Sarah Eades

What do you do in your current role/area of expertise?

I lead teaching modules mainly health wellbeing, clinical practice, governance, and Paediatrics. I am the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) Lead and our Lead for service user and carer experience (SUCE). Each of these roles relate to the four pillars of clinical practice. I bring elements of each into my teaching. For example, I utilise my experience and clinical skills to support my learners in our practice suite, teaching our students to deliver a high-quality service to their patients. I support their development to ensure they will be safe practitioners, able to adhere to policies and procedures to ensure they will be able to practise safely and effectively within relevant legal, ethical, professional and managerial frameworks and protocols.

Another area in which I have developed is around decolonising my curriculum as this is important to me. I source materials for students from a variety of backgrounds.  Making my curriculum inclusive and engaging supports students’ sense of belonging which evidence shows improves our student outcomes.

What steps did you take to get to this role?

I have 28 years of experience as a radiographer, and during my career I have undertaken many different roles, many with a strong leaning towards the education of undergraduates.

I worked for a number of years in an unofficial role as student lead.  During this time, I completed my College of Radiographers Practice Educator Accreditation (PEAS) in 2020. This was supported by Jacque Vallis, SCoR Professional Officer for Education and Accreditation at that time, who was so encouraging and inspiring. I attended the writing workshop for this and it enabled me to focus my development around my PEAS evidence. 

In Sept 2024 I gained a position as a formal Practice Educator.  I started a PG Cert in Interprofessional Practice Education with Advance HE Teaching and Learning Accreditation where I had to evidence my alignment to the four pillars. I learnt about pedagogy, explored inclusivity within the curriculum, digital tools, quality processes, evaluation, development of leadership styles and how learners learn. During the course of my studies, I fell in love with the whole process of developing curriculum and delivering teaching.

When an opportunity came up for my current position I decided to give it a shot with very little expectation. The day after my 50^th birthday I started in my new role and the last six months I have felt I have found my place.

What support did you have along the way or would have been helpful to have had?

I had support from one of the local universities and the central Practice Education department within my trust. The Practice Education forum enabled me to network and develop my identity.

What is the most rewarding thing about your role?

I love my role as a Teaching Fellow, I get to inspire others, share my passion for radiography. My team is fantastic, and we all feel passionate about supporting our students to reach their goals. It's an amazing job and I could not be happier.

What advice can you give to others who might want to work towards this role or follow a similar pathway?

Don’t give up. Try and evidence everything you do from working with students to teaching, mentoring etc. Take every opportunity you can it will pay off in the end!