Placement numero uno!

It comes round quickly and then flies past.... is it Superman late for dinner?

No! Its Placement!!!

 So those first 6 weeks of uni had passed, I'd done all my skills labs to make ABSOLUTELY sure I new my stuff before being let loose. I new all the systems of the body, nursing models, care planning, how to carry out observation and calculate drug doses, how to fill in my placement documents, how I was going to get there, my uniform was ironed and proudly hanging up in my room all ready for my 5:30am start... I was ready, I was confident, I was prepared......

YEAH RIGHT!!!!!

 I was so nervous I reckon I developed iron hard abs my stomach was churning that much!

 Not because I felt unprepared or like I new nothing, as Uni had given me the low down on what to expect to some extent and I felt that I had learnt as much as what I could from lectures and skills lessons without actually experiencing it.

 No, it was because this was REAL!

Real sick children, real life and death situations, real life changing times for patients and parents and I was going to be part of it. I was going to contribute and have input (even if only in a small way) in their care and that terrified me! These children were not dummies like in the skills labs, the parents were not being played out (often in fits of nervous giggles) by fellow nursing students in lectures and these drugs were actually administered to patients instead of harmless water just being drawn up and injected into a sponge for practise. 

 This was the real deal and I was going to be experiencing it for 12 and a half hours, 3-4 times a week for 3 months.

 So I turned up to my placement ward 20 minutes early all wide eyed looking at tiny babies with wires and tubes and beeping things attached to them and thinking, 'I have to help look after them?!'. 

 It can be a shock for those who have never really been in hospital to see somebody all rigged up to machines and apparatus, even those who have experienced  Nan's and Grandads, Uncles and Aunties etc receiving care in hospital. Because these were children and children just shouldn't get ill and be exposed to this sort of thing, they should be at home running round the house causing havoc or at school painting and learning to read or at Birthday parties playing pass the parcel. Not here being given yucky tasting medicine, being put to sleep to have operations, being poked and prodded by strangers and certainly not doing anything so terrible as passing away.

 But this is reality. Being a nurse to such children and being able to help them and their family while receiving care is truly the greatest reward you can ever have. Making a difference. 

  As I found out it is not all sad and sorrow and hard times. In fact these are relatively unoccurring and the majority of the time children get better, are happy and leave with a smile on their face (and normally leave you with a Thank you card and box of chocolates!!). It is very rare for a child to die, most of the nurses on the ward could count on one hand how many child deaths they had seen and some had been there a LONG time!

 If you are nervous about starting placement talk to your personal tutor, they can point you in the right direction or give you some sound advice. 

 So the nitty gritty (and why your really reading this!!!) : What have I been doing??

Taking observations- such as blood pressure, temperature, respiration rate, heart rate, O2 saturation, capillary refill time and plotting these on a chart to calculate a PEWS (Paediatric Early Warning System) score

Calculating drug dosages- in tablet, liquid, capsule and topical (cream) form

Feeding patients- alot of the children I care for are babies, so it would be giving them milk in either a bottle or down an NG (nasogastric) tube

Passing an NG tube- a hollow tube that is inserted up the nose and down the throat into the stomach. Milk and liquid medications can then be given to unconscious patients or patients with an unsafe swallow this way

Injecting medication- as a student you are NOT allowed to administer anything IV (intravenous) related, how ever subcutaneous and muscular injections are allowed

Writing nursing notes- basically documenting how the patient has been on your shift, any changes or information that needs to be passed over to the next shift

Admitting patients to the ward- patients who have come in to have operations or procedures done need to be admitted. Basically doing a set of observations on them, medical history, any allergies, that sort of thing

Changing and washing patients- again I look after alot of babies so changing nappies and baby grows, giving them a bath, changing their sheets etc

Operations- fear not I don't actually DO them!! I am given the opportunity to observe them down in theatre. I have seen open heart surgery...... I'll save that interesting experience for another post!!

Wound dressing- changing the dressings over the scar after operations and removing stitches (this can be barrels of fun on an unwilling toddler!!!)

Removing cannula's- basically a cannula is a hollow tube placed into a vein and kept there so that medication can be given through it, when patients go home they need to be taken out

Interacting with patients and parents- this may be in general or you may be teaching them how to draw up medication for themselves/their child at home or taking them to have scans or xrays, anything really!!

 These are a few, there is more but I'd be here for ever writing them all! These are the main ones though, but these may vary from ward to ward depending on what kind of ward it is (ie cardiac, neuro, medical etc).

I have LOVED placement! I finish mid February and I'm dreading it. I feel I have learnt so much and developed leaps and bounds in regard to my chosen profession.

 I had nothing to be nervous about that first day, once you get to know and understand the running of a ward it is all so less daunting and complicating. You find your feet and flourish! My mentors are amazing, they encourage me without putting me under pressure, they will explain things fully before asking me to do them, they are funny and friendly (they don't seem at all teacherish!) and they can see when I am ready to be pushed abit harder to reach my potential. 

