Hello!
So this week I started my placement in intensive care! It was very daunting going in, seeing all the machines and sick patients. I was quite nervous going in today, but I was glad there was another student nurse starting today and I know her. So that made me feel a lot more at ease.
Going in and seeing all the sick patients, I was immediately overwhelmed. It was all very scary, but before I could even think about it I was being shown around the ward. It all went in one ear and out the other today. I now can't remember where anything is. Straight away in the first 10 minutes we were already being asked questions about airways and I honestly had no idea! It made me feel so insecure about my learning and I questioned if I had even learnt anything on my previous placements! I had to keep telling myself that I was in a new environment and that it's okay if I don't know everything yet.
By my third day I was feeling so much better, I still didn't know where anything was. But I had worked out the program they use for all patient information, and I roughly worked out the machines.
I also met my mentor on this third day! I was so pleased! My mentor is lovely and so supportive. I feel as though I'm going to learn so much from her, and she remembers what it's like to be a student! She's just brilliant! It's so lovely to get a nice mentor, especially since I've had pretty rubbish mentors so far!
It took me a while to write this, because I was unsure of how to put it. Hopefully this next couple of weeks will be good!
Stay tuned! x
Hello! I'm a 20 year old student nurse from England! My favourites are nursing, long walks on the beach and a lovely evening indoors! Make yourselves at home! x
Friday, 28 November 2014
Friday, 21 November 2014
Dealing with rude/nasty staff members
Hello!
So today on placement I had a bit of an issue with another staff member. This staff member has been continuously rude and nasty to me throughout this placement, however I have never really been the sort of person to escalate it. Today was the day when I decided too, since this staff member made me quite upset and made it difficult to work.
Okay, so here's the story of what happened today. I was sitting in the bay writing my nursing notes, one of the patients called the bell and this member of staff went to the patient to offer assistance. As he went, he pulled the curtains round for privacy and dignity reasons. All of this was fine, until he caught the giving set of the patient in the bed next to him and caused the patient distress since he thought his cannula would come out and did almost pull the cannula out of his arm whilst pulling the curtain round. Seeing this happen I went to help the patient who's giving set was being pulled, so I just said to this member of staff to be be careful and perhaps be a bit more aware of his surroundings. Completely harmless comment and a bit of advice? I thought so, but this member of staff did not. And I was told to mind my own business and to focus more on my patients rather than what the member of staff is doing. After receiving this comment, I was quite angry and upset so I just made sure the patient was okay and then left. This made me feel very hurt and made me feel as though I wasn't being treated as part of the team.
So, about 15 minutes later I was still writing my notes. And this same member of staff comes and takes one of the folders. So I told him that I was still using the folders and was completely ignored. This was upsetting since it just reinforced what I felt earlier about not feeling like part of the team. Even more upsetting to me was that when he had finished with the folder he just threw it back on the table aggressively. This upset me quite a lot and did make me cry. I quickly calmed myself down and thought to myself "I shouldn't be treated like this". So I went to find my mentor and told her what had happened. She asked if this was the first time he was rude to me and I said no.
Other times were when he called for a nurse, and they were all busy so I went to give assistance and was told that I couldn't help him because I wasn't a real nurse. This is very hurtful to any student nurse when all we hope for is to be a nurse and being told this demotivated me and made me feel deflated. This wasn't the first 'dig' at the fact that I am only a student. I was also told that I can't make decisions about a patient because I am not a real nurse and he is going to find out from a real nurse. Very upsetting! These first 2 times I just didn't say anything and I wish I had told someone.
After telling my mentor about what had happened and explained all the times he had been rude to me, she went to inform the ward manager and said that it would all be taken care of. I felt very relieved after this. The ward manager then came and spoke to me about an hour later to ask if it would be okay if I came into the office to speak with her and this member of staff since the member of staff was very defensive about the situation. I agreed because I really wanted to get it sorted, I explained everything with them both but the member of staff denied everything and told me that I was wrong. We came to no agreement, but I'm glad I told someone. The ward manager came to speak with me after and told me that she's really glad I told her and that if I need anything I can always go speak with her. This was so comforting, and although I only have one more day on this placement I feel as though this is a lesson I can take with me throughout my whole career. I have learnt today that I should be treated with respect as we are all part of a team and should all be professional with each other. I have learnt that it's okay to say something if I feel as though someone is being rude or nasty to me and I learnt that I should not be afraid of anyone that I work with.
