Nursing Placements at City University of London
Hello
My name is Kelly and I am one of the student representatives at City University of London!! I'm a 2nd year adult nursing student and I wanted to share some tips which have made me love placement
Tips for placement:
1) learn how to use EPAD before going in for placement. EPAD is an assessment tool for nursing students where we record our practice hours and tick off our objectives which need to be completed during practice. You can learn how to use EPAD by attending the EPAD lectures.
2) Be friendly and proactive - this wont only benefit your studies and confidence but it will help you bond with the staff. Since starting my placements i've made so many friends on the ward (both healthcare assistants and nurses) through helping with everyday task such as making beds. However, dont let them treat you like staff or overwork yourself because you are there to learn; its okay to say "sorry i'm in the middle of this task if i'm available later ill come give a hand." But if you're are not doing anything of course offer some help.
3) become friends with other student nurses - you can learn and teach each other things and you can practice skills such as giving handover or vital signs on each other. When i was on placement, me and another student nurse would go through the medication trolley with permission of the nurses and research different tablets together. simple ways to make learning fun and easier.
4) leave the ward - okay i dont mean leave the ward without permission or whenever you want because you will get in trouble but i mean ask your mentor to give you shadowing opportunities in different departments. for example I asked my mentor if i could spend a day in theatre to watch surgery or in the clinic or join ward rounds. I gained so many skills and information by going to different departments and i believe you wont get the most out of your placement experience if you stay on the ward for the whole time.
5) start becoming a nurse - this is mainly for first year student nurses. Dont do things which are beyond your limits or scope of course especially giving IV medication or procedures which can harm the patient but dont be afraid to give handover or start writing nursing notes with permission of your mentor or another nurse. Some people spend the whole of first year doing personal care which is important but you dont need to spend a whole year focusing on that. You can start giving handover or practising basic nursing skills at the middle or end of your first and second placement when you are confident and have gotten comfortable with staff. ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION FROM YOUR MENTOR OR ANOTHER NURSE!!
6) take care of yourself - physically, mentally and emotionally. placement is hard but its even harder when you are not taking care of yourself. learn how to rest and calm down amidst the chaos. If you have a busy shift make sure to sit for 3 -5 minute every few hours just to recenter yourself.
I'm happy to answer all your questions about nursing placements, university facilities at City or anything else here.
My name is Kelly and I am one of the student representatives at City University of London!! I'm a 2nd year adult nursing student and I wanted to share some tips which have made me love placement
Tips for placement:
1) learn how to use EPAD before going in for placement. EPAD is an assessment tool for nursing students where we record our practice hours and tick off our objectives which need to be completed during practice. You can learn how to use EPAD by attending the EPAD lectures.
2) Be friendly and proactive - this wont only benefit your studies and confidence but it will help you bond with the staff. Since starting my placements i've made so many friends on the ward (both healthcare assistants and nurses) through helping with everyday task such as making beds. However, dont let them treat you like staff or overwork yourself because you are there to learn; its okay to say "sorry i'm in the middle of this task if i'm available later ill come give a hand." But if you're are not doing anything of course offer some help.
3) become friends with other student nurses - you can learn and teach each other things and you can practice skills such as giving handover or vital signs on each other. When i was on placement, me and another student nurse would go through the medication trolley with permission of the nurses and research different tablets together. simple ways to make learning fun and easier.
4) leave the ward - okay i dont mean leave the ward without permission or whenever you want because you will get in trouble but i mean ask your mentor to give you shadowing opportunities in different departments. for example I asked my mentor if i could spend a day in theatre to watch surgery or in the clinic or join ward rounds. I gained so many skills and information by going to different departments and i believe you wont get the most out of your placement experience if you stay on the ward for the whole time.
5) start becoming a nurse - this is mainly for first year student nurses. Dont do things which are beyond your limits or scope of course especially giving IV medication or procedures which can harm the patient but dont be afraid to give handover or start writing nursing notes with permission of your mentor or another nurse. Some people spend the whole of first year doing personal care which is important but you dont need to spend a whole year focusing on that. You can start giving handover or practising basic nursing skills at the middle or end of your first and second placement when you are confident and have gotten comfortable with staff. ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION FROM YOUR MENTOR OR ANOTHER NURSE!!
