Health Care Voices

Overview

Students will hear from a health care professional and explore real-life routes into health and care roles, alongside professional responsibilities, wellbeing, and ethics. They will reflect critically on how workplace values connect to PSHE themes.

Learning intentions

• WALT: Understand how health care professionals support wellbeing and follow professional responsibilities in everyday practice.
• WALT: Discuss the education/training pathways into health care careers and the skills needed for different roles.
• WALT: Evaluate how ethical practice, communication, and teamwork affect patient/service user outcomes.
• WALT: Reflect on personal wellbeing and resilience in demanding roles, including how professionals seek support.

Success criteria

• I can describe at least two professional responsibilities in health care (for example safeguarding, confidentiality, consent, duty of care).
• I can explain how communication and teamwork influence safety, trust, and outcomes.
• I can identify realistic training pathways and the skills/values required for at least one health care role.
• I can reflect on what I found challenging or surprising and link it to my own wellbeing or learning choices.

Curriculum links

• Relationships, sex and health education: understanding health, wellbeing and respectful relationships within care contexts.
• Careers education and guidance: exploring careers, pathways, skills and realistic requirements for future study/work.
• Citizenship-style thinking: discussing rights, responsibilities and ethical decision-making in public services.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min: Starter—“Question bank” In pairs, students generate 5 questions they would ask a health care professional (mix of skills, training, ethics, wellbeing). Share 6–8 whole-class and sort into themes.

2. 5–10 min: Setting the scene & ground rules Teacher explains aims, confirms boundaries for discussion (respectful listening, confidentiality, no identifying patient details, sensitivity). Students choose 2 questions to prioritise for the guest.

3. 10–35 min: Guest speaker talk (teacher-led prompts) Guest shares experience of their role, daily responsibilities, communication with patients/clients, and examples of ethical dilemmas handled professionally. Teacher stops briefly at set points to invite selected questions from the question bank.

4. 35–45 min: Structured discussion—“Think-Pair-Share” Students discuss in pairs then rotate to another pair to add ideas. Prompts:

• How do communication and teamwork reduce risk?
• What responsibilities are non-negotiable (and why)?
• How might a professional balance emotional demands with personal wellbeing?

5. 45–53 min: Role-pathway mapping (small groups) Groups choose one health care role mentioned by the speaker (or a similar one). They create a quick pathway map: entry routes, relevant skills, typical training, and workplace values (e.g., compassion, reliability, safeguarding). Groups include one “myth vs reality” statement.

6. 53–58 min: Reflection—exit ticket (individual) Students write a short reflection: one insight, one question still unanswered, and one action for their own future wellbeing/career learning (e.g., talk to tutor, research specific pathway, practise interview questions).

7. 58–60 min: Share and tidy Two volunteers share their most important learning. Teacher thanks the guest and links back to the unit learning across the 20-lesson sequence.

Resources

• Prepared question bank chart paper/slide (teacher-made).
• Timer for guest speaking segments and discussion transitions.
• Note-taking template: responsibilities, communication/teamwork, training pathway, wellbeing.
• Sticky notes or small cards for “myth vs reality”.
• Reflection/exit ticket sheet (paper or online offline option).
• Access to relevant local pathway information (printed leaflets if available; no links required).
• A quiet area/plan for students who may find guest topics emotionally challenging.

Assessment

• Formative: teacher listens during discussions and checks understanding of responsibilities, communication, training and wellbeing.
• Evidence: pathway map (group) showing accurate elements and at least one realistic “myth vs reality”.
• Exit ticket: identifies personal learning and ability to link practice to PSHE wellbeing/ethics themes.

Differentiation

• Support: provide a partially completed note-taking template and sentence starters (e.g., “One professional responsibility is… because…” “A skill I heard about was…”).
• Support (dyslexia-friendly): allow audio-recorded notes, large-print handouts, and use colour-coding for themes (responsibilities/skills/wellbeing).
• Extension: challenge students to analyse an ethical tension raised (e.g., confidentiality vs safeguarding, consent vs capacity) and suggest safer communication strategies.
• EAL/SEN: pre-teach 8–10 essential terms as teacher prompts only (no copying workload), allow bilingual discussion first, and accept oral responses alongside written.

Assessment for learning prompts (for the teacher)

• “Can you name the responsibility and explain how it affects outcomes?”
• “What evidence from the guest’s experience supports your point?”
• “What pathway steps are realistic, and what skills would you need to build?”