currently studing on a course relating to children, NVQ, Foundation Degree, Degree, playwork, CCLD, Pre-school Practice. :reading:

Does your course cover anything to do with sick children & children in hospital? Dose it cover anything about hospital play and play specialists?

I would be so interested to hear.

Thanks

hattyhar

[Ruthierhyme]

Hi Hattyhar,

I've moved this to the lounge so that as many readers as possible will see it.

not that i am aware of, doing a foundation degree, but mainly about teaching really

Hi cybertwin

I am really interested, is your foundation degree in childhood studies, early years education ......?

How does your course work? Do you choose certain module or units that are of interest to you/relavant to your area of work and are there any modules that everyone has to do?

Thanks

hattyhar

[Air]

Hi
My FDEY course did 'touch on' Health Provision for Families with Young Children...this module was supposed to focus on issues relating to young children's health and the need to work in partnership with fellow professionals.
On a personal note I did not gain as much from this particular module as I'd hoped...and I did pass on my disappointment to the course leader.
x

Wow, I'm really suprised that therapeutic play in hospital and the community was not covered in this module.

I work of play specialists is normally key to children being able to access any health provision. As if children show anxiety they may not being able to take part in procedure, which means their only way of accessing this would be with the assistance of a play specialist.

A Department of Health document which was released in 2003 called "The National Service Framework for Children" explains that “Children visiting or staying in hospital have a basic need for play and recreation that should be met routinely in all hospital departments providing a service to children. This applies equally to the siblings of patients, and so is also a consideration for neonatal units. Play may also be used for therapeutics purposes, as part of the child’s care plan, and as a way of helping the child to: assimilate new information; adjust to and gain control over a potentially frightening environment; and prepare to cope with procedures and interventions. There is evidence that play hastens recovery, as well as reducing the need for interventions to be delivered under general anaesthesia.

It has been recommended that all children staying in hospital have daily access to a play specialist. The use of play techniques should be encouraged across the multidisciplinary team caring for children, including in A&E, with play specialist taking a lead in modelling techniques that other staff can then adopt. The team should be able to offer a variety of play interventions to support the child at each stage in his or her journey through the hospital system”.

Maybe you could request that your course leader asks a play specialist to come and do a presentation to your course group. As the play specialists role is to work across all the hospital depts and in the community, I'm sure they could answer all your healthcare related questions. :reading:

Where is your course based, maybe I could help put you in contact with a play specialist in your area who could provide the talk? If that would be of interest?

hattyhar

[Air]

Oh if only I had had this conversation with you at the begining of this year....I finished my degree in the summer, so I'm no longer studying...I did lots of extra personal research into the socio-emotional impact of health issues on children as I did not feel I got what I had hoped from some of the lectures.....I won't mention the University, because I know that not all students felt this way...I think my expectations were a touch too high...my individual learning outcome was not met!
x

Well, congratulations on completing your degree, which is especially desearved if you didn't gain everything you had hoped from the course.

It does disapoint me that hospital play is still not being covered as part of your degree. Since treatment and investigations in hospital are such a large part of Healthcare for Children & their Families. In most hospitals now it is very common for health care professionals to refuse to start any treatment without the play specialist present.

The National Service Framework, of which I quoted a small piece relating to "play" is part of a ten year plan ie all recomendations within it must be implemented within ten years of the release of the document, which was 2003.

I do totally understand why you would not want to mention the name of the University to me, but would you consider sending a letter to the Course Leader from me if I email the letter on to you. That way I would not need to know the name, and I could still have a chance at changing practice, and you could also read the letter first and say if you were happy with the content of the letter. I just feel quite strongly that it is part of my role to change practice especially as I sit on the National Executive Committee for NAHPS. :crossfing

Thanks so much

hattyhar