Not enjoying placement?

At the moment I am doing my last placement of my second year, health visiting. This is quite an odd placement for me as I am training to be an adult nurse. I went into the placement thinking that it would be a good opportunity to learn how to support parents, as I have met many patients who are parents that need supporting and I have been at a loss at what to do. 

I feel as though I was completely wrong. Although health visitors do support parents and families, it is more child centred. The health visitors I am working with are highly involved with post-natal depression and child protection issues. Supporting mothers with post-natal depression really interests me, as this is something I may come across, however it is not always appropriate for me to attend these visits, meaning I miss out on some crucial learning. 

More so, child protection is something I need to be aware of, however I also cannot always be involved in that. So my question was then, what on earth can I get out of this placement? 

At first thought, I was really disheartened and I was thinking that the next 4 weeks were going to be a waste of my training. But then I got to thinking hard and I thought of a few things that I might get out of this placement. And I thought these may be useful to others who might be going through the same thing.

1. Communication. I feel as though this is the perfect opportunity to really focus on my communication skills, with both adults and children. Children can come onto adults wards to visit family members and it would be important as a nurse to be able to communicate with these children, in the hopes of making them feel more comfortable in the strange setting such as a hospital. Also, if I end up working in the community as a district nurse I may visit someone with a child and it would be useful to be able to communicate with the child as well as the patient I am visiting. 

2. Confidence. I used to be a very shy person, and at times I still can be shy. My last placement in the intensive care unit really brought me out of my shell and I feel as though I am 100% more confident than I was when I first started that placement. I really have come a long way, but since this placement is so much out of my comfort zone I feel as though this is a good time for me to really really push myself, talk to patients when I feel scared and really put myself out there. 

3. Visits. By visits I mean exploring what else is out there in the community. I have planned visits with the district nurses, community midwife, GP's, Nursery nurse practitioners, pharmacy and to a children's centre. I feel as though by doing this I can gain more of an insight into what's out there for people who are in the community, giving myself more of an advantage when I am asked for advice and when I meet people who need a service but didn't know it is out there. 

That's all I have planned as it's such a short placement. But I am going to try so hard to get the best out of it. I'll report back in 4 weeks!! 

Youtube: Dear me.

So this is going along with the thing youtube is doing at the moment. If you don't know, it's where youtubers are making videos addressing their younger self. So I thought I would do it in a blog post. Here goes!

Me: About 7 years old! CUTE!

Dear younger Hannah,
Hi! Firstly I want to say, well done. You've gotten so much farther in your life than anyone ever expected and I'm proud. I just want to say, don't listen to the people who put you down. Not everyone can like you and that's okay. Be true to yourself, you don't need to be like everyone else. It's okay to be silly and funny and kinda crazy, that's who you are!
Spend time with your family, they will always be there for you and will always support you. Spend time with them, even if it's just eating dinner or watching a film. You won't regret it.
Don't overpluck! Eyebrows don't grow fast enough when you've overplucked, get them done somewhere or watch a youtube video or something. DO NOT OVERPLUCK!

Prime example of overplucking... aged 16 

Don't grow up too fast, you'll get there. And when you're there, you'll want to be young again. So just live in the moment, soak it all in. Make sure to always live in the present no matter how old you are.
Remember the little things, you won't forget the big things, so try remember the little things. I wish I started a scrapbook early in my life so that I wouldn't forget the little things, they're important!
Lastly, wear whatever you want. You don't have to fit in, it's the things that make you different that make you special and loveable. You don't have to wear that top just because it's 'cool' or wear those jeans just because someone else did. Be you, wear what you want and don't worry!
Take care!
Love, older Hannah x x

Me! Currently my old and wise self! 

Staying sane whilst studying..

Hi! I'm writing this and it is currently 1am... So it's a "I can't sleep" blog post. I have recently been so stressed with uni, work and family life and it got me thinking, am I actually going to be emotionally stable after this degree?
I have before struggled with depression, so this is a worrying thought for me. At my university there isn't much support for us students with regards to the workload. I am continuously told that I chose to undertake a university course, and I don't actually need to work .Which is true. But that doesn't make it any easier. It's really hard, which I hope will get easier, I'm sure that it will, surely it will get easier.
I think the most important thing to keep in mind whilst studying and trying to keep emotional well being is that it will end. You won't be studying forever. Education is such a short amount of your life, and there is so much more to come. Don't try to achieve everything in your younger years, you'll be around for a while so try to keep some goals open!
Another thing is that friends and family are so important. I promise they will keep you sane. The amount of times I have rung home crying, having a breakdown or an anxiety attack over uni is uncountable. But my parents have always been there for me. And have always encouraged me to keep at it, after all this has been my dream since I was young.
And as for friends, try to have friends that are doing the same course as you. They know what you're going through! I have been with friends, crying over things I've seen at placement, worried about coursework. And they've known. They know what you're talking about. Whereas your friends who aren't doing the same course, or who aren't in the same position as you may not understand quite as well.
Just a few things!
Stay tuned!!

New placement jitters!

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