Michala Deakin - Health Education and Improvement Wales
“Tutoring and mentoring is important to me as it allows me to ensure that staff are equipped with the tools to do their job and do it well. I support learners throughout the qualification and beyond, in order to fully apply what they have learned to enable NHS work-based learning centres to model best practice throughout their provision and to value the continuation of professional development.”
Michala Deakin plays a key role at Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) as a dedicated trainer for assessors and Internal Quality Assurers (IQAs) across NHS Wales. Her role involves an all-Wales approach to teaching, delivering, and implementing a standardised programme that ensures a consistent approach to applying best practices and a standard of care throughout the healthcare system. Michala’s commitment extends beyond initial training. She has established a Wales-wide peer network and ongoing support system to help new assessors and IQAs confidently implement their qualifications while adhering to quality assurance standards.
Throughout the delivery of the assessors and IQA awards, Michala mentors and ensures the wellbeing of all learners through ongoing support and feedback. This has had a huge impact on engagement, delivering a positive experience for all new assessors to build competence and confidence. Feedback from one of the health boards stated that they are now seeing an improved assessment submission rate of over 80% where previously the submission was as low as 20%.
Michala champions lifelong learning by emphasising the importance of continuous professional development and reflective practice. This empowers learners to not only meet but exceed expected delivery standards.
