‘ASPIRE ME’ PROJECT GIVES CHILDREN THE CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE PODIATRY

PODIATRY #ASPIREME AT NORTHAMPTON UNIVERSITY JULY 2016

By Paul Fletcher.

#AspireMe is a wonderful project where nine year old children come to University and find out what it’s all about. My #AspireMe project was “Blood and Bones in Podiatry”.

For the project a group of my undergraduate students volunteer to teach about blood flow in the lower limbs and why it is important to check it.  The children have hands on practical sessions with dopplers and anatomy models. The children have lots of fun and ask the most amazing questions. My podiatry students also find it really rewarding to get youngsters thinking about podiatry and what is involved. It also gives them an opportunity to show off that they know quite a lot after their stressful exam period!

There were some gruesome pictures in my presentation of some of my work in NHS hospitals with vascular and diabetic patients. These pictures stimulate the children to ask lots of questions and demonstrates how important it is for people like my students to work so hard learning anatomy and Podiatric Medicine. Only one boy in the whole project needed to leave for fresh air; learning that University life is quite a bit different from school! The project is certainly something I will be involved with again. It provides a welcome break from the more stressful and serious side of University work. I encourage more Podiatrists to become involved in STEM activities to ensure new enthusiastic youngsters enter the profession.

The children use work books to encourage them to reflect on their learning. This helps children to recognise that the skills they use in the workshop are connected to the ideas for careers paths for podiatry and healthcare. We also give out the new “Careers in Podiatry” leaflet produced by the Student Recruitment Project at The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists.

 
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Until next time
The Podiatry Careers Team