Being treated like this? My advice, just tell your mentor or the ward manager! There should be zero tolerance for workplace bullying, and I'm sure you'll find everything will be sorted and if it's not, then at least you know that you are supported and that it's okay to open up if you feel afraid or feel as though you are being bullied in the workplace. That's what it was, bullying. I felt afraid at work and I felt as though I was being emotionally put down.
I am so so glad I told someone, and I feel so much better about going into work on Sunday and I feel so much more confident being in the workplace knowing that if something like this happens again I can tell someone, and I know that I should not be treated like that and it's okay to know that you should not be treated like that.
Bit of a heavy subject, but I feel as though it is important.
Stay tuned, bye! xx
So today on placement I had a bit of an issue with another staff member. This staff member has been continuously rude and nasty to me throughout this placement, however I have never really been the sort of person to escalate it. Today was the day when I decided too, since this staff member made me quite upset and made it difficult to work.
Okay, so here's the story of what happened today. I was sitting in the bay writing my nursing notes, one of the patients called the bell and this member of staff went to the patient to offer assistance. As he went, he pulled the curtains round for privacy and dignity reasons. All of this was fine, until he caught the giving set of the patient in the bed next to him and caused the patient distress since he thought his cannula would come out and did almost pull the cannula out of his arm whilst pulling the curtain round. Seeing this happen I went to help the patient who's giving set was being pulled, so I just said to this member of staff to be be careful and perhaps be a bit more aware of his surroundings. Completely harmless comment and a bit of advice? I thought so, but this member of staff did not. And I was told to mind my own business and to focus more on my patients rather than what the member of staff is doing. After receiving this comment, I was quite angry and upset so I just made sure the patient was okay and then left. This made me feel very hurt and made me feel as though I wasn't being treated as part of the team.
So, about 15 minutes later I was still writing my notes. And this same member of staff comes and takes one of the folders. So I told him that I was still using the folders and was completely ignored. This was upsetting since it just reinforced what I felt earlier about not feeling like part of the team. Even more upsetting to me was that when he had finished with the folder he just threw it back on the table aggressively. This upset me quite a lot and did make me cry. I quickly calmed myself down and thought to myself "I shouldn't be treated like this". So I went to find my mentor and told her what had happened. She asked if this was the first time he was rude to me and I said no.
Other times were when he called for a nurse, and they were all busy so I went to give assistance and was told that I couldn't help him because I wasn't a real nurse. This is very hurtful to any student nurse when all we hope for is to be a nurse and being told this demotivated me and made me feel deflated. This wasn't the first 'dig' at the fact that I am only a student. I was also told that I can't make decisions about a patient because I am not a real nurse and he is going to find out from a real nurse. Very upsetting! These first 2 times I just didn't say anything and I wish I had told someone.
After telling my mentor about what had happened and explained all the times he had been rude to me, she went to inform the ward manager and said that it would all be taken care of. I felt very relieved after this. The ward manager then came and spoke to me about an hour later to ask if it would be okay if I came into the office to speak with her and this member of staff since the member of staff was very defensive about the situation. I agreed because I really wanted to get it sorted, I explained everything with them both but the member of staff denied everything and told me that I was wrong. We came to no agreement, but I'm glad I told someone. The ward manager came to speak with me after and told me that she's really glad I told her and that if I need anything I can always go speak with her. This was so comforting, and although I only have one more day on this placement I feel as though this is a lesson I can take with me throughout my whole career. I have learnt today that I should be treated with respect as we are all part of a team and should all be professional with each other. I have learnt that it's okay to say something if I feel as though someone is being rude or nasty to me and I learnt that I should not be afraid of anyone that I work with.
Being treated like this? My advice, just tell your mentor or the ward manager! There should be zero tolerance for workplace bullying, and I'm sure you'll find everything will be sorted and if it's not, then at least you know that you are supported and that it's okay to open up if you feel afraid or feel as though you are being bullied in the workplace. That's what it was, bullying. I felt afraid at work and I felt as though I was being emotionally put down.
