June 18^th to 24^th is LearningDisability Week, and it’s got the @WeStudentNurse team thinking – In the other fields of nursing (adult, mental health, child), do we get enough education around learning disabilities and how to care for people who have one? Come and join us on Wednesday 20th June at 8pm to discuss!

This year Mencap launched the Treat Me Well campaign, which aims to transform the way the NHS treats people with a learning disability in hospital. Their report states that 37% of healthcare professionals think that having a learning disability results in someone receiving a lower quality of care, and many of those surveyed felt that the health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities could be lessened by more training and information given to frontline staff such as nurses.

So we want to discuss your experiences of learning disability education, and how you think this can be improved, as well as touching on the decrease in applications to learning disability nursing courses.

1. How much are student nurses from the other fields of practice currently taught about learning disabilities?
2. Do you feel adequately prepared to care for someone with a learning disability?
3. What language and assumptions do student nurses encounter regarding patients with a learning disability?
4. What more can be done to increase the number of people applying to learning disability nursing courses?
5. What information do students from the other fields of practice feel they need in order to provide high-quality, person-centred care for patients with learning disabilities?
6. How do you feel more education on learning disabilities can be incorporated into nursing courses?

Mencap - Learning Disability Week 2018

Treat Me Well Report