We welcomed students from Hadley Learning Community and Sir John Talbot’s School to our VR cave to learn about careers in the NHS.

The year eight students had the opportunity to use our VR headsets and simulation dolls to discover job roles such as nursing, midwifery, and pharmacy work. Staff were joined by Allied Health Professionals (AHP), who specialised in roles like radiology, physiology, speech and language.

The simulation mannequins – which have a pulse, breathe, and respond to speech – are the same mannequins used by students on our Health and Social Care T-Level and vocational programmes and are the closest thing to a real patient. Our birthing mannequins were also present to simulate the birthing process and our VR headsets were loaded with anatomy and physiology programmes.

Carol Bagnall, Academy manager for the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICS, said: “We love running days like today, it really plants the seed for students to consider a future career in the NHS. It raises awareness for what jobs are out there and showcases a different career path entirely.

“The children who’ve visited today have been chosen because they showed an interest in the NHS, it’s great to see them enjoying their session today and I’m sure they won’t want to go back to their regular lessons!

“The technology we have at our disposal is amazing; you can put on the headset and it’s like you’re really there. As well as just an activity, it helps promote the emotional side of the task at hand too. The engagement side is really fun and familiar to students, it helps them get to grips with the real-life scenario. It’s nice to show the practical side of our work, to show students it’s not all about writing. I’ve had one student today asking me about the requirements to go on one of our healthcare courses too.”

Lucy Phillips, assistant careers coordinator at Hadley Learning Community, said “Our students are having a great time today; they’re getting the opportunity to learn about all sorts of careers in the NHS. When we first suggested it, our students believed that it was just nursing, however they now realise there’s a much bigger pool of jobs available to them.

“There’s a lot of boys here today too, being the first to bring in their forms to come. They have so much interest in learning about these roles in an innovative and interactive way. It’s also been extremely helpful to speak to staff members who actually do the job too and learn from their experiences.

“I think today will inform students on the sort of career they’ll aim for and what options they should look at taking in year nine. One student was really interested in music and drama therapy, which meant they wouldn’t have to drop a subject they really enjoy because they want to work in the NHS – it’s actually beneficial to a certain career path.”

Click here to find out more about our health & social care courses or visit our VR facilities at an open event.