I am so so glad I told someone, and I feel so much better about going into work on Sunday and I feel so much more confident being in the workplace knowing that if something like this happens again I can tell someone, and I know that I should not be treated like that and it's okay to know that you should not be treated like that.
Bit of a heavy subject, but I feel as though it is important.
Stay tuned, bye! xx
Tuesday, 18 November 2014
Placement make up and hair!
Hello!
Just thought I would write a post about what make up I wear to placement and how I wear my hair. It's so important to look smart and professional on placement, but for me this doesn't mean that I can't look nice! I love to wear make up on placement and I love doing my hair nicely.
So, lets start with hair! On placement I like for my hair to be up and out of the way for placement. So, I just put my hair in a bun. I like to use a bun donut for this. I got mine from superdrug and it was about £2 or £3 but I can't really remember. All I do is use this to put my hair in a bun and use a headband to tie around it to make it look a bit more neat. I then like to take my fringe and plait it just to give it a bit of detail and it makes me feel a lot better about such a simple hairstyle.
So, moving on to make up, I start off with concealer and I like to use the Rimmel wake me up concealer , and I love this because it's the only concealer which really hides my dark circles and literally wakes me up! I just apply this with a small concealer brush.
I then move onto foundation and I really like the Rimmel match perfection foundation. I love this because it gives me great long lasting coverage, which I really need since I do long days on placement! I also find that even when I get a bit sweaty from working hard this foundation stays in place so well! I just use a little make up sponge to apply this.
I then put blusher on, I just use Avon blusher which was my first ever blusher that my sister gave me and I just love it, I find that it's so subtle and natural which I think is really important since I don't want to look too "made up" on placement. I just apply this with a simple blusher brush.
Moving onto eyes, I just use a simple pinkish colour to add to my eye lids, I use the BarryM Natural shadow and blush glow palette. I love this palette, simply because I like my make up to be quite natural and toned down, and I find the colours in here are perfect for that and again it stays in place all day which I love! I just apply one coat to my eye lids just for a subtle wash of colour.
I then put one coat of mascara on my lashes, I use Jerome Alexander mascara. This was a present from my Nan and I really love it. I find that it doesn't go clumpy, and elongates me lashes without looking like I've overloaded my lashes. I really love it.
After this I put powder on my face for added protection to keep it all in place, just in case! I use the Rimmel stay matte pressed powder which I just apply with a powder brush. I love this powder because it gives added coverage to my dark circles and blemishes and it also makes me look less shiny which I really like!
After this, since I get quite sore lips, I like to just use Vaseline on my lips which I also keep in my pocket on placement. I love Vaseline, I feel as though it brings my whole face together and it keeps my lips feeling smooth and nice.
Just added - I can't remember how much any of these products are but they are all under £10 since I can't afford to spend that much on make up.
That's all for now, Bye! xx
Just thought I would write a post about what make up I wear to placement and how I wear my hair. It's so important to look smart and professional on placement, but for me this doesn't mean that I can't look nice! I love to wear make up on placement and I love doing my hair nicely.
So, lets start with hair! On placement I like for my hair to be up and out of the way for placement. So, I just put my hair in a bun. I like to use a bun donut for this. I got mine from superdrug and it was about £2 or £3 but I can't really remember. All I do is use this to put my hair in a bun and use a headband to tie around it to make it look a bit more neat. I then like to take my fringe and plait it just to give it a bit of detail and it makes me feel a lot better about such a simple hairstyle.
So, moving on to make up, I start off with concealer and I like to use the Rimmel wake me up concealer , and I love this because it's the only concealer which really hides my dark circles and literally wakes me up! I just apply this with a small concealer brush.
I then move onto foundation and I really like the Rimmel match perfection foundation. I love this because it gives me great long lasting coverage, which I really need since I do long days on placement! I also find that even when I get a bit sweaty from working hard this foundation stays in place so well! I just use a little make up sponge to apply this.
