University hosts training for key dementia care educator

The University of Wolverhampton is hosting a training event for one of North America’s leading educators on dementia.

Teepa Snow, a Registered Occupational Therapist for over 30 years, has developed a range of practical techniques and training models that are used by families and professionals working or living with dementia throughout the world.  Her Positive Approach to Care™ (PAC) concept was developed to support people living with dementia by equipping both formal and informal carers with specific skills aimed at increasing understanding of what it is like to live with dementia. Her approach is focused on care delivery, rather than theories. 

Jayne Murphy, a former District Nurse from Walsall who is now a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing, is one of only fifteen people in the UK to become a certified PAC™ trainer, and the only person affiliated with a Midlands university. She has used the method of training with pre and post registration nurses as well as paramedics studying at the University.

She said: “Much of the existing dementia training and education focuses on theoretical explanations of pathology, complicating factors and challenges associated with the care giving or with the diseases causing the dementia.  PAC gives practical advice and a hands-on approach on how to connect and interact with people living with dementia exploring making connections with people in a specific way with more use of the senses, including touch.