6) take care of yourself - physically, mentally and emotionally. placement is hard but its even harder when you are not taking care of yourself. learn how to rest and calm down amidst the chaos. If you have a busy shift make sure to sit for 3 -5 minute every few hours just to recenter yourself.
I'm happy to answer all your questions about nursing placements, university facilities at City or anything else here.
(edited 7 months ago)
Hello, and thanks for helping. I've been offered adult nursing programs at both City and KCL, but I haven't decided which one to go to yet. It would be very helpful if you could tell me how often you go to college and what time you usually start, as well as how good the support is and how good the lectures are. About placement, how many blocks of placement do you have and, if possible, a schedule? I'm ready to take on the challenge, but I have one boy and want to get as ready as I can. Really appreciate if you can help.
Spoiler
Hello!!
Congratulations for getting offers at those amazing universities! You will attend university for theory and clinical practice. Normally this would be 3 or 4 days a week, and a typical day will start at 9 am to 12.30 pm, however your day can last until 6pm at the latest if you have a seminar but that is quite uncommon of most students.
For me the teaching has been really good, especially because the lecturers are qualified nurses themselves so the support and advice given is very helpful. They are also very hands on with essay support and give us resources such as a reading list, recorded lectures and videos demonstrating clinical nursing skills. We also have personal tutors who we see every term to voice out our concerns or just share our experiences, they can also help you get support with your studies for example deadline extensions or essay writing help. There is also a nursing society where you can get advice or help from older nursing students at City which has really helped me a lot during my first year. You will also get support on placement - a practice educator/ link lecturer is a nurse who works at the trust and visits students during placement time. They will be the ones to answer your questions and make sure your mentor is teaching and helping you complete your objectives. They will also be the one to contact if you are experiencing unfair treatment on the ward or if you are going through sad moments such as a death of a patient. In terms of finance you can also apply for the parental and student bursary given by the NHS. Student bursary is 5000£ a year given for free and the parental bursary depends on your current situation.
At City, placement time depends on what year you are in and will increase as you progress through the course, you will need 2300 hours in order to qualify. In First year you will have 2 x 5 week placements. One after Christmas (feb/april) and one just before summer starts (may/ june time). I've attached the timetable for 2nd year but i don't have the schedule for 3rd year yet unfortunately but they always give the schedule months before summer starts. In 3rd year you will have 1 or 2 placements then a 3 month placement where you will be expected to work as a proper nurse. these schedules can be different for your year though so i suggest to not rely on them but its just gives you an idea of what your year could look like.
hopefully that was helpful and made sense, feel free to ask more questions.
Congratulations for getting offers at those amazing universities! You will attend university for theory and clinical practice. Normally this would be 3 or 4 days a week, and a typical day will start at 9 am to 12.30 pm, however your day can last until 6pm at the latest if you have a seminar but that is quite uncommon of most students.
For me the teaching has been really good, especially because the lecturers are qualified nurses themselves so the support and advice given is very helpful. They are also very hands on with essay support and give us resources such as a reading list, recorded lectures and videos demonstrating clinical nursing skills. We also have personal tutors who we see every term to voice out our concerns or just share our experiences, they can also help you get support with your studies for example deadline extensions or essay writing help. There is also a nursing society where you can get advice or help from older nursing students at City which has really helped me a lot during my first year. You will also get support on placement - a practice educator/ link lecturer is a nurse who works at the trust and visits students during placement time. They will be the ones to answer your questions and make sure your mentor is teaching and helping you complete your objectives. They will also be the one to contact if you are experiencing unfair treatment on the ward or if you are going through sad moments such as a death of a patient. In terms of finance you can also apply for the parental and student bursary given by the NHS. Student bursary is 5000£ a year given for free and the parental bursary depends on your current situation.
