First year Mental Health Nursing student - ask away!

I've just finished my first year of mental health nursing at Southampton. Does anyone have any questions about the course or the uni?

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Reply 1

anneamie1

Hey how are u finding the course as I will b starting in sept but am not sure to change to adult instead as there will be more opportunities correct me if am wrong as I have read somewhere that with mental health ur more likely to have to do additional courses but with adult u can go straight into it .. So I just wanted to know how ur getting on placements as well x

Reply 2

Sisterhood1

Original post by anneamie1

It's strange. This seems to be something that a lot of people are worried about when they apply, but in reality it's not much of a problem at all. If you want to work as an adult nurse, do adult nursing. If you want to work in mental health, do mental health nursing. It really is as simple as that. There are more jobs in adult nursing, but there are accordingly more adult nursing graduates. The universities only train as many nurses as are needed in the area, so you're practically guaranteed a job when you qualify.

There is always extra on the job training that you'll need to do, but that's true whatever kind of nurse you are. They're big into professional development in the NHS. The thing I love about mental health nursing is that you're essentially spending your day hearing people's stories. You get to meet such interesting people. People to whom life may have dealt seriously shocking cards, but who are still optimistic and motivated to turn their lives around.

As for placements, I've really enjoyed my first two. In Southampton you do two per year, and they try to give you a range of experiences. I've had one adult acute ward and one adult community mental health team. The brilliant thing about being a student is that you are supernumerary, so you get to see and do interesting things just because they're interesting, not because they need to be done. You sometimes have to be quite proactive about seeking out opportunities though. In the community I spent a lot of time visiting other services to get a better picture of the way services interact.

So I guess the question is, where do you see yourself working?

Reply 3

MolluscBaby

Original post by Sisterhood1

I've just finished my first year of mental health nursing at Southampton. Does anyone have any questions about the course or the uni?

I'm starting MH nursing at DMU in September, and have a few questions!

How was the work load? Were you able to fit in things like societies, sport etc.? And what sort of assignments were you given?

Reply 4

Sisterhood1

Original post by MolluscBaby

I'm starting MH nursing at DMU in September, and have a few questions!

How was the work load? Were you able to fit in things like societies, sport etc.? And what sort of assignments were you given?

The course is different at different universities, so I can only tell you what it's like at Southampton. We didn't have many assignments or exams, but that just meant that each assignment and exam was worth a higher percentage of our grade for the year. We had one multiple choice anatomy and physiology exam (sounds simple, but there was a LOT of content), and one essay about the 6 C's of nursing in our first semester and then one essay about essential care needs applied to the nursing process and a simple drug calculation exam in the second semester. Then each placement is assessed as well by your mentor.

It's one of those things where you get out of it what you put into it. With any degree, there will be lots of reading that you can do outside of lectures that will enhance your grades, but not everybody will do that reading. I worked really hard in my first semester and stayed really organised and I got 95/100 in the exam and 74/100 in the essay. I was also part of a choir and had enough time to hang out and bond with my flatmates (a book called How To Become a Straight A Student is really useful in learning to be organised). Then in the second semester I got complacent and disorganised and ended up with 54/100 in the second essay. It's all about how you organise yourself really.

The only thing that I think is the same with all nursing courses is that our terms are longer, as we have placements. This can be a little frustrating when your non-nursing friends have all finished, but really who needs months off in the summer anyway? XD

Reply 5

Melbourner

Well done on completing your first year... I'm just about to start my first year at Bournemouth in MHN x

Reply 6

louisey--xo

Hi! I'm starting my first year at Bournemouth too!

Reply 7

thenextchemist

Which nursing is more in demand?
adult nursing, child nursing, learning disability nursing or mental health nursing?

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Reply 8

Sisterhood1

Original post by Bloom77

Which nursing is more in demand?
adult nursing, child nursing, learning disability nursing or mental health nursing?

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I'll start off by saying Southampton doesn't do Learning Disability nursing, so I can't say for sure about that.

