Education Department
"When I am giving nursing care I can help one person and their family at any one time. Through education it is possible to influence the care offered by many practitioners, hopefully for the rest of their working days."
The education department is made up of 1 full time and 1 part time members of staff, together with other members of the multidisciplinary team who deliver specific elements of training, as needed.
Jean Fisher is Head of Education and has been with St Michael's since it opened in 1984. Originally the Ward Sister, Jean formally became a ‘clinical teacher' in 1990 after several years of combining a teaching element to her role. Since then she has been instrumental in developing the role of education at St Michael's to the point where now each year several hundred professionals take part in over 20 different courses that have developed. In 2005 Jean was involved in a joint project to develop the CD-ROM "Problem Based Learning in Palliative Care".
Debbie Smithers, the part time teacher/practitioner, has been a staff nurse at the Hospice since 1989. She completing her Certificate of Education in 2000, following which she joined the education department. In the last six years Debbie has had personal experiences of cancer and gone on to achieve a first class honours degree in ‘Cancer and Palliative Care'. In 2004 she won the Frances Sheldon Award for an interactive poster she designed called ‘Breaking Bad News' based on work undertaken for her BSc. Debbie still does one night shift a week on the inpatient ward at the Hospice as a staff nurse to ensure her clinical skills are maintained.
The team is supported by Danielle Meadows who is secretary to the Education Department and the first point of contact for booking a course or finding out further information about our education programme or bespoke training. Danielle's background as a medical secretary is beneficial to her role and her work is invaluable to the education service.
Education Milestones and Achievements
1984 - Hospice opens - we begin to acquire specialist skills and knowledge to share
1985-89 - Informal education for health care staff delivered on request
1990 - Formalising of education service by introduction of a Teacher/Practitioner post
1991 - Short course in Palliative Care for Nurses developed and commenced
1992 - Proactive primary health care team education launched
1993 - External Education Programme actively promoted
1995 - First university accredited course developed and launched
1997 - External Education Programme extended
1999 - 2 additional university accredited courses developed and launched
2000 - Additional part-time post in Education department commenced
2001 - External Education Programme further extended
2002 - Problem-based learning package developed and launched
2003 - Dual Pathway revalidation of university accredited courses
2004 - Internal and In-service Education Programmes further extended
2005 - Members of the team present at the Vancouver ISQua Conference
2006 - Outreach Education development
