starting child nursing

i’m not a student child nurse but i am a student adult nurse, at my university in first year all nursing students do the same theory content (i’m not sure if this is the same at all unis). we don’t really have exams in first year, ive only done one anatomy exam which was a multiple choice quiz and was very easy. so far my assignments have been 2 2000 word essays, 2 portfolios and the anatomy quiz. on placements, the child nurses are placed on children’s wards at varying hospitals within the county

thank you so much really! is the anatomy content hard? and what advice would you give me when starting the course? sorry for asking much 😭

hello i am currently in year 13 starting child nursing this september inshallah. i am quite scared as everything will be new for me which is quite understandable i guess. any student child nurse in the UK can you guys give me some tips before i start and what to expect from exams, assessments and placements please🙏

Hi!
So happy that you are considering child nursing! I study adult nursing, but in our first year, the content is very much the same between adult nursing, child nursing and mental health nursing.

For exams, it depends on your university so it is hard to give lots of information. At Surrey, you will be examined in various ways, whether that may be practical exams which are called OSCEs; essay based assignments (typically 2000-3000 words) and/or placement portfolios. In first year, you start out with basic anatomy and physiology (A+P), which can be overwhelming, but when you are on placement it can be a lot easier to understand. I remember being really anxious about A+P, but over time it gets a lot easier, but there are still parts of A+P that I struggle with and need to go over, which is totally okay!
If at any point in your degree you feel like you are struggling academically or just would like some help, your university library will be able to support you and provide help. You can also always ask your lecturers if you need more help and they can signpost you to more information where you need.

With placements, you will most likely be assigned to a hospital trust near your university. Here you will go to different wards and departments to experience different specialties to give you an overall understanding of the healthcare system, common illnesses that present in hospital and give you a taste of being a nurse! For example, you might do 4 weeks in Paediatric Intensive Care Unit then 6 weeks in surgery before returning for a block of theory. You will also have community placements, so for children's nursing, often you may go to schools and teach, or go to schools as a school nurse. Before you start, your university will give you lots of time to process where you are going so you can prepare.

Good luck with your studies and I'm sure you will be a fantastic nurse!
If you have any more questions or queries, feel free to ask!

Sasha
Final Year Adult Nursing Student

the content itself went quite in depth with each bodily system but the exam didn’t really cover much of it, if you do biology or heath and social care you’ve likely covered a lot of it already! advice i’d give is that you will most likely experience major impostor syndrome, especially if your peers are mature students with experience (a lot of people in my group are mature and already healthcare assistants etc) but don’t listen to it at all. before i went into my first placement i was seriously doubting whether i was good enough for the course because everyone else seemed to know what they were doing and i didn’t, but after my first placement it’s really set in and i feel a lot happier.

i’m sorry for the lateness the student room don’t really give alerts :’) thank you so much !!!! omg i’ve heard a lot about imposter syndrome and hopefully i don’t feel like that 🥲 thank you again <3