How are our students really finding working online teaching clinic?
We asked MSc in Nutrition Science and Practice second year student Michelle Porter, how she’d honestly found suddenly having to work online in the nutrition teaching clinic…..
A hugely important part of my learning journey over the last two years has been the Nutrition clinic. Supporting clients in the clinic brought everything we were learning to life, it helped all the pieces of the learning jigsaw fit together. I also got to experience first-hand how powerful Nutritional Therapy can be in supporting clients to take back control of their lives and feel better.
When the lockdown happened, our worlds went online. I felt apprehensive about how this would work in the clinic and I felt very much outside of my comfort zone.
The Northern College of Acupuncture managed the transition to online appointments seamlessly. The process was largely unchanged. The same levels of confidentiality, support and supervision were all in place.
I have two teenage children and I have seen how some of their friendships have a virtual form but I didn’t understand this. I couldn’t grasp how you could have a personal connection with someone if you couldn’t see them face to face. But seeing clients online has made me readdress this opinion. I was pleasantly surprised how effortless I found talking with the clients through Microsoft Teams. I was able to establish the basis for a good therapeutic relationship with ease. I have seen further examples of this whilst peer reviewing other student’s online sessions. The interactions flow naturally between clients and students, and great outcomes were achieved.
The only downside to our new, more virtual world is when the technology goes awry – as I found out during my first online session. After a failed attempt to set up my laptop in my office, I instead had to use the family PC in the kitchen. I could hide this by choosing a virtual background, I chose a soft white walled room with oak beams and a potted plant. However, towards the end of the session the connection failed and when I re-joined, I was magically transported to my kitchen, with cabinets and utensils on show! Thankfully, the client did not seem to notice, or he was too polite to comment. Still lots for me to learn to get this right in the future!
If like me you are sceptical about what an online appointment can offer, I would say give it go.
In this time where life can feel on-hold, it doesn’t mean life has to stop completely, it can move forward.
I think the pandemic has made us all reconsider how we interact with each other and it has made us realise we can adapt.