I then put blusher on, I just use Avon blusher which was my first ever blusher that my sister gave me and I just love it, I find that it's so subtle and natural which I think is really important since I don't want to look too "made up" on placement. I just apply this with a simple blusher brush.
Moving onto eyes, I just use a simple pinkish colour to add to my eye lids, I use the BarryM Natural shadow and blush glow palette. I love this palette, simply because I like my make up to be quite natural and toned down, and I find the colours in here are perfect for that and again it stays in place all day which I love! I just apply one coat to my eye lids just for a subtle wash of colour.
I then put one coat of mascara on my lashes, I use Jerome Alexander mascara. This was a present from my Nan and I really love it. I find that it doesn't go clumpy, and elongates me lashes without looking like I've overloaded my lashes. I really love it.
After this I put powder on my face for added protection to keep it all in place, just in case! I use the Rimmel stay matte pressed powder which I just apply with a powder brush. I love this powder because it gives added coverage to my dark circles and blemishes and it also makes me look less shiny which I really like!
After this, since I get quite sore lips, I like to just use Vaseline on my lips which I also keep in my pocket on placement. I love Vaseline, I feel as though it brings my whole face together and it keeps my lips feeling smooth and nice.
Just added - I can't remember how much any of these products are but they are all under £10 since I can't afford to spend that much on make up.
That's all for now, Bye! xx
Monday, 17 November 2014
Placements ending
Hello!
So, my third placement since starting my course back in september 2013 is coming to and end. I feel like it's all going a bit too quick for me to keep up with. I have one week left of this current placement, but only 3 shifts left. After this week, it will only be three weeks until I go home for Christmas. Exciting! It's all very exciting, but it's making me anxious. This means that I'm even closer to my third year, and then even closer to qualifying. I'm very exciting to qualify, I can't wait to feel independent and feel as though I'm useful instead of doing things, but feeling like I haven't really achieved anything since my mentor or the nurse I am working with will still need to do it and check what I have done.
So, anyway back to placements ending! I've really loved the placement that I am on. It's a male surgical ward and I honestly feel as though I have learnt so much. I have learnt so much about dressings, medication and different surgical procedures. There are so many things that go into a surgical procedure that I would have never even thought of. Even though I haven't actually seen a surgical procedure, I feel as though I have learnt so much about surgery! I've learnt that actually, things don't always go to plan. Doctors run over, things go wrong and wards get busy! But this placement has been absolutely amazing, and everyone I have worked with have been so lovely and so willing to teach me and help me learn. It's a horrible feeling when you feel like no one has any time for you, so this placement made me feel so welcome and so supported and I quickly felt as though I was part of the team. One of the nurses made every effort to get me to learn as much as I could, saying to me "there's nothing worse than training to be a nurse and feeling like a healthcare assistant". Which is so true, as much as being a healthcare assistant is part of the nursing job, when you've learnt that side it's so frustrating when there's other things to be learnt but the other healthcare assistants are using you and trying to make their job easier. And I really don't mind helping people out if it's busy, but I quite often get the healthcare's saying to other nurses "oh it's fine the student nurse can do it" or "it's okay that we're short staffed, the student is here". Which is really disheartening and makes for a horrible day at placement because then no one has time for you. But, honestly on this placement I haven't had that at all! Which is probably one of the reasons it's been such a brilliant placement.
My mentor has been brilliant and has been so supportive, I feel quite honoured too since I'n her first ever student! She has honestly been amazing, and after every hand over has asked me if there was anything I didn't understand, always told me that no question is a silly question and has always been so approachable even when she was really busy! And honestly, I went through a rough patch through this placement when I didn't think I could be a nurse and I wasn't inspired to be a nurse and my mentor has re-inspired me. How cheesy! Yes, cheesy it may be. But very true. My mentor really made me feel like I was able to do this and at every opportunity gave me the independence to do things myself, which felt really nice.
So, all in all I feel pretty happy about the past 6 weeks I've spent on this ward, and I do feel a little sad about leaving. But, another placement means more learning opportunities. My one piece of advice I have learnt from this placement is to remember that it's okay to say "actually I don't feel comfortable doing that" or "I don't understand what that means, please can you explain?" I have learnt in this placement that it's okay to say these things and everyone started from somewhere and it's okay if you don't know everything straight away! You have time to learn and you learn all through your career even after you qualify.
