Specialist Language Courses

New Case Study: Living and Working in the UK: AHP Edition

We’re delighted to publish our latest case study which charts the development of our pastoral course for internationally recruited Allied Health Professionals joining the NHS.

Living and Working in the UK: AHP Edition was first developed as a standalone digital course with the then AHP faculty at Herts and West Essex ICS (HWE) with input from NHS England and Capital AHP. Group coaching sessions were then added in partnership with University Hospitals Sussex.

Why develop the course?

The course was designed to both attract and retain international AHPs through supporting them with cultural and linguistic awareness, an understanding of the NHS and HCPC, and profession-specific communication skills. Taking the course would not only promote their wellbeing but also improve the patient experience.

Why digital?

Together with the HWE team, we decided to use digital materials and delivery to ensure the course had maximum reach and could easily evolve to meet new needs as they were identified. The course was piloted and the feedback was excellent from both AHPs and their managers. It is now offered across the ICS.

Adding face-to-face coaching

Sam Elliott-Olechnowicz from University Hospitals Sussex contacted SLC to use the course with the internationally recruited AHPs he works with. He requested some face-to-face coaching sessions to give learners the opportunity to practise and extend what they learn, while also addressing the specifics of their working interactions.

Five online sessions were then designed for two groups, focusing on developing participants’ ability to recognise and understand accents, intonation and idiomatic language on the one hand, and improving their ability to communicate sensitively and appropriately with patients on the other.

Two versions of the course

Again, the feedback was very positive from both participants and their managers, giving us the confidence to launch the course in two formats, the original self-study version and a blended version.

The case study details the development of the course and the outcomes. It has quotes from the AHPs taking both versions, their managers, as well as Louise Connolly from HWE and Sam Elliott-Olechnowicz from UHS.

AHP Case study

Download the case study

More information

For more information about the course and to discuss using it to support internationally recruited AHPs, please get in touch with Peter Rodway who works with NHS employers across the UK to support international staff.