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Podcasts as a medium to support professional development for school nurses
Abstract
School nurses must continuously update their knowledge and skills to address the evolving health and wellbeing needs of children and young people. Rising issues such as obesity, mental health problems, emerging issues such as vaping, and worries about gender are increasing in prevalence, while the safeguarding of children remains a priority. However, with reduced service capacity and increasing demands, finding time for professional development is a challenge. Podcasts are emerging as a flexible and cost-effective tool for learning. To support school nurses, a series of podcasts were developed covering these critical topics. These podcasts, produced by school nurses for school nurses, offer insights into current challenges and promote best practices, ensuring nurses are better equipped to fulfil their public health roles in prevention, promotion, and protection. This article discusses the development, reception, and impact of these podcasts as an accessible medium for continuous professional learning.
The podcast project was a collaboration between the Digital Health Transformation Service (DHTS) at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust with project management expertise and a recognised interest in ‘all things digital’ and the School and Public Health Nurses Association (SAPHNA), a professional organisation dedicated to the ongoing development of and achieving excellence in school nursing practice.
Both organisations shared intelligence about the themes and challenges emerging from school nursing practice. The Digital Health Transformation Service at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust provides the ‘ChatHealth’ text service for a growing number of school nursing services across the UK. This service enables young people to confidentially and anonymously text their school nurse to gain help, support and advice on any health and wellbeing. In addition, DHTS provide websites healthforteens.co.uk and healthforkids.co.uk, which provide reliable and up-to-date information on a range of health and wellbeing issues. Data is collected and trends are monitored which help identify the type of support that young people are contacting their school nurse about or accessing the websites about. The data showed that one of the top reasons for young people to contact school nurses via ChatHealth messaging is to seek support for their emotional health and wellbeing. In addition, data on the most visited pages on the Health for Teens websites showed that articles about emotional health, smoking and sexual health were the most popular with visitors. Similarly, SAPHNA heard from school nurses during webinars and special interest groups increasing concern about issues such as the school nurse's role in safeguarding, how schools can effectively respond to concerns about the increase in vaping, a rise in obesity and how to support young people struggling with their mental health and navigating gender issues.
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