“Bitesized Teaching”: Promoting Physical Healthcare in Mental Health Settings

AIMS: To assess the effectiveness of a new educational activity for mental health teams, which is intended to empower staff in the early recognition, escalation and management of acute medical problems. METHODS: Health Education England (HEE) has recently developed a teaching resource named ‘Bitesized Teaching’, which spans 24 physical health topics that are commonly encountered in mental health settings. It provides doctors an evidence based framework to deliver a concise 10–15 minute teaching session on each topic at a convenient time and place for everyone. I organised weekly ‘Bitesized Teaching’ sessions for staff at a long term community rehabilitation unit with complex psychiatric conditions. The topics selected for the 8 sessions were based off staff preferences and included; hypotension, deep vein thrombosis, hyperglycaemia and serotonin syndrome. The presentations covered the signs, symptoms, causes and basic ward level management that can be expected from nursing grades. An anonymous feedback form was distributed after the sessions to assess the effectiveness of this new teaching initiative. RESULTS: Total number of completed feedback forms = 15 (3 HCAs, 9 nurses and 3 student nurses). 11/15 indicated an improvement in their knowledge and understanding of the topics. 10/15 felt confident in managing patients presenting with the conditions. 10/15 felt the teaching material was 'very relevant' to their roles. 11/15 were 'very likely' to recommend these sessions to a colleague. 12/15 described the sessions as 'very useful' and everyone would like the sessions to continue on a regular basis. Open responses shared similar positive sentiments. CONCLUSION: The results were reassuring that the ‘Bitesized Teaching’ approach was received well by staff. There is scope to incorporate this into the weekly schedule of mental health teams more long term. It also offers junior doctors a great teaching opportunity and foster greater inter-professional working relationships.