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Ask A Band 6 RN!!!!

Hey guys,

I know many of you who are applying or are considering nursing as a career have many, many questions, especially regarding practice placements. Or are you a student nurse struggling on your placements and want some advice? Or are you a 3rd year student and would like some advice for your management placement and job preparation?? Feel free to ask me anything! I have almost 4 years post qualification experience and I am now a sign off mentor!


Look forward to answering your questions!
(edited 8 years ago)

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Reply 1
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Reply 2
Is it normal to be absolutely petrified? 😂 I'm scared of being poor stressed and a bad mother for 3 years! I start in March. I'm already a hca on a surgical ward :smile:


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Reply 3
Wbnurse! It's perfectly normal to feel very nervous and petrified! I was so nervous when I started my nursing course, petrified on my first day of placement and equally as petrified on my first day as a Registered Nurse! The course is very stressful but it's really worth it in the end! You will not be a bad mother but you probably will need to plan your time wisely to juggle uni work, placement and family life. You're already an HCA so you already know how a ward works and the basics of nursing care so use that to your advantage!
Reply 4
Original post by ButterflyRN
Hey guys,

I know many of you who are applying or are considering nursing as a career have many, many questions, especially regarding practice placements. Or are you a student nurse struggling on your placements and want some advice? Or are you a 3rd year student and would like some advice for your management placement and job preparation?? Feel free to ask me anything! I have almost 4 years post qualification experience and I am now a sign off mentor!


Look forward to answering your questions!


What's it like being on placements? And studying? I know it'll be hard going for 3yrs.. Not worked in ward or anything so don't really know how hard if u know what I mean lol..
Reply 5
Original post by Pammy33
What's it like being on placements? And studying? I know it'll be hard going for 3yrs.. Not worked in ward or anything so don't really know how hard if u know what I mean lol..


Although scary at first, being on placement was definitely the best part of my degree! I enjoyed every placement I was on with the exception of one, and I really didn't dislike the placement itself but more I didn't like the staff. But I learned something from every placement and it has shaped the nurse I am today! Not every placement will suit you but you will take something from it. At the beginning you will learn the very basics of nursing such as washing, feeding and toileting patients. You will also learn the importance of hydration, nutrition and learn how to take patient observations and learn what is normal and abnormal and take blood sugars. As you progress in your training you will move on to the more nursey things such as dressings, admissions, discharges, medicines, NG's/PEG's, catheterisation and learn how to manage a bay of patients.

I enjoyed most of the lectures at uni and didn't find the exams or assignments too bad although they were stressful at the time! The hardest thing about the course is being on placement, doing placement work and also working on assignments and revising for exams at the same time. It can get stressful, but it's so worth it in the end!

When do you start your course and what branch are you doing? Do you have any particular areas in nursing that you find interesting?
Reply 6
Original post by ButterflyRN
Although scary at first, being on placement was definitely the best part of my degree! I enjoyed every placement I was on with the exception of one, and I really didn't dislike the placement itself but more I didn't like the staff. But I learned something from every placement and it has shaped the nurse I am today! Not every placement will suit you but you will take something from it. At the beginning you will learn the very basics of nursing such as washing, feeding and toileting patients. You will also learn the importance of hydration, nutrition and learn how to take patient observations and learn what is normal and abnormal and take blood sugars. As you progress in your training you will move on to the more nursey things such as dressings, admissions, discharges, medicines, NG's/PEG's, catheterisation and learn how to manage a bay of patients.

I enjoyed most of the lectures at uni and didn't find the exams or assignments too bad although they were stressful at the time! The hardest thing about the course is being on placement, doing placement work and also working on assignments and revising for exams at the same time. It can get stressful, but it's so worth it in the end!

When do you start your course and what branch are you doing? Do you have any particular areas in nursing that you find interesting?


Hi thank you for getting back to me! I'm hoping to be accepted in uni sept'16, for adult nursing! I would love to do community nursing but this may change once I have more insight into all the different areas 😁
Reply 7
Original post by Pammy33
Hi thank you for getting back to me! I'm hoping to be accepted in uni sept'16, for adult nursing! I would love to do community nursing but this may change once I have more insight into all the different areas 😁


Good luck! Let me know how it goes :smile: I really enjoyed District Nursing and I learned so much about wound care! It's very enjoyable and you become really skilled in many areas. Plus you get time to get to know and speak to your patients and build up a great rapport as many patients will needs months/years of input from the DN's :smile:
Original post by ButterflyRN
Good luck! Let me know how it goes :smile: I really enjoyed District Nursing and I learned so much about wound care! It's very enjoyable and you become really skilled in many areas. Plus you get time to get to know and speak to your patients and build up a great rapport as many patients will needs months/years of input from the DN's :smile:


I'm the exact opposite, I really didn't like my community placement, it's just not for me. I found it useful to see the big picture of what happens when a patient is discharged from hospital and how their long term care is managed, but the acuity of patients and the pace of life just wasn't for me.

