Project Information and Contact Details

Find out more about Headstart into Healthcare and contact the project team.

Thank you for your interest in finding out more about Headstart into Healthcare. Below you'll find out more about the project, how it was funded and who worked on the project, as well as who to contact if you have any questions or feedback.

In 2019, the University of Leeds was awarded funding under the Office for Student’s Strategic Interventions in Health Education Disciplines (SIHED) programme, to develop an innovative programme that showcases several healthcare professions and aids recruitment of groups under-represented in healthcare education, predominantly males and those from BAME backgrounds. 

The programme, Headstart into Healthcare, was to be targeted at Year 12 students initially, with a range of face-to-face interactions taking place over a 12-month period. 

Working with healthcare professionals from local NHS trusts, academic staff and students at the University, a virtual reality (VR) film was created, allowing participants to explore, through an immersive storytelling experience, different healthcare professions, how they work together in multidisciplinary teams, and the journey of a student embarking on their university journey.  

Delivered as face-to-face workshops with several local schools and colleges, plans were in place for future on campus activity with participants and their key influencers (parents, carers, teachers etc.), however these plans had to be adapted as the Covid-19 pandemic progressed. The pandemic presented the opportunity for us to broaden our delivery methods and allowed us to introduce a programme of e-Mentoring and an Online Summer School to complement the resources already produced. 

The change in delivery methods also allowed us time to think about the legacy of the project, and how the materials produced could be adapted to use with a range of audiences, including younger children (Key Stage 2 – 4), parents and carers. This has led to the creation of animated materials, as well as complementary workbooks and colouring book style materials, that can be packaged and used across the various age ranges. 

The project team, led by Dr Elaine McNichol, consisted of academic staff, outreach practitioners, administrative colleagues and staff from our local NHS trusts. This was a real strength of the project, and allowed us to take feedback from a number of stakeholders and professional opinions at each stage.

The project team consisted of:

• Dr Elaine McNichol (Lead) - Associate Director of Student Education (Access and Admissions), School of Healthcare, University of Leeds
• Mark Patterson, Educational Engagement Lead Officer (Health Sciences), Educational Engagement, University of Leeds
• Abdul Kapdi, Operations Manager, School of Healthcare, University of Leeds
• Dr Jane Cahill, Academic Unit Director (Midwifery, Social Work, Pharmacy and Counselling and Psychotherapy), School of Healthcare, University of Leeds
• Adam Boyes, Social Work Lecturer, School of Healthcare, University of Leeds
• Rhona Riley, Lead for Cardiac Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Leeds
• Wendy Tagen, Inclusion Lead, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
• Alan Crump, Clinical Academic Liaison Nurse, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Your feedback is greatly appreciated in helping us improve and develop further resources for aspiring healthcare professionals.

Feel free to contact Mark Patterson with any comments or questions about the project.