As of this week, first-year nursing students will be leaving Blackheath Lane and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to embark on their academic placements. It’s a crucial time, so early in their studies.
To wish the departing cohort luck, lecturers and nursing ALG Val Nixon organised a two-hour long lunch break, with a loaded buffet table, free hoodies, professional photography and plenty of experienced heads on hand to share advice and wisdom.
A similar event was held for the cohort at RSH, with carol singing hosted by university chaplain Mick the Vic.
At BHL, we spoke to Val Nixon and third year student Amanda Checketts about the lunch…
“The thinking behind today was creating social identity, student engagement and a sense of belonging,” Val explained.
“But the purpose was to celebrate the first-years coming to the end of their term and embarking on their first clinical practice experience, so we wanted to give them a send-off really.”
On keeping in contact with the students…
“In practice they’ve got the mentor, as well as a clinical placement facilitator, but then they’ve also got a personal tutor that they can contact. The personal and module tutors are always here at Blackheath Lane if they need any further advice and we’ve got practice learning teams as well who go out and visit students during their clinical practice.”
The importance of third-year students’ advice…
“There is a very strong ambition to become a nurse, it is a vocation, but if you’ve never worked in it before, it can provoke a lot of anxiety. It’s exciting, because that’s where the students want to be in the real world, putting all of the theory they learnt in first block into practice, but some of that can be overwhelming.
“So the purpose of having the third-years and clinical placement facilitators here is to help and reassure them, reducing any anxieties they’ve got going into it. The third-years that’ve come in, they’re here to offer their advice and some inspiration.”
Looking forward to seeing them back already…
“We do miss the students when they go away onto clinical practice; it’s eight weeks with annual leave, that’s quite a long time.
“As educators in nursing, we come out of clinical practice where we care for patients and take on a caring and nurturing role with our students, so we do look forward to them coming back.”
Third-year nurse Amanda explained how she could help those going on placement…
“I’m just trying to make them feel a bit more comfortable about going out into their first placement; chatting to them about what they can expect and asking them where they’re going.
“The majority of them have said they’re going on placements that I’ve been on and it’s great to see that they’re still being used. It also means I can give them real advice.
“It’s also a great opportunity to see who’s coming through and who you might be working with or looking after as a staff member in the future.”
The best advice…?
“Not to compare yourself to anyone else, that’s the worst thing to do. You’re going to know very little when you first go out, so just take it easy; throw yourself into things; get to know people; work with health carers and other nurses; and don’t just stick with your mentor, see what else is out there.
“The best thing to do is just present yourself to the warden and say ‘I’m a new student, can I have some shifts?’. They can’t turn you away then.”