A group of students with varying levels of social, communication and learning difficulties have enjoyed a rare opportunity to visit a hospital Sterile Services department based inside Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow.
The OCR Level 2 Extended Certificate in IT group consists of 10 students, focussing primarily on Game Design & Development and Animation units. A key aspect of their overall learning experience includes finding work in the IT industry and the development of communication, work and social skills.
STERIS Instrument Management Services (IMS) is the company who run the Sterile Services Department. Doros Polydorou (Business Development Director EME) and Sandeep Sidhu (General Manager), introduced STERIS to the students and explained why the sterilisation of medical equipment is so critical to the day-to-day running of a hospital.
The students were then given a guided tour of the facilities and shown the integral part that IT plays in the sterilisation process. The tour covered the full cycle of how medical equipment is brought down to the department, how the items are cleaned and sterilised, re-packaged and dispatched back to hospital wards ready for use by surgeons.
This unique experience proved to be a hit with the students. Doros and his team were on hand throughout the day to provide an overview, demonstrate procedures, and answer the many questioned asked by the intrigued young learners.
For the students, the visit fulfilled a number of key criteria from their IT syllabus including the characteristics valued by employers in the IT industry. The research they conducted pre-visit followed by their post-visit presentation on their findings from the day will stand them in good stead for the remainder for the course.
Following the visit, one of the students wrote a thank you letter to his lecturer, Stella Polydorou, for organising the trip. In the letter, he described the trip as being one of the best he’d ever been to.
For more information about this course, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to email Karen Marcelline.