That's all folks! I'll post another update when I start my next placement or just before.
Stay tuned!
Bye! xx
So, my third placement since starting my course back in september 2013 is coming to and end. I feel like it's all going a bit too quick for me to keep up with. I have one week left of this current placement, but only 3 shifts left. After this week, it will only be three weeks until I go home for Christmas. Exciting! It's all very exciting, but it's making me anxious. This means that I'm even closer to my third year, and then even closer to qualifying. I'm very exciting to qualify, I can't wait to feel independent and feel as though I'm useful instead of doing things, but feeling like I haven't really achieved anything since my mentor or the nurse I am working with will still need to do it and check what I have done.
So, anyway back to placements ending! I've really loved the placement that I am on. It's a male surgical ward and I honestly feel as though I have learnt so much. I have learnt so much about dressings, medication and different surgical procedures. There are so many things that go into a surgical procedure that I would have never even thought of. Even though I haven't actually seen a surgical procedure, I feel as though I have learnt so much about surgery! I've learnt that actually, things don't always go to plan. Doctors run over, things go wrong and wards get busy! But this placement has been absolutely amazing, and everyone I have worked with have been so lovely and so willing to teach me and help me learn. It's a horrible feeling when you feel like no one has any time for you, so this placement made me feel so welcome and so supported and I quickly felt as though I was part of the team. One of the nurses made every effort to get me to learn as much as I could, saying to me "there's nothing worse than training to be a nurse and feeling like a healthcare assistant". Which is so true, as much as being a healthcare assistant is part of the nursing job, when you've learnt that side it's so frustrating when there's other things to be learnt but the other healthcare assistants are using you and trying to make their job easier. And I really don't mind helping people out if it's busy, but I quite often get the healthcare's saying to other nurses "oh it's fine the student nurse can do it" or "it's okay that we're short staffed, the student is here". Which is really disheartening and makes for a horrible day at placement because then no one has time for you. But, honestly on this placement I haven't had that at all! Which is probably one of the reasons it's been such a brilliant placement.
My mentor has been brilliant and has been so supportive, I feel quite honoured too since I'n her first ever student! She has honestly been amazing, and after every hand over has asked me if there was anything I didn't understand, always told me that no question is a silly question and has always been so approachable even when she was really busy! And honestly, I went through a rough patch through this placement when I didn't think I could be a nurse and I wasn't inspired to be a nurse and my mentor has re-inspired me. How cheesy! Yes, cheesy it may be. But very true. My mentor really made me feel like I was able to do this and at every opportunity gave me the independence to do things myself, which felt really nice.
So, all in all I feel pretty happy about the past 6 weeks I've spent on this ward, and I do feel a little sad about leaving. But, another placement means more learning opportunities. My one piece of advice I have learnt from this placement is to remember that it's okay to say "actually I don't feel comfortable doing that" or "I don't understand what that means, please can you explain?" I have learnt in this placement that it's okay to say these things and everyone started from somewhere and it's okay if you don't know everything straight away! You have time to learn and you learn all through your career even after you qualify.
That's all folks! I'll post another update when I start my next placement or just before.
Stay tuned!
Bye! xx
Sunday, 16 November 2014
Applying to University
Hello everyone!
I am going to talk about applying to university, I feel as though this is very important to know about and I really wish I knew more about it when I was applying to university. Also, just to add, this applies to those applying for university in England since I have no idea what it's like anywhere else!
So, the first thing to do before applying to university is to know what you're doing. Obvious right? Wrong! This is not obvious for everyone, some of you may be thinking that you would love to go to university but aren't really sure of what you would like to do. So, a good thing to think about when trying to figure out what you want to do is what are you good at? What do you enjoy? For example, you may enjoy figuring out how things work and enjoy working with electrics. Well then, electrical engineering may be for you! The main thing to remember is that you really really need to enjoy what you're going to do because university is difficult, and you could be doing it for 3+ years, and if you don't enjoy it you'll find it really hard to engage and learn!
