Kim Fox
Why did you choose to do the course?
"I worked for 13 years as a staff Nurse in a residential unit for young adults who had intellectual disability and challenging behaviours. My role meant I was in charge of huge amounts, and I felt I needed more knowledge on how to improve peoples quality of life. How to increase the positive behaviours and the communication skills between residents and staff. I wanted to be more equipped so I could share with others and ultimately improve the quality of life of our residents."
What did you gain from the course?
"I completed the course alongside working for 2 years. The course helped change my perspective, to 'looking at the person and not changing them, but the environment'. Supporting them in the way they needed supporting. The course changed my way of thinking. I questioned ‘Why is the behaviour occurring?’. The course led to a huge increase in my skills that I could implement back into practice, changing the environmental factors. The course taught me to look at a person as an individual, not a group. I learnt new skills to effectively deal with situations.
Knowing the behavioural side of the course was so important, I promoted others to do the course and you can tell who has completed the course, because since doing so the culture, support and environment has changed for the better. We used to be crisis reactive, but the skills and knowledge gained in this course allowed us to move to a place of being proactive and person-centric.
I’ve seen huge improvements in the service provision and the skills taught. The culture towards behaviour has improved in an ethical manner, in particular from a human rights perspective. Communication is a human right."
How has the course supported your career?
An example of taking the skills and knowledge taught on the course into practice and implementing change is through the choice boards and picture exchange communication that I worked on, in relation to their needs and their wants as many residents are non-verbal. I saw a huge positive difference over a 20-week period to the residents. The staff could effectively communicate back, which in turn increased relationship and quality of life for both the individual and staff. Job satisfaction increased for staff. A far better understanding in behaviours as a result. We are now training staff to use this technique in and outside of our service.
What are your future plans?
"I would love to lecture and try to get the course into other colleges/universities to raise more awareness and implement change. I’d also like to promote making elements of the course mandatory on other related curriculums, to better equip nurses/staff in future."