My friend Liz Lester is rebel with a cause. Like me, she’s a passionate dementia care advocate. Our shared passion is what connected us over a year ago. Even though she’s based in the UK and I’m in Canada, we’ve been growing our online friendship and exchanging ideas from either side of “across the pond” ever since.
Liz is an amazing person who is highly committed to creating positive change in health and social care. As such she actively seeks out people and resources to help achieve her goals. The School for Change Agents is one of her discoveries. After watching the first module (below), I immediately signed up for the free five-week online course that began February 16 and is running though March 16, 2017.
Here’s who the School for Change Agents is designed for:
“The School for Change Agents is for anyone and everyone who wants to improve the safety and quality of health and social care. You may hold a senior post in the NHS or in another health or social care organisation in another country; you may be a doctor or a nurse, you may be a student doctor or nurse; you may work on the frontline or behind the scenes; you may be a commissioner, an administrator or a manager; you may work for the police or for a charity, you may be a healthcare assistant or an allied health professional, a carer, a patient, a service user or a citizen. Health and care affects everyone, everywhere, and The School for Change Agents is an opportunity for all of us to come together to pool our ideas and our resources with the intention of making sure that care will be as good as it can possibly be for us, our parents and families, and for the generations that follow us.”
I love the first paragraph on the School for Change Agents enrolment page:
“Anyone who wants to bring about change has to be ready to break the rules. But in sectors such as health and social care, that can be really difficult. The art of rocking the boat while staying in it is something it seems no-one is ready to help you learn.”
If you’re the kind of person who wants to create positive change in health and social care, I hope you’ll join Liz and I and a large group of like-minded people worldwide on what promises to be an exciting adventure in learning. My personal goal for this trip is simple. I know how to break the rules, and I’m an expert at rocking the boat; I want to learn how to not end up shipwrecked 😛
The School for Change Agents programme guide is here.
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My Alzheimer's Story 
Sounds like it’s right up your alley, Amazing Susan. Please keep us posted with your insights, and feel free to recruit me when you need someone to help make waves!
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I’ll keep you posted Lorrie B 🙂
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Hi Susan Kate Blake from the UK Edith Ellen Foundation, we share many of your articles on our face book page, as like you we passionately care that our frail and vulnerable people are valued understood and receive kindness and genuinely care. I find your articles far in advance of any site in the UK. (Please find the Foundation on Face book, our Blog spot and websites and please count me in on your list). Last week I asked to write a blog entitled which appeared on our face book which appeared today. It was a short analysis of the changing phases in my life and “When I’m more than I thought I could be”. Part quote:
“After my Mum died the Local Authority sent me a bill for her care, I was furious!
It was at that point that I said “enough is enough” and after they apologised and admitted to her death, I really started to think about the real problems people were faced with, when suffering abysmal care, abuse and wilful neglect, and to look for some of the real answers which would prevent it happening to others in the future.
As I looked around at those that you expect to be able to make a difference to people’s care, I believed that for whatever reason, nothing improve and nothing was changing.
So I changed, came a bit move vocal and started to work on ideas that I felt were achievable, practical and supportive for everyone receiving and delivering care and which I believed would lead to improved and outstanding care for everyone.
In the last year I have been blessed with a team of people coming into this Foundation, who complement each other perfectly in their attitudes, ability and skills, and together they have taken my dreams of outstanding care to heights, that even I, never imaged”.
I finished with the words:
“Looking back it simply means that the success of the Foundation is based on starting a good reason for others to believe; that they too can be “more than I thought I could be”! And that is what I believe, we can all change care for the better. Kind regards Kate
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Thanks Kate, I’m so glad you found me, and vice versa. Thanks for the beautiful post and comment ❤
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Thanks for posting this Susan. I didn’t hear about this even though I’m “across the pond” too. Signing up now Liz
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Great Liz. I think it should be a really good learning opportunity. Thanks for commenting and letting me know you’ll be signing up.
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