So, if you're like me and you already knew what you wanted to do then that's brilliant! The next thing you need to do is think about whether you would like to move away from home or not. When I was applying to university I knew that I wanted to move away from home, but I didn't want to be too far away. So, thinking about this (I come from the south of England) I knew for definite that I didn't want to go to university in Liverpool, or Scotland or somewhere like that. Moving away from home is a big step and if this is something you want to do then maybe exploring more of the Country you're from through going to university is the choice for you! Or, if you don't want to be far from home, you may want to choose a university that's close to home so that you can come home on a regular basis!
So, after you've chosen what you want to do and where you might like to apply for it's time to go on the UCAS website and start looking at what the best universities are in what you want to do and where you might like to go! This is really easy, you can just type in what you want to do and loads of universities will come up and you can flick through them and chat with your friends and family about what you think will be the best option for you. I was really lucky when choosing what universities I wanted to apply to because my mum had already done loads of research for me! Thanks mum! Now, this can be really scary because this, for me, is where things get serious and more real! When applying to your universities you need to narrow it down to 5! When considering these 5 it's also important to think about your grades, perhaps going to an open day at this university and what you've studied. Some courses it's a requirement to do a certain course, such as for my nursing course we had to of done a health and social care related course! So, when you've taken all of this into consideration I would now think about your personal statement!
So, what is a personal statement you may ask? Well, it's basically a page of words about yourself! Easy you might think, no! The personal statement was something I found so challenging when applying to university. You've basically got to big yourself up so that your university will want you! And this is hard because it's difficult to get into university sometimes, especially if you're applying for a popular course. I remember being told that thousands of people apply for my course, but they only accept about 500 students! Scary right! Yep! So this made my personal statement difficult to write. But you basically need to tell these universities, why you want to do this course, what makes you the best person for the course and you need to talk about any experience you may have had in the area you're studying. It may also be useful to talk about personal things about yourself, so for my own personal statement I wrote that I am a caring and compassionate person because I was applying for a nursing course. So I think you get the idea on that one, since there's not a lot I can write, since you know you the best!
So, after writing your personal statement and you've picked your 5 universities, you then need to actually apply! Now, what I wasn't told is that this costs money! When I applied back in 2012 it cost me about £50 to apply. This may be different now, but yeah it costs money! So I would be prepared for that! Or you can use the bank account of mum and dad if you can get away with it! :)
Okay, so you've done all that. Filling out the application is easy, it's just a step by step application and is all done online too! And you don't need to do it all in one go. You can do a bit and then save it and then go back to it. As long as it's done by the deadline, then it will be fine.
So when you've applied you then have that period where you're waiting for universities to offer you a interview. These usually start around October time and end around march or may time. So don't be worried if you wait until this time for your interview, it doesn't mean you're rubbish! They just have a lot of people to get through! I applied for university in September and I didn't get my first interview email to come through until about January. They were really good and they emailed me about a month in advance of the interview which meant I could get my stuff together and find an outfit and plan my travel to the universities. I got interviews at 3 of my 5 places, but only got places in 2 universities. So I had 3 interviews to do. Scary!!
With interviews I feel as though it is important to wear something that's smart. For example girls, black trousers, blouse and a blazer. And guys, perhaps black trouser, shirt, tie and a blazer. Very spiffing! When going to an interview, it's okay to be nervous! But what is important is to stay confident and to remember who you are and not to lie when in the interview! The people interviewing you are most likely going to be really nice, because they do want you at their university! They just need you to show them why you would be the best candidate!
So, after interviews comes the worst part! Waiting to see if you've been accepted. You find this out by August at the very latest. And, if you didn't get in, then it's okay! Because there's always clearing. Which is where people have dropped out, not accepted places or whatever. This is found on the UCAS website and opens towards the end of August I believe.
So, yeah! I rambled on a bit there! Hopefully this was insightful! In one of my future blog posts I'll write about preparing for university and first day jitters and things like that! Stay tuned!
Bye! xx
I am going to talk about applying to university, I feel as though this is very important to know about and I really wish I knew more about it when I was applying to university. Also, just to add, this applies to those applying for university in England since I have no idea what it's like anywhere else!
