The Department of Nursing, within the Faculty of Health Sciences, is actively exploring ways of addressing the needs and requests for reasonable adjustment of nursing students across the theoretical and practical components of programmes of education, in a more effective manner.
Ms Maureen O’Brien, Inclusion, Diversity & Disability Manager at Bucks New University in the UK was invited on an Erasmus+ Staff Mobility visit to share her experience and expertise with the Department of Nursing.
During her visit, Ms O’ Brien delivered training and advice to the academic and administrative staff based at the Department of Nursing. The training sessions comprised of a ‘disability quiz’, case studies discussions, and critical reflections of the UK disability legislation, reasonable adjustments processes for placement/practice, fitness to practice procedures, occupational health assessments and sharing of good practice based on Equality Act 2010 and NMC regulations and professional standards.
Ms O’Brien met with the staff of ACCESS in view of discussing university wide policies, processes and initiatives for reasonable adjustments for students and staff with disability.
This visit provided an opportunity to share knowledge and understanding of disability rights and legislation in England and Malta and a stimulating forum for the discussion of ideas which the Department of Nursing may adopt. The culmination of the mobility visit was a public lecture followed by a question and answer session. The lecture was entitled ‘Inclusive Teaching and Learning – A Route to Excellence’. It was very well attended by UM staff and also delegates from local NGOs and private educational entities.
Two major initiatives have been identified as the foci for optimising students’ experience, namely to channel attention of academic and administrative staff towards securing maximal reasonable adjustments for students through the entire academic year and not only during exam periods, and to evaluate reasonable adjustment periodically in view of determining whether such adjustments are indeed reasonable. Bucks New University and the Department of Nursing, University of Malta will continue to share good practice through online discussion and forums in this regard.