Occupational Therapy News OTnews February 2020 | Page 38

FEATURE STUDENT EDUCATION
Leadership and careers
promotion
Sarah Terry talks to OTnews about taking part in the Council of
Deans for Health Student Leadership Programme, which led to her
undertaking a project focused on encouraging more men into the
profession
T
he Council of Deans for Health Student
Leadership Programme started in 2017. It
aims to promote and develop leadership
skills among the future nursing, midwifery
and allied health professions (AHP) workforce by
working with first and second year pre-registration
students.
Sarah Terry, a second year occupational
therapy student at Derby University applied for the
programme in November 2018, and was selected to
be one of the second cohort of #150 Leaders.
Students are required to attend two conferences
and submit a project at the end of the programme.
Each student is paired with a coach with
38 OTnews February 2020
experience of leadership in a variety of healthcare
settings, who will guide them through the student
leadership programme and the project they will
undertake.
Sarah attended the Student Leadership
conference in March 2019. She says: ‘On my first
day of the programme, I sat in a room with 49 other
students, feeling overwhelmed. Imposter syndrome
came sharply into focus, with negative voices telling
me I didn’t belong.
‘Apparently, I wasn’t the only one feeling like this.
[But] After two days hearing inspirational talks and
listening to fellow students, I certainly felt that I had
taken part in something very special.’