Patient, Carer and Public Involvement (PCPI)

As part of the recruitment process for many of our healthcare courses, students are invited to attend a selection event. As part of this, you can get involved in meeting and interviewing the students with regard to their suitability for the course they've applied for (Nursing, Paramedic Science and Out of Hospital Care, Pharmacy, and Medicine).

There are also opportunities to participate as a member on interview panels with potential employers as part of the student selection process for clinical placements. The University currently uses values based recruitment and full training in our selection procedures is given if you'd like to get involved.

There are several ways you can get involved in teaching sessions. Opportunities include condition-specific seminars, communication and consultation skills, clinical skills, and clinical examinations. Details of each session can be found in the PCPI Handbook.

Programme Management Boards meet to discuss all aspects of individual courses to ensure students receive a high standard of training and education. PCPI participants attend these boards to tell the group about PCPI involvement and influence.

Modules are taught through a range of methods, including PCPI participants sharing their experiences, which is a valuable part of helping students learn. This can include identifying gaps and priorities in the subjects we teach. As new courses are developed, PCPI participants are involved from initial conception through to course approval.

PCPI participants act as model patients for mock clinical tests, for example, electrocardiogram (ECGs), or around diagnostic examination, for example, respiratory, cardiovascular, or abdominal examinations. They then provide feedback to the students on their communication skills.

An OSCE comprises several stations within a circuit where every student rotates to complete each station, which can last between 5-15 minutes. OSCEs are designed to test clinical skill competence in skills such as communication, clinical examination, and prescribing. Opportunities for PCPI participants to be involved in OSCEs include recounting a social history, medication history, and acting as model patients around diagnostic examination.

Research opportunities have recently involved reading applications for funding and adding a patient’s perspective to these, and contributing to focus groups regarding point of care testing.