In November 2023, the School of Medicine introduced a new role to complement the wellbeing and academic support already in place for medical students.
The role of Learning and Teaching Support Officer (LTSO) was introduced to meet the increasing need for student support that did not fit within the remit of Wellbeing/Health and Disability support already available within the School and to help prevent escalation of attendance and professionalism concerns through early and direct intervention, with a supportive rather than disciplinary approach.
Two Learning and Teaching Support Officers; Michelle Szkudlapski, who was previously a Co-ordinator within the SoM Wellbeing Team, and Ruth O’Dea, who is new to the School, are now in place offering practical advice and support to students on a range of matters.
LTSOs support students with attendance, engagement with studies and study skills, by offering advice and guidance, practical strategies and signposting to overcome any barriers to engaging with the programme and to access relevant support for their needs. Michelle considers this to be one of the best aspects of the new scheme in producing positive outcomes:
"I think my favourite thing about the role so far is identifying students who are struggling with attendance/course engagement and offering support where needed there. It can make a real impact on their student experience of the course, and we know that translates to more positive study and practice outcomes".
Students are invited to self-refer for support and can be referred by a range of Teams across the School when a need is identified, such as if a student hits a trigger point within the attendance flagging policy or if concerns are raised by clinical placements. LTSOs work with students on a one to one basis to identify issues, create an action plan and agree any follow up or onward referrals that may be required.
Additionally, LTSOs support students to understand and use policies and procedures within the School and offer guidance and support with submitting applications for Extenuating Circumstances and Interruptions of Studies. Ruth considers this position at the intersection of academic and wellbeing initiatives to be one of the schemes strengths:
"I think being embedded in the course in such a unique way is a real strength of the scheme. I love seeing students who I have met throughout the year overcome the problems they had and go on to succeed in the course. It can feel like they’re quite minor tweaks & interventions we make, but then seeing how well that translates into successful student outcomes is so rewarding".
The LTSO role is part of a wider LTSO network across the University of Liverpool, dedicated to offering pastoral, practical and procedural support to UoL students at a School level, in addition to the central support services available in the University’s Student Services Department.
For more information on the LTSO role in the School of Medicine, please see our webpages.