 All in all this placement has really confirmed that I have chosen the right career for myself and I cannot wait to be a fully qualified Nurse and be out there all superwomenlike :D

Till my next post,

Kimbers xXx

Starting Uni *WooHoo*

Thus it Begins...

The first few weeks of Uniness

 Ok, so I packed my bags and ran off to Uni: time of new beginnings, maturation, fun times and self discovery........

 So at my uni the first couple of weeks are mainly introduction lectures (aka FRESHERS!!!), they say its not, but really its almost standard to turn up hanging from the night before. Take advantage of this now because once the course properly starts they are likey to skin you alive before they let you sit in on the lectures (and as you now know, to get your Bursary you need to keep up your attendance!).

 For the first few weeks I studied 2 modules: Introduction to Life Sciences and Theories of Nursing. These are pretty standard to most nursing courses and they break you in nicely to how uni life works. 

 By now you will have a fairly good idea that a Nursing degree is tough, I once heard it was like doing a degree and working full time. I'm not sure about that but it is by no means a course to be ventured into lightly and does require you to embrace it 100%, otherwise you will struggle and have a crap time! I was in 2 half days and 2 full days every week until I went on placement, I also had workbooks and reading to do when I was not in uni. I studied nursing numeracy (I will go into more depth about this in another post) and clinical skills labs on my half days. Clinical skill labs are great for you to gain a better understanding on the runnings of a ward. You will cover things such as: manual handling, taking observations, infection control, eating and drinking, injection techniques, washing and changing and basic life support.

 You get to wear your (oh so shexy!!) uniforms and act and feel all nursey!! This is when it really hits home what you've let yourself in for as actually practising nursing skills allows you to visualise yourself as a nurse and just a few of the responsibilities it comes with!

 So the first few weeks really are all about settling in and finding your feet. Make sure you explore outside of uni as well so you can appreciate what else your city has to offer and enjoy it to the max!!

 Until I see you again, have fun :D

Kimbers xXx

Interview: DunDunDAAAAAAAA!!

It's ok, they don't bite.....

My Interview Experiences:

 I remember the time that I opened my letter from one of my choice Uni's that informed me I had gotten through the first stage and had a set date for an Interview. I jumped around like a mad hatter whooping,  calling my Mum and boyfriend and friends and work collegues and everybody else who I had ever met EVER!! This lasted about 10 minutes until a little voice inside my head said 'Oh my freaking god this means I actually have to talk to REAL people and their going to ask me QUESTIONS about nursing....ARGH!!!!', thus begun the well known 'nervous/excited' feeling that remained with me until I had completed both my interviews.

 I will say it now to all those who have got this far and are contending with the 'nervous/excited' emotions that worm they way into your head whenever your not thinking of food..'Relax, its really ok'.

 Did that help?

 Didn't think so!

Because no matter what anybody says (including those who have been through the process before) it will not calm you down because YOU haven't done it before and it is a complete unknown. So instead of telling you not to worry (because I know you wont listen to me!) I am going to give you some advice:

• Research common nursing questions- just google it! The main ones tend to be 'why do you want to be a nurse?', 'why your chosen branch?', 'what qualities do you have that you think contribute to nursing?', 'what experience do you have that is related to nursing?','can you talk about a NHS issue that has been in the media recently?', 'what is client centred care?', 'what would you do in [insert situation here]?'. These are just a few, think about your answers and make bullet points. DON'T write down exactly what you would say as it will sound scripted when it comes to it!
• Practice- with parents, friends, partners, teachers and random people so you will know what its like to talk to unknown people about something that means alot to you.
• Plan your route- so that on the day you know where your going and arrive in good time, this will help to relax you as you don't have to worry about getting lost and getting there late.
• Take someone with you- for moral support, I found my Mum was great in this situation, but it can be whoever you like as long as they keep your spirits up!
• Be sociable- when you get there be seen to talk to other people, if your stuck for conversation just begin with 'is this your first interview?' and it will lead on from there. Everyone there will be wanting to make a good impression so should be enthusiastic when met with conversation. Try to sit with a couple of people, sitting on your own will make you feel awkward. Equally don't be too loud as this will give the completley wrong impression!
• Smile!!- I did this alot! You want to be a nurse, you have been given the oppertunity to show that you do, you are there because the interviewers saw something in your personal statement that said to them 'this person will make a good nurse', that sure is something to smile and feel proud about :)
• Remember to bring everything with you and make photocopies- some of the people I had my interviews with forgot their GCSE certificates and photocopies, this doesn't look good! Show them that you read the letter/email properly and are organised enough to bring everything they have asked for (even if in real life your actually an air head that looses EVERYTHING- speaking of myself here!!)

 I never did a group interview, but my advice would be: don't be too loud or too quiet, contribute and listen to others point of view, if someone isn't contributing much be seen to try and get them involved, don't create an argument if you don't agree with something somebody else is saying.

