HEALTHCARE students from five colleges will go head to head in Trowbridge later this month when they take part in the South West Skills Challenge.
Wiltshire College & University Centre is hosting the annual competition at its Trowbridge campus on May 20, when students will get the chance to show judges their knowledge, quick thinking and application of what they have learned.
One representative from Wiltshire will be competing at the college against their counterparts from Swindon College, South Gloucestershire and Stroud College and Bath College. This year they will be joined by Guernsey College for the first time.
“We’re very excited to be welcoming Guernsey to the skills challenge and it is going to be interesting to see how they get on,” said lecturer Rhian Ramsden.
The students, who will be selected by their college through a series of heats, will face a number of tasks, depending on whether they are studying Level 3 BTEC or T-Level. T-Levels students will face a clinical skills test, while BTEC students will take on a communication challenge, designed to test how well they can pass on often complex medical information to patients or relatives.
“It’s a test where they have to have an interaction with somebody they’re not used to interacting with,” said Rhian. “That first initial interaction can have a real difference as to whether that service user trusts you or not, so it’s really putting them on the spot.”
All competitors will be tested on their presentation skills. “It’s going to be great for their confidence building because for the presentation, they are going to have to present this to a panel of judges and people they’ve never met before.”
She said the broad aim of the contest is to reinforce the basic principles that underpin healthcare practice. “The events are about testing how well the students can apply the six Cs – care, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment – which is something that is used very much in British nursing,” said Rhian.
“The idea is if you’re practising as a nurse or a midwife in the UK, you have to have those six Cs because they’re the foundation of your practice and we’ve tried to make sure all of the events have at least two of those Cs in them.”
The South West Skills Challenge has previously seen Wiltshire students recognised for their performance, including Level 3 Health and Social Care student Poppy Milner, who was praised for showing “care and courage” during last year’s competition.
Read more here: Student praised for showing her care and courage in inter-college skills competition
The event also gives students the opportunity to gain experience in high-pressure situations similar to those they may face in healthcare careers, while building confidence and communication skills.
The winners of this year’s South West Skills Challenge will be announced following the event on May 20.
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