Contents
Presenters
Hannah Austen– Lecturer in Therapeutic Radiography & Oncology
Poster
The role of a Link lecturer is to engage students in their clinical and academic learning across 4 supportive domains: educational, placement, pastoral and professional development. The aim is to showcase and empower students to access this support, and demonstrate the collaboration between clinical stakeholders and City, St. Georges.
The poster addresses the role of a Link lecturer in the School of Health and Medical Sciences and was the final design for an EDM118 submission. Four key domains of support have been identified and included based on nursing, midwifery and allied health professions research and stakeholder feedback
The SHPS Link lecturing guide (2022) demonstrates how the role can build effective relationships between the HEI and clinical providers. This is vital considering the increasing pressure to enhance teaching in an environment with increasingly limited resources as highlighted in the NHS long term plan (2019). By improving the understanding of the link lecturer this will boost engagement, reduce attrition rates, and develop highly skilled professionals.
This role scaffolds learning by bridging the gap between the HEI and clinical departments through guided tutorials, case based learning and reflective activities. This is needed as students can feel disconnected from academic practice when on placement (Brown et al., 2005) and often need direction with new terminology and policies. The poster highlights the multi-faceted role of a link lecturer and how knowledge is built through tutorials during on-site clinical visits as supported by Cunningham, S. (2020).
The poster features the role of a link lecturer in providing pastoral support, which is shown to boost engagement and success for students with diverse needs (King 2018) and key to resolving issues that arise from the transition into higher education (Thompson et al., 2021)
The positive impact of a link lecturing model is evident (Brown et al, 2005) and is frequently supported by current clinical stakeholders. This could be transferred across the wider university and introduced into the micro-placement initiatives or in the school of Science and Technology where students participate in professional pathway schemes, summer internships and sandwich placements with external companies away from campus.
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Brown, L., Herd, K., Humphries, G. and Paton, M., (2005). The role of the lecturer in practice placements: what do students think? Nurse education in practice, 5(2), pp. 84–90.
Cunningham, S. (2020). Dimensions on nursing teaching and learning: supporting nursing students in learning nursing. Springer Nature.
King, Liz. (2018). ‘Link lecturers’ views on supporting student nurses who have a learning difficulty in clinical placement’. British journal of nursing, 27, pp. 141-145. Available at: https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2018.27.3.141
NHS England (2019) The NHS Long Term Plan. [Available at https://www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/nhs-long-term-plan-june-2019.pdf] (Accessed on: [31.03.2025])
City St Georges (2022). Link lecturing in the school of health and psychological sciences: a guide. Available at: https://cityuni.sharepoint.com/sites/cs_SHSWorkHub (accessed 23/02/2025)
Thompson, M., Pawson, C., and Evans, B (2021) Navigating entry into higher education: the transition to independent learning and living. Journal of Further and Higher Education. 45:10 1398-1410 DOI: 10.1080/0309877X.2021.1.193340
