Involvement Information

• People have gained:
  • A sense of being listened to and valued
  • An opportunity for healing
  • Greater access to information
  • A feeling of belonging
  • A valued mechanism to support their on-going their own health and wellbeing.
    
    
• You will be directly shaping how professional healthcare learners, practice in the future, which may contribute to subsequent improvement in healthcare services.
  
  
• You will have opportunity to challenge assumptions that impact learners on their journey to becoming healthcare professionals and promote inclusive practice that can make contributions to positive social change.
  
  
• You will have the opportunity to highlight the issues and experiences that have the most significance for you and people with similar experiences.
  
  
• This opportunity may contribute to enhancing your own development goals, such as exploring new roles and developing new skills.
  
  
• Your knowledge and experience will significantly contribute to enhancing the quality of teaching, learning and assessment for all at Queen Margaret University.

• People wanted to shape how the next workforce works better with people that have had their experiences, by learning about what they need and their preferences.
  
  
• People wanted to challenge learners about how healthcare professionals see someone with their medical diagnosis, what they are capable of and their understanding of their identity.
  
  
• People really enjoyed being able to speak to learners about their experiences. It gave people a different type of role and more power over their circumstances.
  
  
• People wanted to reshape their lives and what happens next. They also want to give back and make new meaning in their life.

Your contribution whether you choose to become involved in one or several activities is invaluable to our learners and educators.

We are keen to understand the ways which work best for you, to better support any involvement.

1. Learner Selection

Personal Statement Review: Posing a specific question to applicants that evokes the issues that matter to people with lived experiences.

• What this normally involves: Example: A group of service users both designed and scored a question posed to applicants to a professional programme, which addressed the needs and preferences of service users and carers.
  
  
• Commitment Level: Throughout the academic year. The number of applications will vary.
  • Reading in advance documentation related to the planned assessment.
  • Providing written or verbal feedback to learners.
  • Providing written or verbal feedback to applicants.

You will not see the applicants’ form or personal details, only the response to the question.

2. Curriculum Development

Revalidation Review: Every professional programme is reviewed approximately every five years and this is known as revalidation. Its purpose is to ensure our programmes are fit for purpose, reflecting current thinking, research, policy and needs of specific people, groups and communities in our society that our graduate workforce will serve. You may therefore be asked to provide feedback on your opinion on what you think students need to learn within our programmes, through answering questionnaires or by participation in focus groups.

• What this normally involves: Example: A carer’s advocacy group were asked in a focus group, about what skills, values and knowledge, they felt graduates from a particular professional programme required to possess. The focus group highlighted key themes of partnership working, skills in developing relationships with the carer and having real world applied knowledge in practice. This feedback was translated into documentation which was viewed by regulatory and professional bodies.
  
  
• Commitment Level: Normally one revalidation per academic year. This may include:
  • Reading in advance documentation related to the revalidation.
  • Providing comments on proposals to the academic team, where appropriate.
  • Providing your perspective on what future graduates should be taught and how they should assessed.
  • Involvement in informal discussion, in person on online about curriculum development.
  • Sharing and discussing your experience in relation to the delivery of professional programmes.
    

3. Assessment

Assessment Design: You may be asked to review a new assignment brief or modification of an existing assignment, where your knowledge and perspective would be valued.

• What this normally involves: Example: A neuro-divergent person provided feedback on an assignment brief for a neuro-affirming module, in which the language used was subsequently adapted.
  
  
• Commitment Level: Throughout the academic year. Usually towards the end of a semester e.g. November/December and March/April/May (for Summative Assessment) This may include:
  • Reading in advance documentation related to the planned assessment.
  • Involvement in informal development meetings, in person on online.
  • Role playing a specific scenario.
  • Observing and listening to learners using a specific format.
  • Asking leaners’ specific questions.
  • Providing written or verbal feedback to learners.
    

Formative Assessment: (informal assessment, where learners have a practice run and receive feedback in order to prepare and improve for a summative assessment): You may observe learners and provide feedback on a specific aspect of the assessment.

• What this normally involves: Example: Service users being asked to provide feedback on a learner’s ability to teach a specific skill or task such as using a microwave or making a cup of tea.
• Commitment Level: refer to Assessment Design section.

Summative Assessment: (formally marked assessment usually at the end of a module of study, where learners are awarded grades, which contribute towards their degree): You may observe learners and provide feedback on a specific aspect of the assessment. You may be required to ask learners key questions, using specific criteria and rate their response.

• What this normally involves: Example: Nursing students are assessed by people living with hypertension and diabetes on the learner’s ability to demonstrate specific communication and professional skills, whilst students undertake clinical tasks such as taking blood pressure and/or “Patient” education. Those living with the health condition were provided with the assessment information and questions to ask during the assessment. Their feedback was recorded.
  
  
• Commitment Level: refer to Assessment Design section.

4. Teaching

Question and Answer Sessions: You may individually or as part of a panel of experts by experience share with learners, an experience you have had in relation to, accessing or using services, adaption and recovery or challenging assumptions on a specific issue of meaning to you. This normally includes facilitation (by a QMU staff member, peer or advocacy worker). Students will identify their questions in advance and share their reflections and gratitude/value for this opportunity with the panel.

• What this normally involves: Example: A personal with an acquired brain injury shared their lived experience over the course of their life and posed discussion questions specifically to highlight and challenge assumptions around communication, shared decision making and professional attitudes. This was impactful for students in a real world sense.
• Commitment Level: Throughout the academic year. This may include:
  • Reading in advance documentation related to the planned session.
  • Providing comments on the teaching materials to the academic team, where appropriate.
  • Involvement informal teaching development meetings, in person on online.
  • Develop learning activities with the module team.
  • Promoting questions and discussion during the teaching session, by asking and answering leaners’ questions.
  • Sharing and discussing your experience with learners from different programmes.
  • Sharing best practice with learners.

Lectures: You may be interested in the opportunity to both create and facilitate a presentation on a specific topic aligned to a module, with support from the academic team. This can be delivered either in person or as a digital recording within our Virtual Learning Area as a teaching resource for learners. 

• What this normally involves: Example: A person living with complex mental health issues, designs and delivers a session on mental health recovery jointly with a member of the academic team. The presentation includes their experiences, theory about recovery and how this is applied in every life and practice.
  
  
• Commitment Level: refer to Question and Answer section.

Seminars and Workshops: You may be interested in delivering training to different groups of people and wish the opportunity to offer a workshop or seminar of a specific topic, within a module, with support from the academic team. This is normally delivered in-person.

• What this normally involves: Example: A collective advocacy group delivered a session on “What psychosis means to me”, to challenge assumptions held about psychosis. The session involved significant learner reflection and discussion on video clips created by people with experience of psychosis about their own perspectives.
  
  
• Commitment Level: refer to Question and Answer section.

5. Marketing

Open Days, Social Media, Website and Prospectus: You may be asked to review information included in open days, university social media platforms or webpages where your knowledge and perspective would be valued. 

• What this normally involves: Example: People accessing the Podiatry Clinic which is open to the public, are sometimes featured within the marketing materials used to promote podiatry programmes within the Queen Margaret University Prospectus and Website.

  Similarly, the Clinical Audiology, Speech and Language Research Centre at Queen Margaret University also feature people with communication and hearing issues on the Queen Margaret University website to further showcase Speech and language Therapy and Audiology as a career pathway.

• Commitment Level: This may involve being videoed or photographed.