Project:
Exploring Health Conditions
Partner:
Peninsula Dental School
This workshop introduces Year 4 Dental students to people with a long term health condition, and in small groups they listen, to better understand the impact on daily lives and activities.
Students met with people with a range of medical conditions such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, Asthma and lung disease via 3 separate workshop sessions.
Informal, interactive discussion groups helped students to think beyond the text book as they deepen and develop their understanding of specific conditions. This unique opportunity gave them an insight into the impact on the lived experiences, leading them to consider health and wellbeing needs beyond the clinical environment whilst developing their listening skills and interpersonal skills.
The students enjoyed the workshops, they told us that it was an extremely useful experience and have gained a new perspective and insight into the lives of real people which will help them to treat a person as a whole.
The Experts by Experience also benefited by taking part, they loved meeting the students and are looking forward to taking part in other such programmes.
“This has been an excellent interaction, thank you and your panel of experts for joining us on the day. The feedback I received from the students is that they thoroughly enjoyed the session and found it tremendously beneficial.”
Dr Casper Jonker, Year 4 Programme Lead
“The workshop was super! The students seem to have really understood the everyday life experiences of the individuals they spoke with and the impact the symptoms of their conditions have on every aspect of their lives. I believe having empathy and understanding for people makes dentists more accessible, approachable and able to provide better care.”
Cara Bell, Specialist in Dental Care