I think i have a skewed/unrealistic expectation of the nursing profession??

I only figured nursing is for me because when I was 15 I undertook the Hands up for health work experience at a hospital as part of my health and social care level 2 course in secondary school.

The work experience consisted of me stitching, giving injections and performing CPR on the Mankins.

.I loved that work experience because it was mostly hands on as opposed to theory.

I also volunteered at a nursery and hated it because of the environment and the behaviour of the kids.

However, I know that I still want to be a child nurse because I want to care for children holistically and not in an educational setting.

I don't know what I am getting out of this thread.

I only figured nursing is for me because when I was 15 I undertook the Hands up for health work experience at a hospital as part of my health and social care level 2 course in secondary school.

The work experience consisted of me stitching, giving injections and performing CPR on the Mankins.

.I loved that work experience because it was mostly hands on as opposed to theory.

I also volunteered at a nursery and hated it because of the environment and the behaviour of the kids.

However, I know that I still want to be a child nurse because I want to care for children holistically and not in an educational setting.

I don't know what I am getting out of this thread.

I think it would be a really good idea to try and get some volunteering on a children's ward if that's possible? Because I have a feeling you have a slightly scewed view on a children's nurse. I'm imagining that you think you can be all nicey and play with kids aswell as "look after them" which sometimes can be quite the opposite. My friend qualified last year as a children's nurse and she said basic care and fundamental nice parts of nursing children are mostly done by the parents. The parents will play with them, change clothes, wash, see that they get fed etc. You will of course have an impact on their care but I have a feeling your confused as to what way you'l
Impact if that makes sense?? I would really see if your local hospital can help out. Shadowing a children's nurse would be ideal

I only figured nursing is for me because when I was 15 I undertook the Hands up for health work experience at a hospital as part of my health and social care level 2 course in secondary school.

The work experience consisted of me stitching, giving injections and performing CPR on the Mankins.

.I loved that work experience because it was mostly hands on as opposed to theory.

I also volunteered at a nursery and hated it because of the environment and the behaviour of the kids.

However, I know that I still want to be a child nurse because I want to care for children holistically and not in an educational setting.

I don't know what I am getting out of this thread.

Hi @Blackstarr. You've posted a lot on the Nursing and Midwifery threads (Which is totally fine) so I reckon I've got a good idea of your understanding of what a children's nurse does. I'm going to be really honest, and say that my impression is that you don't fully understand what a children's nurse does.

I could run through what an atypical shift looks like for me - if there is such a thing - and the sort of things I do (If you wanted me to?) but ultimately this will contribute very little to changing your perception of children's nursing and it certainly won't tell you whether or not it is for you.

You need to be proactive in seeking out relevant work experience to see whether a career in nursing is for you. Ideas are set out on the thread I started a long while ago, which is pinned in the list of threads on the first page in this forum. You won't get experience anywhere unless you ask. Ring up the relevant volunteering/work experience departments of your local hospitals and find out what they have to offer - the worst they can say is no.

If you're thinking your perception of nursing is skewed then I would really urge you to think so so cautiously about applying as you may end up dropping out, but having taken the space of someone else - as @deviant182 has already highlighted.

Us here on TSR can only help and tell you so much, but the responsibility lies with you to do the relevant research and gain the appropriate experience to learn whether nursing is for you, and then to go through the process of obtaining a place on the course if you find that it is what you want to do. Best of luck

I guess you are right


Finding work experience is hard.

The trust I went to had no idea about it .

I still think I want to do nursing even if I have a skewed perception.

I mean I don't see myself doing any other thing.


I was also thinking of Nurse practitioing which will obviously take ages if I end up in nursing career

I guess you are right


Finding work experience is hard.

The trust I went to had no idea about it .

I still think I want to do nursing even if I have a skewed perception.

I mean I don't see myself doing any other thing.


I was also thinking of Nurse practitioing which will obviously take ages if I end up in nursing career

From somebody who dropped out of nursing (and feels guilty for wasting NHS money in doing so) ,I was so sure it was the only thing for me and did have about two months worth of work experience and been through having a close friend having a very bad patch mental health wise. I though after that I would have a good awareness of the bad sides of the job but after placement one I realised I just couldn't handle them emotionally and physically.
Although I knew care was in a persons best interests, I just couldn't make myself okay with giving medication covertly or with convincing someone who was no longer competent to take them or pretty much any of the "drawbacks" to the job including the shift work and long hours.
You really need a better awareness of what you re letting yourself into, there's nothing stopping you taking a gap year and becoming a hca for instance.

Claire,
I'm really sorry to hear you've dropped out. I don't think you should feel like you have wasted NHS money at all.