At City, placement time depends on what year you are in and will increase as you progress through the course, you will need 2300 hours in order to qualify. In First year you will have 2 x 5 week placements. One after Christmas (feb/april) and one just before summer starts (may/ june time). I've attached the timetable for 2nd year but i don't have the schedule for 3rd year yet unfortunately but they always give the schedule months before summer starts. In 3rd year you will have 1 or 2 placements then a 3 month placement where you will be expected to work as a proper nurse. these schedules can be different for your year though so i suggest to not rely on them but its just gives you an idea of what your year could look like.
hopefully that was helpful and made sense, feel free to ask more questions.
Original post by Kelly-CityUoL
My name is Kelly and I am one of the student representatives at City University of London!! I've just finished my first year in adult nursing and wanted to share some tips which have made me love placement
Tips for placement:
1) learn how to use EPAD before going in for placement. EPAD is an assessment tool for nursing students where we record our practice hours and tick off our objectives which need to be completed during practice. You can learn how to use EPAD by attending the EPAD lectures.
2) Be friendly and proactive - this wont only benefit your studies and confidence but it will help you bond with the staff. Since starting my placements i've made so many friends on the ward (both healthcare assistants and nurses) through helping with everyday task such as making beds. However, dont let them treat you like staff or overwork yourself because you are there to learn; its okay to say
Hi, I’m starting first year next week and I have a few questions. Is it true that nurses on placement can fail you which means you will have to repeat the year. Also I heard some universities can make you repeat a year if you fail a module without letting you resit the module at least once. Do they do this at city? I’m really scared as I don’t want to repeat any year. I’m looking forward to your reply!
(edited 7 months ago)
Original post by Jaliyah
Hi, I’m starting first year next week and I have a few questions. Is it true that nurses on placement can fail you which means you will have to repeat the year. Also I heard some universities can make you repeat a year if you fail a module without letting you resit the module at least once. Do they do this at city? I’m really scared as I don’t want to repeat any year. I’m looking forward to your reply!
Hello!
at City we have a 2 attempt rule, which mean that if you fail the same module or placement twice you will be ask to leave the entire programme. Other universities allow students repeat a year but at City unfortunately you wont be allowed to qualify as a nurse. On placement nurses can fail you on placement but this tends to be vary rare, so don't worry. A nurse will only fail you on placement if 1) you become a risk to your patients eg administrating IV medication, doing stuff unsupervised or harming your patients 2) being unprofessional eg being rude to staff and patients, always being late or absent to placement 3) not completing your objectives. if a student does fail their placement they will be given an action plan which they would need to achieve on their retrieval placement which would be during the summer holidays. If they fail their retrieval placement then they will leave the course.
same goes for modules and exams you will only be given 2 attempts. When i first heard about this i was extremely scared as well however you will be given a lot of support and guidance by your lecturers and personal tutors. At the start of the year they will tell you everything you are allowed and not allowed to do on placement. As for exams and coursework - you will also get so much support and guidance but it is also your responsibility to be on top of your work or to ask for an deadline extension before the submission dates. the exams and essays are actually not that hard however students fail them because they are rushed and unorganised.
student nurses normally have calendar or planner with all their deadlines which helps so much when being organised. you will also see qualified nurses do the same thing as nursing requires great organisations skills so i highly recommend getting those.
Hope that helps and i understand its very daunting but trust me you'll be fine and you will get a hang of it as you progress through the course. Feel free to ask more questions!
Thankyou so much like seriously. Another question I have is do you know how the exams are like in first year? Are they in person because I know some university’s do some of them online. Are they multiple choice or open book etc? Also is first year hard because for a lot of university’s first year doesn’t count, but obviously I’m guessing for us as nurses, all years will count lol but is it stressful?
