Involvement Group – Health and Allied Professions

• The Involvement Group exists to enhance the education of students and apprentices in the department of Health and Allied Professions at NTU studying nursing, nursing associate, paramedicine and public health subjects
• Members of the public, patients and people who use health and social care services and their carers/family are invited to volunteer and share their perspectives and experiences
• It is hoped that through meaningful involvement with volunteers, our future health professionals will gain a deeper understanding of high quality, compassionate and inclusive healthcare practice
• We want this to be a diverse group and actively welcome people from all communities to be involvement

• All communities, groups, genders, ages, ethnicities, and disabilities representing the community are encouraged to join
• You can also volunteer as a family
• There are no specific membership requirements because everyone has something unique to offer. What helps is:
  • Having a few hours to volunteer each year (or more often)
  • Having some lived experience of healthcare and social care, as a user of services or carer/family
  • Passion to contribute to the skills of future healthcare professionals (nurses, nursing associates, paramedics and public health practitioners)
• Support, development and preparation will be offered for the activities you decide to volunteer to be involved in

• Describing your life experiences to students (teaching).
• Saying what subjects are important (curriculum development).
• Meeting other volunteers and staff (networking).
• Giving feedback to students on how they are doing (assessments).
• Demonstrations to students (simulation/ roleplay).

We welcome your ideas about how you can be involved too.

Volunteering is known to bring benefits for physical and mental health.  Having your voice heard in healthcare education is powerful because it:

• Provides an insight for healthcare students into your experiences.
• Provides collaboration opportunities with staff.
• Provides opportunities to Influence future healthcare practice.
• Provides opportunities to speak up about good and bad practice, injustice and disability rights.

Students frequently feedback that sessions with involvement are the ones they enjoy the most and result in long term influence on their practice.

We are also able to offer practical help and rewards such as:

• Meeting travel expenses.
• Providing refreshments.
• Opportunities to apply for flexible, paid employment.

By working with volunteers like you we hope to learn more about meaningful benefits and rewards we can offer you.

For more information and any other enquiries, please contact:

HAPInvolvement@ntu.ac.uk