Nursing Times

When you look around your lecture halls, have you noticed the number of student nurses shrinking? I remember my first day sitting in a giant sports hall surrounded by my fellow enthusiastic students. However over the months our numbers seemed to have grown fewer and fewer.

When students start a course in nursing many believe that they should fear the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). It’s thought that at the slightest hint of indiscretion, the NMC could send out their agents to bundle you into the back of a car and begin their McCarthy-style hearings - “are you now, or have you ever been a member of a social networking site?”

Most people would consider having a tube inserted into your nose and fed down to your stomach as something to generally avoid but when a member of staff needed a competency in this technique I volunteered. I had seen the procedure carried out on a number of patients. A nasogastric tube is a tube that is inserted through the nose to feed a patient who is unable to feed themselves.

There is one aspect of training to be a nurse that never fails to instil me with fear - giving presentations.

This week Student Nursing Times will be publishing advice for students transitioning from education to employment however for a second year student who is exactly halfway through his training, the thought of qualifying only makes the ‘second-year blues’ even worse.

A while ago I spoke of the importance of a good relationship between you and your mentor but the relationship between you and your lecturers is just as important.

Paperwork can cause problems. If notes get lost then a patient’s personal details could be revealed and the care that they receive might be hampered if their practitioner has to go on a treasure hunt for their records.

Have you witnessed your first death? I have, as I spent a couple of years working as a healthcare assistant on a care of the elderly ward and unfortunately death was a natural part of the job.

When I left college I decided to get a job rather than go straight into university. I didn’t feel there was anything that sufficiently interested me enough to dedicate a large portion of my time and money in pursuing. And I didn’t buy the argument from my friends that if you weren’t going to university you would miss out on the most exciting time of your life.

Undoubtedly one of the most common things you will see in hospital is a cannula.