Hi!
so last year i had 3 essays, 3 open book exams all online, some e learning test and 2 five week placements. the essay topics were easy tbh for example defining and explaining the importance of communication in nursing. however i did struggle with the style of essay writing in uni such as referencing and searching for good quality literature. Another thing i struggled with was balancing placement with my assignments, which is why i suggest starting your essays very early. Ill give you some study tips at the end. I will say tho after the first few essays you do get used to it and essay writing does become much easier.
first year does count. apparently 10% of 1st year counts in our overall grade however you might just want double check that with a lecturer because thats what ive heard from my classmates. but first year really does count in terms of our practice and modules. if you dont pass your assignments or placement you wont be able to pass to 2nd year. In nursing we kinda forgot about our overall grade cuz were just aiming to pass to the next year hehe.
First year for me personally was not very stressful because i did A levels - bio chem and english and i was BEYOND stressed out so when i got to first year nursing it was alright - sometimes i was a bit stress over stuff like figuring out essay writing or reading articles, managing my time or the first day of placement but overall it was very managable. obviously everyone is different, everyone has different experiences but i would say loads of people enjoyed first year. I would just say dont stress because its not worth it, just focus whilst having fun at uni and reaching them deadlines.
study tips:
- when you are writing essays USE THE READING LIST. I wouldnt say you should rely on the list but loads of people ignore the reading list and waste time looking for other irrelevant literature. i would say start with the reading list then once you feel like you've got all the info you need, branch out and look for your own journals and textbooks. reason being is because you will get drained and overwhelmed, also the reading list is made by your lecturer so you know its legit and reliable.
- use the sample essay to help you with structuring your essay. some modules give you a sample essay and others dont but to save you time you should structure the essay according to the sample essay.
- i would watch some uni essay writing videos on youtube, they are really good because i was so confused in the beginning. they can be nursing specific or medical specific because they roughly follow the same essay structure. Doctor Kenji has a really good video on essay writing.
- Buy a calendar/ planner
- for open book exams - make sure you have good condense notes. most of them are multiple choice or short answer question exams so you dont want to have huge paragraphs in your notes which take forever to read. also i would read my notes the week before my open book exam because you wont have time to flick through your book searching for answers.
- if you have a placement during your assignment due date you should aim to finish most of the essay before placement starts. easier said than done tbh but try your best.
- attend all your clinical sessions (Simprac), get your simprac sheet signed and do the simprac workbooks. you will thank yourself at the end of the year when you are awarded extra practice hours which otherwise you would need to make up on placement.
- placement - a lot of your essays in 2nd and 3rd year revolve around making patient case studies. i would make a patient case study book which has detailed patient profiles on patients which you have seen on practice. make your you get permission from your nurse of course and maintain confidentiality. but a patient profile could include admitting symptoms, diagnosis, required test xrays or investigations, types of medication used by the patient, nursing plan or care ect. this will help you a lot and i really wished i did that because it really does elevate your patient care and knowledge. but you can do that in your second placement hehe.
- always ask for help - i recommend going to the nursing society or joining the groupchat when you are stuck on your assignments. the nursing society is filled with 2nd and 3rd student nurses who did the assignments before you so you can ask them for help or the lecturer ect.
hope ive answered everything. feel free to ask more questions if you would like
so last year i had 3 essays, 3 open book exams all online, some e learning test and 2 five week placements. the essay topics were easy tbh for example defining and explaining the importance of communication in nursing. however i did struggle with the style of essay writing in uni such as referencing and searching for good quality literature. Another thing i struggled with was balancing placement with my assignments, which is why i suggest starting your essays very early. Ill give you some study tips at the end. I will say tho after the first few essays you do get used to it and essay writing does become much easier.
first year does count. apparently 10% of 1st year counts in our overall grade however you might just want double check that with a lecturer because thats what ive heard from my classmates. but first year really does count in terms of our practice and modules. if you dont pass your assignments or placement you wont be able to pass to 2nd year. In nursing we kinda forgot about our overall grade cuz were just aiming to pass to the next year hehe.