You were incredibly clued up on the nature of the degree and gave 110% to preparing for it. I think unfortunately nursing is still one of those things that even with lots of preparation people find isn't for them.

But that certainly isn't a reflection on you or the effort you put in, I honestly think it's just one of those things.

I hope you find an alternative career that suits you and you will enjoy!

From somebody who dropped out of nursing (and feels guilty for wasting NHS money in doing so) ,I was so sure it was the only thing for me and did have about two months worth of work experience and been through having a close friend having a very bad patch mental health wise. I though after that I would have a good awareness of the bad sides of the job but after placement one I realised I just couldn't handle them emotionally and physically.
Although I knew care was in a persons best interests, I just couldn't make myself okay with giving medication covertly or with convincing someone who was no longer competent to take them or pretty much any of the "drawbacks" to the job including the shift work and long hours.
You really need a better awareness of what you re letting yourself into, there's nothing stopping you taking a gap year and becoming a hca for instance.

At least you are not in debt from it

Finding work experience can be tricky but like I've said there's whole dedicated thread on it on here, which I started.

It really concerns me that you still want to do nursing when you confess yourself that you have a skewed perception of it. You absolutely must find out more information and go in well informed. If you don't you may end up dropping out after a few months - you will have got nothing out of it and only wasted your own time and effort.

I would also question how you say you can see yourself doing a role that you don't understand?

This is your future and you're considering a very challenging degree and subsequent career path. You need to be 100% convinced that it is what you want to do before applying.

I know a bit about nursing

It's not like I am completely unaware


I have been to nursing taster courses and have asked for work experience as a volunteer but even the nursing student representative were not sure where to direct me.

I have been proactive in some way, perhaps I should just try again and look for work experience.

I am just still not 100 percent with that career at the moment

I can't find that work experience thread you talked about?

What is your day like? If you don't mind explaining

The work experience thread is here: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3546665

I'll go through my day, from waking to finishing. This is my shift from Monday:

0550: I get up. I cycle to work which takes about 20 minutes and shower once I get there.

0730: Our big handover begins. We receive our safety briefing and any key messages, quick handover of all the ward and patient allocation. We then go to receive a more detailed handover at the bedside from the nurse we are taking over. The main and bedside handover is all supposed to take 30 minutes in total, but often runs over.

0800: I've got 3 patients today, and I'm expecting a 4th. - A 4 year old boy with complex needs who I know very well. He's on a fair amount of respiratory support and has no adult with him, so I will carry out all the care. He needed: hourly observations, meds at 3 points in the day, 4 hourly blood sugar and blood ketones checks (If his ketones were high, there was a management plan), a 10 hour continuous feed starting at 9am, which has to be changed every 4 hours, regular turns, as required suction, regular nebulisers, seizure management, strict fluid balance, mouthcare & nappy changes. There are also safeguarding concerns, so we keep a record of who visits and phones the ward about him.

- A 1 year old with a UTI/gastroenteritis who's on IV antibiotics and was on IV fluids. Parents were very anxious. She also had no IV access so the antibiotics would probably be delayed.She needed: 4 hourly obs, two doses of IV antibiotics, and strict fluid balance.

- A 5 year old with a temperature (pyrexia) of unknown origin, but clinically well.He needed: 4 hourly obs & oral antibiotics. 5 stool samples.

- The fourth patient I'm expecting is an 11 year old with Type 1 diabetes who is not managing their blood sugars. I don't know what they need as yet, but there was talk of an insulin infusion which would mean hourly observations & hourly blood sugar checks.

As I'm receiving my bedside handover I write a list of everything that is needed for all my patients. I take a moment after handover to prioritise - the boy with complex needs comes first due to his respiratory support and because I know he has a propensity to deteriorate. The little girl comes second, with the boy who's clinically well 3rd.

I start by doing all the bedside safety checks, introducing myself to my patients/their parents, give them a plan for the day, and checking there's nothing they need initially.

The day goes on from there... I get on with my busiest patient and try to start everything early because I know things take time for him. In between all of this, I check drugs with colleagues and ask them if they need any help. At 1000 my new patient comes in. I quickly do some medicines and obs, so I have a block of free time to spend (About 30 minutes) with them filling out all the admission paperwork and completing an initial assessment. I also let the Drs know they are here.

Also between 1000-1200 is ward round. I try to liaise with all the doctors seeing my patients to ensure I am up to date, and that I have raised any concerns I have. Fortunately today, I have no concerns. I also make a start on my documentation. I review, update and sign the care plans, write my initial assessments, and update the section on our pre-printed assessment sheets where we write in the plan from ward round.