So, the first thing to do before applying to university is to know what you're doing. Obvious right? Wrong! This is not obvious for everyone, some of you may be thinking that you would love to go to university but aren't really sure of what you would like to do. So, a good thing to think about when trying to figure out what you want to do is what are you good at? What do you enjoy? For example, you may enjoy figuring out how things work and enjoy working with electrics. Well then, electrical engineering may be for you! The main thing to remember is that you really really need to enjoy what you're going to do because university is difficult, and you could be doing it for 3+ years, and if you don't enjoy it you'll find it really hard to engage and learn!
So, if you're like me and you already knew what you wanted to do then that's brilliant! The next thing you need to do is think about whether you would like to move away from home or not. When I was applying to university I knew that I wanted to move away from home, but I didn't want to be too far away. So, thinking about this (I come from the south of England) I knew for definite that I didn't want to go to university in Liverpool, or Scotland or somewhere like that. Moving away from home is a big step and if this is something you want to do then maybe exploring more of the Country you're from through going to university is the choice for you! Or, if you don't want to be far from home, you may want to choose a university that's close to home so that you can come home on a regular basis!
So, after you've chosen what you want to do and where you might like to apply for it's time to go on the UCAS website and start looking at what the best universities are in what you want to do and where you might like to go! This is really easy, you can just type in what you want to do and loads of universities will come up and you can flick through them and chat with your friends and family about what you think will be the best option for you. I was really lucky when choosing what universities I wanted to apply to because my mum had already done loads of research for me! Thanks mum! Now, this can be really scary because this, for me, is where things get serious and more real! When applying to your universities you need to narrow it down to 5! When considering these 5 it's also important to think about your grades, perhaps going to an open day at this university and what you've studied. Some courses it's a requirement to do a certain course, such as for my nursing course we had to of done a health and social care related course! So, when you've taken all of this into consideration I would now think about your personal statement!
So, what is a personal statement you may ask? Well, it's basically a page of words about yourself! Easy you might think, no! The personal statement was something I found so challenging when applying to university. You've basically got to big yourself up so that your university will want you! And this is hard because it's difficult to get into university sometimes, especially if you're applying for a popular course. I remember being told that thousands of people apply for my course, but they only accept about 500 students! Scary right! Yep! So this made my personal statement difficult to write. But you basically need to tell these universities, why you want to do this course, what makes you the best person for the course and you need to talk about any experience you may have had in the area you're studying. It may also be useful to talk about personal things about yourself, so for my own personal statement I wrote that I am a caring and compassionate person because I was applying for a nursing course. So I think you get the idea on that one, since there's not a lot I can write, since you know you the best!
So, after writing your personal statement and you've picked your 5 universities, you then need to actually apply! Now, what I wasn't told is that this costs money! When I applied back in 2012 it cost me about £50 to apply. This may be different now, but yeah it costs money! So I would be prepared for that! Or you can use the bank account of mum and dad if you can get away with it! :)
Okay, so you've done all that. Filling out the application is easy, it's just a step by step application and is all done online too! And you don't need to do it all in one go. You can do a bit and then save it and then go back to it. As long as it's done by the deadline, then it will be fine.
So when you've applied you then have that period where you're waiting for universities to offer you a interview. These usually start around October time and end around march or may time. So don't be worried if you wait until this time for your interview, it doesn't mean you're rubbish! They just have a lot of people to get through! I applied for university in September and I didn't get my first interview email to come through until about January. They were really good and they emailed me about a month in advance of the interview which meant I could get my stuff together and find an outfit and plan my travel to the universities. I got interviews at 3 of my 5 places, but only got places in 2 universities. So I had 3 interviews to do. Scary!!
With interviews I feel as though it is important to wear something that's smart. For example girls, black trousers, blouse and a blazer. And guys, perhaps black trouser, shirt, tie and a blazer. Very spiffing! When going to an interview, it's okay to be nervous! But what is important is to stay confident and to remember who you are and not to lie when in the interview! The people interviewing you are most likely going to be really nice, because they do want you at their university! They just need you to show them why you would be the best candidate!