First year for me personally was not very stressful because i did A levels - bio chem and english and i was BEYOND stressed out so when i got to first year nursing it was alright - sometimes i was a bit stress over stuff like figuring out essay writing or reading articles, managing my time or the first day of placement but overall it was very managable. obviously everyone is different, everyone has different experiences but i would say loads of people enjoyed first year. I would just say dont stress because its not worth it, just focus whilst having fun at uni and reaching them deadlines.
study tips:
- when you are writing essays USE THE READING LIST. I wouldnt say you should rely on the list but loads of people ignore the reading list and waste time looking for other irrelevant literature. i would say start with the reading list then once you feel like you've got all the info you need, branch out and look for your own journals and textbooks. reason being is because you will get drained and overwhelmed, also the reading list is made by your lecturer so you know its legit and reliable.
- use the sample essay to help you with structuring your essay. some modules give you a sample essay and others dont but to save you time you should structure the essay according to the sample essay.
- i would watch some uni essay writing videos on youtube, they are really good because i was so confused in the beginning. they can be nursing specific or medical specific because they roughly follow the same essay structure. Doctor Kenji has a really good video on essay writing.
- Buy a calendar/ planner
- for open book exams - make sure you have good condense notes. most of them are multiple choice or short answer question exams so you dont want to have huge paragraphs in your notes which take forever to read. also i would read my notes the week before my open book exam because you wont have time to flick through your book searching for answers.
- if you have a placement during your assignment due date you should aim to finish most of the essay before placement starts. easier said than done tbh but try your best.
- attend all your clinical sessions (Simprac), get your simprac sheet signed and do the simprac workbooks. you will thank yourself at the end of the year when you are awarded extra practice hours which otherwise you would need to make up on placement.
- placement - a lot of your essays in 2nd and 3rd year revolve around making patient case studies. i would make a patient case study book which has detailed patient profiles on patients which you have seen on practice. make your you get permission from your nurse of course and maintain confidentiality. but a patient profile could include admitting symptoms, diagnosis, required test xrays or investigations, types of medication used by the patient, nursing plan or care ect. this will help you a lot and i really wished i did that because it really does elevate your patient care and knowledge. but you can do that in your second placement hehe.
- always ask for help - i recommend going to the nursing society or joining the groupchat when you are stuck on your assignments. the nursing society is filled with 2nd and 3rd student nurses who did the assignments before you so you can ask them for help or the lecturer ect.
hope ive answered everything. feel free to ask more questions if you would like
(edited 7 months ago)
Hi, I am looking at universities for child nursing next year, I'm really leaning towards City.
Could you tell me how the placements work in regards to where you go, what type of different places might it be, do students get a choice in where they go? What if a student has difficulty travelling there, would they give you a closer one? Also what would you say is good about City specifically, I want to find out as much as I can, it's a big decision! I've heard good things about their support system, do you think that it's better than other universities have?
Thanks!
Could you tell me how the placements work in regards to where you go, what type of different places might it be, do students get a choice in where they go? What if a student has difficulty travelling there, would they give you a closer one? Also what would you say is good about City specifically, I want to find out as much as I can, it's a big decision! I've heard good things about their support system, do you think that it's better than other universities have?
Thanks!
Hello!
if anyone has any questions for mental health or child nursing click the link below and you can find a rep who specialises in those fields.
https://www.city.ac.uk/prospective-students/open-events-and-fairs/online-chats/ask-a-student
if anyone has any questions for mental health or child nursing click the link below and you can find a rep who specialises in those fields.
https://www.city.ac.uk/prospective-students/open-events-and-fairs/online-chats/ask-a-student
(edited 6 months ago)
Hi!
At City we have 3 major trust options for child nursing which is Barts Health NHS trust, Great Ormond Street hospital for children and UCLH, which are all situated in central london and are quite accessible for most students. if you do think your placement trust is too far then you will be given a chance to switch but very likely they wont allow you to change trust location because of the limited spaces. alternatively you can find a classmate who has a different trust to you and swap places. However at City trust allocations are dependant of post code and they won't send you to trust which is more that 50 mins away.
Since you are choosing child nursing you will most likely have community placements as well like going to a nursery/ children health foundations or a clinic sometime in your 3 years. im not really sure how far these community placements are cuz ive never gone to community.
