Ideas for change 

Catherine is a final year diagnostic radiography student at Glasgow Caledonian University, set to graduate in July. This was her first year in attendance at ADC.

“I've been a member since I started in first year, but it hasn't really been until fourth year that I've actually dived more into the Society,” she explained. “We do a lot of extracurricular things at university, but it was good to actually get fully involved.”

At ADC, Catherine set out a motion calling for a repeat of the 2016 student bullying survey, to continue to highlight the plight of placement bullying. 

She described it as an anonymous way for the SoR to receive student feedback from across the country of bullying, whether as personal experience or witnessing others.

Catherine explained: “[The survey] gives them an opportunity to suggest ideas for change, or guidance and support, that they wish they could have had, that they think would have made a difference to them.

“[Student bullying] is still an issue today. It’s not eradicated. Unfortunately, it’s probably going to be something that always happens. But with the pandemic and the workforce crisis, there isn’t a lot of up-to-date guidance.”

‘Staff were degrading and patronising’

The 2016 student bullying survey identified any experience by students of bullying and harassment on clinical placement as “unacceptable,” and expressed thanks that the “vast majority” have a rewarding and supportive time.

Bullying, the survey’s report explains, can take place in a variety of situations and crosses gender, race, age, disability and sexual orientation.

One respondent commented: “Although most people would not consider it ‘serious’ bullying, the staff have been degrading and patronising, and have also left me feeling out of place and isolated. I have heard members of staff insulting the capabilities of other students, and I have been degraded and isolated myself. It makes you feel depressed, lonely and de-motivated. And it is not the first time that it has happened at this placement.”

For the purposes of the survey, the SoR defined bullying as:

• Unwarranted, humiliating, offensive behaviour towards an individual or group of employees
• Persistently negative malicious attacks on personal or professional performance which are often unseen, unpredictable, unfair and irrational
• Abuse of power or position causing such anxiety that people gradually lose all belief in themselves, suffering physical ill health and mental distress as a direct result
• Abuse of the perpetrator’s position or power, sometimes used to coerce the victim by fear, persecution or to oppress them by force or threat of the loss of something
• Ranging from an extreme form such as violence and intimidation to less obvious actions, the simplest being deliberately ignoring someone whilst at work

The main findings from this survey included:

Respondents also identified at least one of the following symptoms during their clinical placement:

In response to these findings, the SoR added greater support to its website: guidance for what students can expect on clinical placements, what is expected of students, and case studies demonstrating the difference between critically analysing and rude, unnecessary bullying.

It also provided a flowchart identifying the pathway students should follow when they believe they are being subjected to bullying, taking into account the policy of the specific higher education institute.

‘Everyone has a right to an inclusive workplace’

The SoR is relaunching its open letter to students, following reports of unacceptable behaviour towards students on clinical placements.

Synergy spoke with Nichola Jamison, SoR students and new professionals officer, to understand what it is doing to support radiography students.

Nichola said: “We felt last year we had to release this open letter to students to make sure that they knew how they could access support, to make sure they know that our position on this is clear, that we are there to challenge discrimination and to challenge unacceptable behaviours. Everyone has a right to an inclusive workplace, and one that they feel safe to learn and thrive in.

“And so we had our launch with the letter last year. We have had a brilliant response from our members. Our main aim really was to try and empower people to come forward. It's a very difficult thing to come forward. We want students to feel they can safely report those experiences to us confidentially as well.”

She explained students can feel vulnerable on clinical placement, and might refrain from raising issues out of fear this might affect their progress or assessments.

“Of course, that’s not the case,” she added. “A lot of them have been very brave and come to us. Many have reached out for support, even just for informal advice.”

Those reaching out weren’t just limited to students – staff and educators who feel they require additional support in challenging unacceptable behaviours towards students have also been in contact.

Supporting students

The SoR supports students through both formal and informal processes – Nichola emphasised many situations have been resolved informally, with a positive outcome for everyone.

The Society has also supported reform in departments, including guiding the creation of new policies and protocols around unacceptable behaviours.

Some departments have also appointed additional trust staff with specific student support roles, following discussions with SoR.

“We’ve worked cross-organisationally to monitor sites where those issues have been identified,” Nichola explained. “We’ve worked to support universities and improve their processes so they can support students. But most importantly, we’ve tried to raise awareness of the role the SoR can take in challenging these behaviours, and that people can come to us for that support.”

Formal action is not always a necessary response to concerns raised.

On a more informal scale, Nichola explained staff members sometimes failed to realise the impact their actions or language could have on others.

On these occasions, the SoR has been able to discuss impacts with managers and universities and help staff correct their behaviour.

Nichola continued: “We’ve had some really positive outcomes of that. For instance, a staff member who had been identified as displaying problem behaviours with a student now has a really positive relationship with them, because we were able to come in and correct that, raising awareness of the impact of their behaviour. 

“It’s important for students to know that just because they come to us, it’s not necessarily hitting a big red button. We will always listen to the students, to what they need, what they want, what they feel is going to make this better, and we’ll support that.”

Next steps

Following the launch of the letter, the SoR has developed webinars aimed at improving education and helping students and staff with conflict management and challenging unacceptable behaviours in the workplace, available through the Students and New Professionals Hub.

The Society has also secured funding from the NHS England Professional Body Education Reform Contract (read more in the News Briefing) to implement and deliver Schwartz Rounds for students – a structured forum where students come together regularly to discuss the emotional and social aspects of working in healthcare. These will be delivered through the student network, and available to all student members.

“That’s going to be a much more accessible way for students to talk about specific things they have been through, or to hear from others who have been through the same thing in an environment where they’re supported by trained facilitators as well as having that peer support,” Nichola explained.

The SoR has also recently launched the Student Placement Survey, a follow up to the Student Bullying survey and the Students and New Professionals survey, in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

This survey focuses on clinical placements, and is open to both student members and non-members.

Nichola said: “It’s very important we create a true picture of what the workplace looks like for students. It aims to help us build up that clear picture of the challenges faced by students on clinical placement, covering everything from practical areas like planning, location, accommodations, finances, but also on the placement experience itself.”

Responses to this survey are anonymous, and the data collected will help to allocate support and resources where they are needed. 

At an ADC fringe event, students described their desire for the SoR to publish placement standards – the survey will help to develop these to ensure placement providers, staff and students understand what is expected and how the SoR expects students to be treated.

The survey leaves information at the end of every section for respondents to elaborate and share their stories in as much detail as they are comfortable with. 

Nichola concluded: “I really can’t emphasise it enough – we really want students to know that the SoR is here to support them, all the way through their educational and professional journey. We believe everyone should have access to a safe learning environment - physically and psychologically - and behaviours that threaten that safety on any level are unacceptable.

“We will challenge these bahaviours. You are not alone. Your experiences do matter. Please reach out for support as early as you can. We will never be unhappy to take your emails or your calls.”

The Student Placement Survey is open now and will close on 2 June, and can be found here. It can also be accessed through the SoR website, at www.sor.org/studentsurvey