I suppose that's the good thing about nursing, it's such a diverse profession that there's an area of practice for all types of nurse to find their groove.
Reply 9
Original post by moonkatt
I'm the exact opposite, I really didn't like my community placement, it's just not for me. I found it useful to see the big picture of what happens when a patient is discharged from hospital and how their long term care is managed, but the acuity of patients and the pace of life just wasn't for me.

I suppose that's the good thing about nursing, it's such a diverse profession that there's an area of practice for all types of nurse to find their groove.



Yes, I found it very slow and it's probably an area that I will never work in but I did learn an awful lot, DN's are very skilled and probably possess more clinical skills than me as an acute nurse.
Reply 10
Yeah I think it's the getting to know the patients and families more that's appealing to me! If it's slow paced then don't know how I'll feel about that, but will need to experience it in full to know if it's for me.. Can't wait to get started on the course/placements, fingers crossed I get into university.. Will keep you posted 😁😁
Original post by ButterflyRN
Hey guys,

I know many of you who are applying or are considering nursing as a career have many, many questions, especially regarding practice placements. Or are you a student nurse struggling on your placements and want some advice? Or are you a 3rd year student and would like some advice for your management placement and job preparation?? Feel free to ask me anything! I have almost 4 years post qualification experience and I am now a sign off mentor!


Look forward to answering your questions!


Hi Butterfly, It is nice of you to offer your help and advice to nursing students, Your post made me feel much better, I am just finishing my first placement and have mixed feelings about it, I had a mentor who was part time. I am not sure what a mentor's role is to be. When I started on the ward I had no idea what I was supposed to do and just spent a lot of time with HCA's learning the basics and tried to shadow nurses in the afternoon to learn skills. All I wish was that my mentor would have advised me on what to do then I wouldn't have spent the first weeks feeling anxious that I wasn't doing enough or the right things. Sometimes the nurses expected me to know lots of things I didn't and some would give you conflicting advice and get short with me. Finally I got the courage up to talk to the ward sister who, like you, said I should be learning basic skills and was on the right track. Mentor said I had done really well and she was pleased "but I am gonna give you low marks as you have a long way to go " No other feedback good or bad. I trained people for many years and would never have treated a trainee this way. Hope the next one is better! But have also learned loads so not all bad!
Reply 12
Original post by GoingForward
Hi Butterfly, It is nice of you to offer your help and advice to nursing students, Your post made me feel much better, I am just finishing my first placement and have mixed feelings about it, I had a mentor who was part time. I am not sure what a mentor's role is to be. When I started on the ward I had no idea what I was supposed to do and just spent a lot of time with HCA's learning the basics and tried to shadow nurses in the afternoon to learn skills. All I wish was that my mentor would have advised me on what to do then I wouldn't have spent the first weeks feeling anxious that I wasn't doing enough or the right things. Sometimes the nurses expected me to know lots of things I didn't and some would give you conflicting advice and get short with me. Finally I got the courage up to talk to the ward sister who, like you, said I should be learning basic skills and was on the right track. Mentor said I had done really well and she was pleased "but I am gonna give you low marks as you have a long way to go " No other feedback good or bad. I trained people for many years and would never have treated a trainee this way. Hope the next one is better! But have also learned loads so not all bad!


I have heard this being said by a few student nurses :frown: it depends on the ward. I'm a hca at the minute and the ward we work on is brilliant for students they get so much help whereas other wards just aren't to that standard. I'm lucky to have already been a hca for 2 years prior so I know all the "basics" and I can focus more on the nursey stuff. Don't let this 1 placement put you off


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Reply 13
So kind of you to offer advice!

I'm thinking of my long terms career goals and just wanted to know how long after qualifying can you start thinking about progressing to the next band and if you're supported and encouraged to do so? I have an idea of my long term goals but just not sure what I can expect the time frame to be so (just preparing for a career question!)

Thanks :--)

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Original post by jolly81
So kind of you to offer advice!

I'm thinking of my long terms career goals and just wanted to know how long after qualifying can you start thinking about progressing to the next band and if you're supported and encouraged to do so? I have an idea of my long term goals but just not sure what I can expect the time frame to be so (just preparing for a career question!)

Thanks :--)

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk



Do you know what areas interest you and where your end game is? There are various routes in nursing to take. After numerous specialist nurses I have spoken to like Tissue Viability and the Diabetes Nurse Specialists they all say they like you to have demonstrable post qualification experience in related areas. A lot of the Tissue Viability nurses have dermatology, plastics, burns, community experience and the Diabete's Nurse Specialists will have a lot of experience in endocrinology usually. Stroke Specialist Nurses normally work their way up the ladder in a stroke unit through being a Junior Staff Nurse (Band 5) to Senior Staff Nurse (Band 6) and end up in post that way. It would probably take an average of 5 or so years post qualification to become a specialist nurse, possibly more as these posts are normally quite competitive. They start at Band 6, some even go up to Band 7 and Band 8.

