you have to write a secret writing as a nursing student of the first day at my placement
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Answer:
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve had many a panicked message from pals of mine who are in their first year as student paediatric nurses. The first placement is approaching for Year 1 student nurses at Surrey, and quite rightly, people are feeling excited and anxious in equal measure. It’s really difficult, particularly if you’ve never been in a practice environment before, to know what to expect from that first placement and so with that being said, we have collaborated together to give you some information and “top tips” about what you might expect.
This will always depend on where your placement is, both in terms of area and locality. However generally you will be met by a member of Nursing staff who will show you what to do with your belongings and help you settle into handover. Don’t worry if handover seems confusing or there are things discussed that you do not understand, just ask after the handover is finished. Regardless of whether you are working a shift with your mentor or co-mentor, you will always be allocated a member of staff to work alongside on each shift. If you are not, just ask – handover is a busy time and it’s easy for things to be forgotten, so don’t take it personally. You should also be given a tour on your first day of the practice environment, orientated and introduced to the multidisciplinary team – you might even be given some exciting policy folders to read.
This was something I was really worried about, and this anxiety is shared with most student nurses before they commence their first placement. The short answer is – NOTHING. Your mentors will know that you are a first year student and their expectations will be of such. They don’t know your background – they don’t know (or care) whether you’ve just spent ten years as a HCA or you’ve barely left school and never stepped foot in a hospital before. So go into every placement with an open-mind, enthusiasm to learn and a smile on your face and that’s all you need. For the first few shifts on that first ever placement, stick to your mentor or allocated nurse like glue (except following them to the toilet…yep, we’ve all done it!) but you will realise very quickly that as you pick up knowledge and skills over the weeks, you will become more confident and comfortable with working more autonomously.
You don’t have to! Make it easy for yourself. Get yourself a pocket sized notebook to keep in your tunic pocket. This will become your little bible. Use your notebook to note down medications and their uses, as this will help you to familiarise yourself with them. You start very quickly being able to associate a particular medication to a condition – for example, you’ll learn that IV ceftriaxone is an antibiotic used to cover for/treat sepsis, phenobarbital an anticonvulsant used for seizures, dihydrocodeine an opiate analgesic for post-operative pain, etc.
Also keep note of diagnoses/conditions that you come across that you were unfamiliar with. In the quiet moments, or after your shifts, it’s a good idea to go through these and do some extra reading and research. It’s often much easier to learn and remember things if you can apply theoretical knowledge to a practical scenario
Do not do it, do not wing it, do not make it up as you go along. If you undertake a clinical task which you are unsure of and make a mistake, you will be putting both yourself and your patient at risk. This does not mean you shouldn’t do things you’ve never done before – but explain to your mentor that you’re unsure how to do the task asked of you, and ask for them to show or assist you through the process. Don’t be scared of saying “I don’t know” – learning is part of being a student nurse.
You’ll probably have had a bit of practice doing this during your PM1 module. SWOT analysis is a really useful tool at the start of each placement to allow you to explore your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for learning on each placement, and any threats posed to your development. It can be laid out as you please – bulletpoints or full sentences, whichever you find easiest. It can be personal, you can use “I” and talk about your thoughts and feelings.