It depends what you mean by "in demand". If you're concerned about getting a job when you graduate, don't be. Universities only recruit as many student nurses as demand dictates (because it's the NHS that's paying for the training). So theoretically, they have exactly the right number of nurses in each discipline and there are enough jobs to go round everybody.

If you're concerned about getting onto a course, I can say that, at least in Southampton, there are about 4x the number of Adult nurse students as Child or Mental Health, but from the open days that I attended it was clear that Adult and Child nursing have far more interest from prospective students.

Also, I don't know about other universities, but I know in Southampton that if you applied for one branch you could be offered another if they don't think you're quite right for the one you applied for, so don't think that you're ruling out one option by applying for another.

Basically, apply for the field you're most passionate about.

Reply 9

Melbourner

Original post by louisey--xo

Hi! I'm starting my first year at Bournemouth too!

Yeah

what branch are you studying? I'm doing the PgDip in mental health nursing x x

Reply 10

rosierosie123

I know this post was a while ago but if you could reply that would be great

Just wondering what social life is like, how often do you get to go out clubbing etc?

Thanks

Reply 11

elise68

I'm hoping to study children's nursing at Southampton! Are placements close to the uni or do you have to travel far? What is the best and worst thing about nursing? Thank you in advance😊

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Reply 12

Sisterhood1

Original post by rosierosie123

I know this post was a while ago but if you could reply that would be great

Just wondering what social life is like, how often do you get to go out clubbing etc?

Thanks

Personally I'm not really into clubbing so I hardly ever go, but it's not because I don't have the time. I know lots of nursing students who go out a lot. It really depends on what stage of the course you're in as well. There'll be weeks when we're in uni from 9am most days, but others that are designated for personal study, so you can organise them how you like. When you're on placement, it's just like having a full time job, so there'll be days off, but you're probably less likely to be going out then.

Original post by elise68

Yay Southampton! We can actually get placements anywhere in Hampshire or the Isle of Wight, so there is usually some travelling involved but it's only for 8 weeks at a time. A lot of people bring cars to uni to make it easier, and travel expenses are reimbursed by the NHS (although I think that's stopping in a few years). But there are closer placements too. Mine so far have been in Southampton, Eastleigh, Gosport and Portsmouth. Unfortunately we aren't able to request placements and need to have a pretty good reason to change. You have to be prepared to travel wherever really.

For me, I think the best thing about nursing is meeting so many interesting people with interesting lives and being able to play a part in making their lives easier. The hardest part is probably how knackered you feel after an early shift!

Reply 15

rosierosie123

Original post by Sisterhood1

Do you have time to join societies and things like that?

Reply 16

Paula_W

Original post by Sisterhood1

I've just finished my first year of mental health nursing at Southampton. Does anyone have any questions about the course or the uni?

Thanks for taking the time to answer all our questions on here! :smile:

I've applied for the PGDip in MHN in Southampton (my interview is on the 19th).
I was wondering if you think it's possible to get a part-time job alongside doing the course? Or does the course take up too much of your time for that?

Reply 17

Mrsneal

Hiya, can anyone tell me around what time of year the placements are please? Im applying for bcu, coventry and wolverhampton. I have a toddler so just want to get an idea of when i might need to have family and friends lined up to help me out xx

Reply 18

Chazeyourself

I was considering Adult nursing but Mental seems to be interesting too!! How do you deal with such patients in this case? Do you actually have time for yourself to get involved in the uni social life aspect?

I think nursing is nice in the sense that you get to make a difference in person life, but If you dont have time even for your family then....

Reply 19

oceanmum

i am a mental health nurses of 32 years. mental health crosses everything and there are so many areas you can go into, counselling, addictions, young people, elderly, forensics,prisons,

i even saw a job for a mental health nurses to work in a adult liver ward. you can progress onto doing health visiting and things like that. it rewarding, stressful an their is a massive shortage of mental health nurses.
if your ongoing, confident and have a interest in people and what makes them tick go for it. try the mental health sites /forums on face book