So, after interviews comes the worst part! Waiting to see if you've been accepted. You find this out by August at the very latest. And, if you didn't get in, then it's okay! Because there's always clearing. Which is where people have dropped out, not accepted places or whatever. This is found on the UCAS website and opens towards the end of August I believe.
So, yeah! I rambled on a bit there! Hopefully this was insightful! In one of my future blog posts I'll write about preparing for university and first day jitters and things like that! Stay tuned!
Bye! xx
Me again!
Hello! Just a little update for you! Today I have been preparing for a night shift, which meant sleeping all day! However, this didn't happen. I slept until about half 1ish in the afternoon and then could not sleep all day. Of course this means that it's like waking up at half 1 in the morning and then doing a 13 hour shift during the day. However, I feel as though it's worse when you're lacking sleep on a night shift. It's dark outside, so our bodies are telling us that we should be sleeping, which of course makes us more tired. And there's less to do on a night shift because obviously all the patients are sleeping! And for me on my ward, that will definitely be the case. I have learnt in my 5 weeks on this ward that most of my patients are independent, some are only partly dependent. But they all are quite quiet, and I struggle to find things to do during the day. So I can bet that tonight I will struggle. So, I've decided to bring my kindle along, a book to revise from and to drink lots of water! My mum has always told me that water is really good to wake you up if you're tired! I've done 2 night shifts before and I really did find that drinking water kept me awake more than when I had a hot drink.
As good as all of this advice was, I still managed to fall asleep at the nurses station on my last night shift! Not that great, although I don't think anyone noticed and I do not recommend this!
So, since I don't feel very prepared for this night shift, I feel as though the same thing will happen. However, my nan gave me some great advice which was to walk around when you start to feel tired! My nan worked on night shifts for years as a health care assistant, so I took this advice and will definitely try to use it tonight!
All in all I don't think I'm very suited to night shifts, because I just can't handle it! I find 13 hour day shifts very tiring, and I do find night shifts even worse! I guess some people are suited to them and some aren't! Alas, this is the career I chose to be in so I guess I better start getting used to it now!
That is all folks! Wish me luck!
Bye! xx
As good as all of this advice was, I still managed to fall asleep at the nurses station on my last night shift! Not that great, although I don't think anyone noticed and I do not recommend this!
So, since I don't feel very prepared for this night shift, I feel as though the same thing will happen. However, my nan gave me some great advice which was to walk around when you start to feel tired! My nan worked on night shifts for years as a health care assistant, so I took this advice and will definitely try to use it tonight!
All in all I don't think I'm very suited to night shifts, because I just can't handle it! I find 13 hour day shifts very tiring, and I do find night shifts even worse! I guess some people are suited to them and some aren't! Alas, this is the career I chose to be in so I guess I better start getting used to it now!
That is all folks! Wish me luck!
Bye! xx
Saturday, 15 November 2014
Hello!
Hello everyone! Welcome to my blog! Yes I am saying this to myself because I have just started my new blog! How exciting!! So, my name is Hannah and I am a student nurse from southern England! I have just started my second year, of which there are three! The main purpose of this blog is to share my thoughts, views and experiences through my nursing adventure! I also hope to be able to give advice to anyone who is thinking of going to university or moving away from home. I also hope to provide support and advice to anyone who is training to be a nurse because it is bloody hard! Throughout my year of nursing I have learnt how hard it is. With a nasty mentor, a rubbish placement and getting on the wrong bus I have thought about quitting my nursing adventure. However, with thanks to my amazing dad and supportive boyfriend, I'm still here! Even though I still have rough patches where I want to quit, and I cry and I just don't want to go to placement, I'm still here! I know this doesn't sound that great to anyone reading this and hoping to be a nurse, it's not that bad! Admittedly, this past year has been the hardest of my life. But I've made some amazing friends and have learnt so much about myself and about life that I feel as though I have become a better person.
So enough about me! I hope to be writing at least once a week, just doing little updates of what's happening in my life and in placement and things like that!
Bye! xx
So enough about me! I hope to be writing at least once a week, just doing little updates of what's happening in my life and in placement and things like that!
Bye! xx
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