Summary

The course will consider the child in their entirety and their contact with diverse aspects of health and social services. The taught course explores the following themes: Structure of the NHS; acute services (primary, secondary and tertiary care); education and schools; and role of other agencies such as social care, safeguarding and policy. The aim of this module is to introduce you to different health services for children and the experience patients and family receive, which will enable you to think critically about the advantages and disadvantages of these services and how to assess sick children.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

After taking this module, you will be able to:

Explore the different health-related services available for children and their families both within and outside the NHS.
	Consider some of the advantages and disadvantages of the current health system.
	Discuss issues associated with paediatric illness, particularly long-term illness, and the factors that may contribute to this.
	Have an understanding of the experience of an illness for children and families, through following a “patient journey”.
	Know how to assess a sick child using the ‘DR ABCDE’ framework, initiate initial management, and have an opportunity to practice this in a simulated scenario.
Who is this module for? 

This is a core module for the iBSc Paediatrics and Child Health.

Teaching and Learning Methods

Learning will be through self-directed study based on individual scenarios (provided by the tutors) reflecting the 'patient journey' of real children, regular facilitated discussions, and a formative reflective essay on one of these 'patient journeys'. You will be able to collect a new patient journey from a family with a child who has a complex condition. The course will also offer paediatric simulation where you experience working as a team to learn to manage children with acute conditions such as severe asthma, status epilepticus and meningococcal sepsis.