I would say the best part of City nursing is the clinical practice sessions. They will teach the skills before going to placement such as taking vital signs, CPR or wound dressings ect. In 2nd and 3rd year you will also have a chance to practice on a simulation doll, which makes it seems like your actually in charge of a patient's care. I also like that city does prepare us for the future of nursing for example, learning how to use a stethoscope, or learning to read ECG which are responsibilities nurses will need to carry out more in the future according to the NMC. The support is great as well as the lecturers give tutorials for students on critical writing, and other assignment help which you can book. And also another good thing with CIty is the joint field cohorts. This means that you will also have some knowledge on adult and mental nursing, which will definitely widen your practice skills and make it easier for you if you plan to change fields in the future.
In terms of comparing it to other universities, im not really sure since i only know a handful of student nurses from other unis such as KCL, bucks and Brunell and their opinions tend to differ from one another however i do recommend going to open days where you will find out what uni is best for you or you can also follow or join different uni nursing society groupchats/ instagram pages where you can get in touch with student nurses and get their personal opinions and experiences.
Hope that helps, feel free to ask more questions
At City we have 3 major trust options for child nursing which is Barts Health NHS trust, Great Ormond Street hospital for children and UCLH, which are all situated in central london and are quite accessible for most students. if you do think your placement trust is too far then you will be given a chance to switch but very likely they wont allow you to change trust location because of the limited spaces. alternatively you can find a classmate who has a different trust to you and swap places. However at City trust allocations are dependant of post code and they won't send you to trust which is more that 50 mins away.
Since you are choosing child nursing you will most likely have community placements as well like going to a nursery/ children health foundations or a clinic sometime in your 3 years. im not really sure how far these community placements are cuz ive never gone to community.
I would say the best part of City nursing is the clinical practice sessions. They will teach the skills before going to placement such as taking vital signs, CPR or wound dressings ect. In 2nd and 3rd year you will also have a chance to practice on a simulation doll, which makes it seems like your actually in charge of a patient's care. I also like that city does prepare us for the future of nursing for example, learning how to use a stethoscope, or learning to read ECG which are responsibilities nurses will need to carry out more in the future according to the NMC. The support is great as well as the lecturers give tutorials for students on critical writing, and other assignment help which you can book. And also another good thing with CIty is the joint field cohorts. This means that you will also have some knowledge on adult and mental nursing, which will definitely widen your practice skills and make it easier for you if you plan to change fields in the future.
In terms of comparing it to other universities, im not really sure since i only know a handful of student nurses from other unis such as KCL, bucks and Brunell and their opinions tend to differ from one another however i do recommend going to open days where you will find out what uni is best for you or you can also follow or join different uni nursing society groupchats/ instagram pages where you can get in touch with student nurses and get their personal opinions and experiences.
Hope that helps, feel free to ask more questions
Original post by MaxTheHodgeheg
Hi, I am looking at universities for child nursing next year, I'm really leaning towards City.
Could you tell me how the placements work in regards to where you go, what type of different places might it be, do students get a choice in where they go? What if a student has difficulty travelling there, would they give you a closer one? Also what would you say is good about City specifically, I want to find out as much as I can, it's a big decision! I've heard good things about their support system, do you think that it's better than other universities have?
Thanks!
Could you tell me how the placements work in regards to where you go, what type of different places might it be, do students get a choice in where they go? What if a student has difficulty travelling there, would they give you a closer one? Also what would you say is good about City specifically, I want to find out as much as I can, it's a big decision! I've heard good things about their support system, do you think that it's better than other universities have?
Thanks!
Original post by Kelly-CityUoL
Hello
My name is Kelly and I am one of the student representatives at City University of London!! I'm a 2nd year adult nursing student and I wanted to share some tips which have made me love placement
Tips for placement:
1) learn how to use EPAD before going in for placement. EPAD is an assessment tool for nursing students where we record our practice hours and tick off our objectives which need to be completed during practice. You can learn how to use EPAD by attending the EPAD lectures.
