Understanding the Needs of People with Dementia and Family Carers

This is the first in a short series that presents case study examples of the positive work achieved by trusts who participated in the Royal College of Nursing's development programme to improve dementia care in acute hospitals. When a person with dementia is in hospital, poor understanding of individual needs and preferences can contribute to a lack of person-centred care. Similarly, the needs of family carers can often be overlooked and staff do not always appreciate these needs at such a stressful time. This article illustrates how three NHS trusts have addressed these issues. To help staff get to know patients with dementia, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust has implemented a patient passport. Similarly, The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust has implemented a carer passport that overcomes the restrictions imposed by hospital visiting hours. Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust also focused on carers, holding a workshop to elicit feedback on what was important to them. This was a useful means of engaging with carers and helped staff to realise that even simple changes can have a significant effect.

Disability and Participation in the Professions: Examples from Higher and Medical Education

Learners with disabilities remain under-represented in higher education and courses, such as medicine, that grant access to ‘the professions’. National and professional legislation, policy and guidance have changed over the last few decades in response to reforms in the way disability is viewed and valued by society. Principles of equal rights and equality of opportunity inform the negotiation of widened participation in the professions. However, drawing on the example of medical education, it is possible to see that widening articipation agendas may be insensitive to the needs of learners with disabilities. Analysing the development of practice and policy from a participation perspective suggests that tokenism may have played a role in deprioritising the voices of individuals with disabilities, rendering policy disconnected from the needs of marginalised groups. The concept of participatory parity may provide an opportunity to readdress this misrepresentation.

Foundation Doctors and Dyslexia: a Qualitative Study of Their Experiences and Coping Strategies

Background Dyslexia is the most common form of specific learning difficulty affecting approximately 6% of the general UK population and believed to affect approximately 2% of UK medical students. The impact of dyslexia on early practice has not been studied. Objectives To develop an understanding of the challenges faced by doctors with dyslexia in the first year of practice and their support requirements. Methods Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with seven foundation year 1 doctors with dyslexia from Scottish hospitals between March 2013 and August 2013. Results Foundation doctors indicated that due to their dyslexia, they experience difficulty with all forms of communication, time management and anxiety. There were concerns about disclosure of their dyslexia to colleagues and supervisors. Coping strategies used frequently were safety-netting and planning; technology solutions did offer some assistance. Conclusions Although technological interventions have the potential to offer benefits to foundation doctors with dyslexia, increased openness about a diagnosis of dyslexia with discussion between doctor and supervisors about the challenges and anxieties is likely to provide the most benefit