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Shadowing health workers can make 'better doctors'

Maddy Jennings/BBC Man looking into the camera smiling. He has short, brown, curly hair and is wearing thick black glasses which are tinted slightly. He is wearing a blue polo shirt. In the background, the wall is white with a purple strip to the right. Maddy Jennings/BBC
Tobias Lambe completed the shadowing project in his first year at the UEA

A student says a project in which trainee medics shadow healthcare assistants (HCAs) will make him a "better doctor".

The project, at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, sees medical students working with HCAs for three days to help them get a better understanding of the pressures and importance of the role.

In turn, the scheme has also had a positive impact on HCAs, as they feel "more valued".

Piloted in 2015, the project has now become a mandatory part of the UEA's medical degree.

Tobias Lambe completed the project in his first year as a medical student at the UEA.

He thinks "every single medical student" should complete a similar shadowing experience.

N Chadwick/Geograph Exterior of the UEA with concrete buildings and stepsN Chadwick/Geograph
Medical students at the UEA are shadowing HCAs to understand the importance of the role

Mr Lambe said: "You learn so much from the HCAs as they are experts in their own right.

"I might know all about the stuff that I've studied in first year, but I know nothing about being a HCA.

"Being able to work with them [now] has changed the way that I'll be working with them when I'm a doctor."

'Active voice'

HCAs have several hospital tasks, including feeding and washing patients and keeping them mobile.

Elizabeth Davison is operational lead for the HCA project at the UEA, and co-authored the research into the project.

"We have found that this gives HCAs status," she said.

"[Their work] is quite often not observed by the wider interprofessional team which results in them sometimes feeling undervalued."

Ms Davison said the project gave them an "active voice in the team".

Listen: Medical students at the UEA are shadowing Health Care Assistants.

The project is a collaboration between the UEA, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in King's Lynn.

Prof Susanne Lindqvist, academic lead for the project and co-author of the research, said it would help students "understand the patient journey better".

"Our ambition is to roll this out to make better doctors and more valued healthcare assistants," she said.

The project is being implemented at universities across the country.

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