2) Be friendly and proactive - this wont only benefit your studies and confidence but it will help you bond with the staff. Since starting my placements i've made so many friends on the ward (both healthcare assistants and nurses) through helping with everyday task such as making beds. However, dont let them treat you like staff or overwork yourself because you are there to learn; its okay to say "sorry i'm in the middle of this task if i'm available later ill come give a hand." But if you're are not doing anything of course offer some help.
3) become friends with other student nurses - you can learn and teach each other things and you can practice skills such as giving handover or vital signs on each other. When i was on placement, me and another student nurse would go through the medication trolley with permission of the nurses and research different tablets together. simple ways to make learning fun and easier.
4) leave the ward - okay i dont mean leave the ward without permission or whenever you want because you will get in trouble but i mean ask your mentor to give you shadowing opportunities in different departments. for example I asked my mentor if i could spend a day in theatre to watch surgery or in the clinic or join ward rounds. I gained so many skills and information by going to different departments and i believe you wont get the most out of your placement experience if you stay on the ward for the whole time.
5) start becoming a nurse - this is mainly for first year student nurses. Dont do things which are beyond your limits or scope of course especially giving IV medication or procedures which can harm the patient but dont be afraid to give handover or start writing nursing notes with permission of your mentor or another nurse. Some people spend the whole of first year doing personal care which is important but you dont need to spend a whole year focusing on that. You can start giving handover or practising basic nursing skills at the middle or end of your first and second placement when you are confident and have gotten comfortable with staff. ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION FROM YOUR MENTOR OR ANOTHER NURSE!!
6) take care of yourself - physically, mentally and emotionally. placement is hard but its even harder when you are not taking care of yourself. learn how to rest and calm down amidst the chaos. If you have a busy shift make sure to sit for 3 -5 minute every few hours just to recenter yourself.
I'm happy to answer all your questions about nursing placements, university facilities at City or anything else here.
My name is Kelly and I am one of the student representatives at City University of London!! I'm a 2nd year adult nursing student and I wanted to share some tips which have made me love placement
Tips for placement:
1) learn how to use EPAD before going in for placement. EPAD is an assessment tool for nursing students where we record our practice hours and tick off our objectives which need to be completed during practice. You can learn how to use EPAD by attending the EPAD lectures.
2) Be friendly and proactive - this wont only benefit your studies and confidence but it will help you bond with the staff. Since starting my placements i've made so many friends on the ward (both healthcare assistants and nurses) through helping with everyday task such as making beds. However, dont let them treat you like staff or overwork yourself because you are there to learn; its okay to say "sorry i'm in the middle of this task if i'm available later ill come give a hand." But if you're are not doing anything of course offer some help.
3) become friends with other student nurses - you can learn and teach each other things and you can practice skills such as giving handover or vital signs on each other. When i was on placement, me and another student nurse would go through the medication trolley with permission of the nurses and research different tablets together. simple ways to make learning fun and easier.
4) leave the ward - okay i dont mean leave the ward without permission or whenever you want because you will get in trouble but i mean ask your mentor to give you shadowing opportunities in different departments. for example I asked my mentor if i could spend a day in theatre to watch surgery or in the clinic or join ward rounds. I gained so many skills and information by going to different departments and i believe you wont get the most out of your placement experience if you stay on the ward for the whole time.
5) start becoming a nurse - this is mainly for first year student nurses. Dont do things which are beyond your limits or scope of course especially giving IV medication or procedures which can harm the patient but dont be afraid to give handover or start writing nursing notes with permission of your mentor or another nurse. Some people spend the whole of first year doing personal care which is important but you dont need to spend a whole year focusing on that. You can start giving handover or practising basic nursing skills at the middle or end of your first and second placement when you are confident and have gotten comfortable with staff. ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION FROM YOUR MENTOR OR ANOTHER NURSE!!
6) take care of yourself - physically, mentally and emotionally. placement is hard but its even harder when you are not taking care of yourself. learn how to rest and calm down amidst the chaos. If you have a busy shift make sure to sit for 3 -5 minute every few hours just to recenter yourself.
I'm happy to answer all your questions about nursing placements, university facilities at City or anything else here.
Hi there I need your advises I am currently an adult nursing student at city university London
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