At about 1130 I manage to go for a quick 15 minute breakfast break. I come back to learn my patient now has a cannula so I do their IVs. I also sit down at the computer for 5 minutes and request some of the samples my patients need and print off the labels.

The nurse in charge then approaches me and asks if I'd like to lose one of my patients, as a colleague only has 2 and I have 4. I handover to them the boy with pyrexia of unknown origin.

The ward continues to get busier and as I'm up to date so far, I help out some of my colleagues. My other things to do continue, I also do little jobs like answering other patient monitoring alarms when their nurse is not around, answering the phone and getting my patients a drink. I also have to spend a lot of time answering questions and reassuring the parents who are particularly anxious.

At 1430 I give another nurse a quick update on my patients to allow me to go for lunch for 30 minutes.

The endocrine team have come and seen my diabetic patient. Nothing changes at the moment. The afternoon calms down a little bit - its still constantly busy but not unmanageable. Most of my day has been spent with the boy who has complex needs. I've changed him and done his mouthcare 4 times, as well as given him a little wash.

At 1700 I go for another 30 minute break. At 1800 I sit down at the computer and update the handover sheet for my patients so its ready for the nurse in charge to print.

At 1830 I contact the doctors as my patient with the UTI/gastroenteritis has been continually vomiting/diarrhoea and hasn't been drinking. I put up IV fluids on her, and do her IV antibiotics. 1930 we are due to handover but my patient has pulled his respiratory support off his face. I end up re-sticking it, and am late to handover.

I leave about 20 minutes late once I've documented the last few bits.I get home about 2100. I wind down for about 15 minutes. I eat a quick dinner - leftover pasta bake. I get my bag ready for my shift the next day, set my alarm and go to bed.

Hi there, I'm hoping to become a children's nurse and although I know every day on a ward is different, it was interesting to read what that day was like for you. I have a question if thats okay?

Many of your patients needed hourly obs and treatments after certain time periods e.g. 4 hourly blood sugar and blood ketones checks, I was wondering how you managed your time and remembered to include every treatment. Do you make a little time rota so you know roughly what time treatments need to be for every patient?

Hi!

Of course it's okay to ask a question! You can ask as many as you like!

This is a great quesion. My ward has these A4 sheets which have columns with (Hourly) times down the side. As I listen to the bedside handover I go down the column and write in abbreviations for what is needed each hour. e.g. I'll write an "O" for when their observations are due. At the bottom I'll write any little footnotes such as that they are booked for a chest x-ray, or anything important to handover to the next shift. I'll also jot down any changes to the plan of care decided on ward round.

Lots of people use these sheets, or make their own list. You have to, to remember everything. Although as I become more experienced I rely on them slightly less.

As for managing it all, you have to know who your sickest patient is and prioritise their care. You can also group care together. e.g. Change a nappy, do a feed, do obs all at the same time for one patient rather than going in and out of the room. Or if a parent asks for paracetamol for their child, say 30 mins before their obs are due, you could do obs then to save you coming back later.

On some shifts your workload isn't managable and in that instance you have to let your nurse in charge know. Sometimes they are unable to help, in which case you just have to get the most important stuff done, and leave the "added extras" to the next shift if possible. Time management is really important in nursing, but you'll learn it on placements. As you get into final year, to my mind, student nurses should be managing two of their own (simple) patients, under supervision from a qualified

that was really helpful thank you! I have another quick question, if you are told by a doctor a series of things to do such as tests, drips and other medications all in one go, are you expected to remember them all or can you make notes? I'm still in college and don't have experience in a uk hospital so Ive only seen this on tv like 24 hours in A&E and casualty but when assessing a new patient, doctors will just list tests to do and medication dosages etc and for someone with no medical knowledge it sounds very overwhelmnig!

You're expected to remember them fairly quickly. I pull out that sheet of paper I have and write the things they tell me on there. For medicines its ok, because the dosages etc will have to be on the prescription chart for me to give them.

If i don't get a chance to talk to the doctors I often check in the patient's medical notes. Doctors have a set way of writing things and at the end will write "Plan" and then (For example) "Bloods, Start IV Antibiotics" so I know what's going on from that.

If at any point the doctors aren't being clear enough, I'll get them to repeat what they've said to confirm it. If I havent spoken to them face to face and their written notes aren't clear then I'll bleep them and speak to them, as very often nurses are at the centre of all the medical care and I cannot facilitate tests, ordering of obscure medicines etc etc if I don't know about it.

Just a word of warning... As you may be aware, casualty & 24 Hours in A&E are not true to the realities of nursing. Get some experience within a hospital/care environment as soon as you can so you apply with your eyes wide open to what nursing is really like