 I did individual interviews where it was me and 2 people from the Uni (normally nurses or lecturers). I found them to be friendly (honest) and very patient. If I couldn't answer one of the questions because I had a mind blank then I asked them if I could come back to it once I had had a thought on it. I was myself and spoke openly about how I felt about nurses (that you get good and bad) and gave them examples of this. I spoke about previous experience and how this had influenced me. 

 Remember that these people are not dragons, they are not there to catch you out or judge you, they understand that you are nervous and that can reflect on your performance. Above all they are interested in you and want to know more about you, this is a compliment :)

 Good Luck if you have got to this stage, you will not believe how silly you feel after you've had your interview and realise that you got yourself into a right old tizz for no reason!

Kimbers xXx

UCAS and other Nightmares

Oh UCAS how I hate Thee

How I set out to tackle UCAS and associates

 Lets be honest, anyone applying to Uni dreads the dreaded UCAS application process because its long, sometimes complicated and requires you to show you are truly brilliant and amazing and wonderful and perfect for this course so pick me, pick me, PICK ME!!!!

 I HATED it! As a mature independent student I had no help, had to sort my own (trustworthy) references out and try and locate all my past GCSE certificates and other qualifications. Parts of my personal statement on the other hand I really enjoyed doing. It gave me the opportunity to express what nursing meant to me. 

  Just before I started my Personal Statement my Auntie passed away from a long and painful chain of cancers that reduced her to not even half the women she had been. I was there the night she died and met what I refer to as her 'Knight Nurse' who came to her house and sat awake watching over her all night. This nurse was covered in tattoos, she had half her head shaved and the rest of it was a light blue colour. None of this mattered because when I looked at her I saw strength, compassion, knowledge and understanding. I TRUSTED this nurse to look after my Auntie. And that she did, she was there with her as she passed in her sleep and comforted those left behind after. She was amazing and I am so thankful to her.

 This is the experience that I based my personal statement on, of course I included my experience with special needs children and my work as a community carer and teaching assistant. But you have to remeber that this is your PERSONAL statement. You need to show not only that you understand what nursing involves (*tip* go onto NHS Jobs and look up job descriptions for nurses, these are great if you are unsure of what nursing really entails) but that you care for what nursing is.

 Once I had completed my application then the dreaded wait begun. I received letters from my chosen Uni's confirming that they had received my application and were processing it but other than that I heard nothing until about a month after.

 I'd been rejected from my first choice.

 I want to say this now: DONT WORRY!! These things happen for a reason and now I look back I am very grateful this happened!

 Another month and I got an interview! Then another!

So begun my prep for the Interview process.... feelings of nervous/excitedness took place in my veins instead of blood.... but thats for my next post ;D

 In the mean time check out a website called The Student Room, this was truely a life line to me throughout!

See you soon,

Kimbers

Welcome Welcome

Well hello there, thanks for stopping by! 

I suppose I'd better start with who I am and all that jazz:

 I am me and me really isn't all that interesting, except for this: I am a student nurse. This statement is what I feel will be defining me for the next 2 and abit years through my training (the stress, the tiredness, the 'ICANTDOIT'ness, the happiness, the friendliness, the memoryness(?) and most of all the believing in yourself...ness). I am already replying with 'I'm a student nurse', to anybody who takes the slightest bit of interest in who I am and what I do, of course their reaction is almost always the same 'oh right, that must be hard' and that is a statement, not a question! I have realised that people have a fairly warped idea of what a nurse is; you have the older generation who think your some sort of lady-with-a-lamp-and-silly-hat who is basically a doctors bitch(!!!!) and then there are a few who see nurses as all corrupt and lazy and uncaring. In all honesty I'm not sure which one I prefer, but I try my utmost to educate these people in a way that doesn't appear that I am a know it all student nurse with a spoon rammed up nether orifices! 

 I started my training in September 2013, so I am in my first year of student nurseness and still getting my head around the rather large undertaking that I've (literally) signed myself up for. I study at a University in London (I cannot say which one) which has proved to be the best choice that I could have made as it allows me to receive placement training in some of the best hospitals in the UK. I am studying Child Nursing , originally I looked into Adult Nursing but after gaining experience in both areas I eventually settled on the little'uns and now cant imagine it any other way. I am a 'mature' student of 23 and unlike the other branches of nursing which attract most mature students, I am one of the older ones within my group, which makes me feel a bit past it in some situations!

 The aim of this blog is to follow my journey through training, so I can give those who are interested in nursing a clear insight into what nursing really requires and those who are currently training a voice of 'you are not alone' when you doubt yourself, feel disheartened and struggle with what this course asks of you. I am not an academic, I struggle with maths and the writing of assignments, I have those spells of I CANT DO IT when I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't understand something the lecturer has said or revising for an exam and thinking 'is this actually written in English?!?'. I'm hoping to do this with a smile and maybe a terrible joke or two, so as to keep myself sane!

 Please let me know if there is anything you would like me to cover in this blog, email me on kimbers27290@gmail.com and I shall endeavour to do so asap !

Tata for now,

Kimbers xXx