If you are looking at going into nurse management then you can start looking at Band 6 Junior Sister posts at about 3 years post qualification. When my Trust advertises for Junior Sisters it always says a minimum of 3 years post qualification experience in the job spec, but I do know of Sisters who have progressed sooner than that. I have recently been promoted to a Band 6 Junior Sister and I have 3.5 years post qualification experience. Then if you want to become a Ward Manager you need significant experience at Band 6 level, I think it's another 3 years as a Band 6 but don't quote me on that one!

Then if you want to become a Nurse Practitioner they normally recommend several years of ICU/Critical Care/Emergency Medicine experience and you will normally will have had to have been in a Band 6/7 position before they will consider your application.

If you work in a specialist area such as ICU/HDU/Renal or any area with an HDU or where certain area specific treatments need to be carried out there are Band 6 Senior Staff nurse posts. Some of the wards in my trust have their own area specific HDU's and the Band 6 Staff Nurses look after the patients in the HDU. They are normally trained in specific skills to be able to work in those areas. I am not entirely sure of the time scale of when you can start to apply for those posts but I would imagine it would be similar to a Junior Sister as it's essentially the same Band.

Hope this helps!
(edited 8 years ago)
Hi Butterfly

I'm a 3rd year and I have my first job interview next week for a rotational post.

Do you have any advice? :smile:
I don't feel prepared at all!



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Reply 16
Wow thank you for that. I really want to specialise in neonatal care and follow the clinical route up through the bands, to deputy sister, sister, then eventually my ultimate goal would be Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioner. If I'm thinking it terms of 10 years time (if the question came up) would you imagine the senior neonatal nurse / deputy sister is realistic (obv 3 years would be student nurse). I do have a clear goal but if asked I don't want to sound ridiculous by saying in 10 years I'm going to be a band 8a 😂

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Original post by WeirdLittleO
Hi Butterfly

I'm a 3rd year and I have my first job interview next week for a rotational post.

Do you have any advice? :smile:
I don't feel prepared at all!



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I would do a little research into the Trust you are applying for and read about what is important to them, what their goals and slogans are etc. No doubt the 6C's and Francis report will come up so make sure you are up to date with those. Also read up on what's hot in nursing at the moment, like the Apprentice Nurse route, scrapping of student nurse bursaries etc. as they will have implications on nursing in the future. They will also ask you things like how would you deal with a difficult situation (they will give you scenario). Another hot thing they ask is "Blah blah phones in sick, situation happens, situation happens, how would you prioritise your workload and manage your time?" My trust asked me about evidence based practice to when I interviewed for my first job too. One of the most important things for me was coming across as passionate. I was really, really nervous at my interview and I am a quiet and shy person by nature but I was passionate about the area I was applying for and voila, I bagged the job! I was surprised because there was a lot of stronger personalities there, and even students who had done their management placement on the ward I got the job on and they didn't get the job and me and my friend did!

Hope this helps! And good luck!!!
Original post by jolly81
Wow thank you for that. I really want to specialise in neonatal care and follow the clinical route up through the bands, to deputy sister, sister, then eventually my ultimate goal would be Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioner. If I'm thinking it terms of 10 years time (if the question came up) would you imagine the senior neonatal nurse / deputy sister is realistic (obv 3 years would be student nurse). I do have a clear goal but if asked I don't want to sound ridiculous by saying in 10 years I'm going to be a band 8a 😂

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I think in 10 years time you would probably be well on your way to achieving your end goal. In your interview you can state what your end goal is and say in 10 years time you would hope to have years of experience in neonates and would see yourself in a senior role. There is no harm as coming across as ambitious and it's not unrealistic either. You wouldn't believe how many times I have come across students who think they will be in a specialist role after 1 year of qualifying! Lol!
Original post by ButterflyRN
Hey guys,

I know many of you who are applying or are considering nursing as a career have many, many questions, especially regarding practice placements. Or are you a student nurse struggling on your placements and want some advice? Or are you a 3rd year student and would like some advice for your management placement and job preparation?? Feel free to ask me anything! I have almost 4 years post qualification experience and I am now a sign off mentor!


Look forward to answering your questions!


Hey.

I m thinking of pursuing nursing after my Health and social care BTEC but now considering if nursing is actually for me because science and maths is my weakness(no science GCSE) and the anatomy and physiology that I am learning about is confusing like hell.:frown:

The only reason why I wanted to be a nurse is because of the work experience I did in a hospital with manikins and the fact that I would like to make a difference in a vulnetbale persons life.:redface:

Anyway, how are the placements like?

What uni do you go to?

What trust is your uni in partnership with?

Are nursing graduates automatically on band 5 or do they need some years of experience?

Is it easy to move up the ladder for instance, from band 5 to band 8?

I have heard about the changes brought to the NHS but don't know what this will mean if I was to to uni and study nursing in about two years time?

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