Nursing student Review

Role: Student nurse on placement Doing the medication round supervised by a nurse Providing personal care to patients Getting patients ready for procedures Booking transport and managing patients discharges Doing wound dressings Writing patients notes Learn medication and procedures Do ECG, take observations (vital signs), measuring blood glucose levels Communicating with multidisciplinary team Serving meals and providing assistance to patients who aren't independent in eating on their own etc...

Everything that I know now, I have learnt on my clinical placement. University provides very basic training, but I actually learnt while I was working in hospital, with real patients and colleagues. I was so supported during my 3 years and will continue to be after I qualify as a nurse. My trust is one of the best in London, not only because of the excellent care they provide, but also because of the support and training they have available for everyone willing to learn , no matter their position.

First year not much. First year students are basically shadowing qualified nurses. But we do get experience doing the basics. From second year we are expected to be more confident doing tasks and third year we are expected to do mainly everything on our own, always under supervision of someone who is qualified. So the answer is yes, I have got a lot of responsibility that I mostly finish my 12 hours shifts later than I should.

All support I could ever ask for. I was lucky enough to have excellent practice assessors, supervisors and my personal tutor is alwas very helpful. We have an amazing team ''help me on placement'' which are always available for us when we need help or we struggle while on placement. Personally, I have never had any big issue. But I know because of other friends/colleagues that there is plenty of student support and guidance.

In my current ward, everyone is from a different country which makes it really cool. I personally love getting to know people from different cultures and learn about them. Everyone respects their colleagues, no matter where all of us are from. And this is very important in teamwork, especially when you work in hospital and you always have to be feeling 100% concentrated as a tiny distraction can lead to a huge mistake... we can't mess with people's lives.

My current placement is my management (which means it's the longest and the one that I should feel confident in my nursing skills). I had the pleasure to spent 7 weeks on this place over the summer and I requested the same ward so I could keep learning and spend more time with those beautiful souls. Communication and teamwork on this ward is key and unbelievable. I would love to work here after I qualify in a couple of months.

Yes

NHS pay is not the best. But clearlly provides a lot of support when you need it. There are lots of available trainings for everyone willing to learn as I mentioned earlier. Generally, everyone will feel included, no matter the age, ethnicity, what you identify yourself as, or your role. We are all the same. The NHS is amazing in term of care, prioritisation of patient's needs and the level of expertise they provide.