Journey of a Student Nurse: Let Third Year Commence...

After a wonderful couple of weeks break from university, I have now transitioned into third year and embrace the new journey ahead. Reflecting back to the end of my second year, I was feeling ready for the break, I was drained mentally and physically and going through what many other student nurses will feel at certain points during their own course...exhausted!

I did enjoy many 'Lazy Laura' days, which I felt was just as important as getting out and enjoying some culture and arts on my break. I can not begin to describe how lovely it was to stay in my pyjamas all day and do nothing but sort out my university files, breathtaking bliss. So after many enjoyable sleep-ins and tourist days around the city and countryside, I felt ready to get back to my university reflective student nurse mode. I must be honest, as my first week approached I did feel a pang of slight anxiety, not so much around university but more so around the fact that I would be a qualified nurse within the year. I will become a fully qualified, accountable, hardworking, motivated nurse in practice and this was something I felt put an instant smile on my face.

Now this has been an interesting start to my third year, as we have just all experienced an election in the UK and the introduction of a new government, which I know most definitely will influence, impact and have massive changes within the NHS currently and on future plans and policy. We all have our own opinions and beliefs and we all have the right to our own political views but I feel we will begin to see a huge shift on nursing practice as well as nursing education. Change is sometimes that hardest thing to experience; change can instigate a mixture of emotions and feelings whether it be in our personal or professional lives. I am a positive and empowered person to champion for change, however before change is possible we must perhaps consider what are the plans being proposed and most importantly will the new changes work. Many people I have spoken to have expressed a sense of apprehension around the future of the NHS and even the field nursing practice. As I embark on my nursing career within the next year, I am trying and almost forcing myself to remain positive and engaged, however acknowledgement must be made to the anxiety, apprehensive and perhaps even negative atmosphere that permeates around the profession at the moment. I almost sense a feeling of uncertainty, therefore I feel now more than ever is a time when people need to connect, engage, work together and develop a solidarity of support and strength to be proud of and ensure the NHS remains one of the best healthcare systems within the world (I am a secret unionist through and through). I know I know, I am slightly bias here in saying one of the best in the world, however from my own experiences of travelling the world and spending time in developing and developed countries, I must admit our NHS and practices in my experience have been nothing but the best.

I am currently task avoiding....I know it's not the most productive and motivated outlook, but I am task avoiding focusing on my assignment. I am a person who enjoys the process of research and writing an assignment however I find I work well in mornings and as this day is moving towards my afternoon nap, I shall reschedule my assignment writing to another day. I have really touched lucky with my assignment, I have chosen to focus upon a scenario that involves a patient being treated with COPD. Reflecting upon my last community placement, I feel so happy to have had that experience and now relating back to my theory I can truly value and appreciate how much I did actually learn whilst out on placement.

I am due to venture out on my next placement in the next six weeks, I am feeling excited and also nervous, perhaps a normal response for any student nurse embarking on a new placement experience. It is good to sometimes be nervous, as it enables me to research around the area, organise myself in order to feel fully prepared for placement and more importantly ensure I am engaged and attentive to the area I am set to work within. My placement will be a shorter one this time, therefore I will need to ensure I am fully organised in achieving all my learning outcomes and achieving competencies in practice. I will then embark on my 'Asian Adventure', spending my time on placement in Laos working alongside ChildFund Laos to support in developing and improving standards of healthcare and education to the people of Laos; more specifically in the Nonghet District where I will be based as a student nurse. I have all my paperwork cleared and have been given full support from university, which has ensured my experience of arranging the placement a lot easier. I am now in the process of organising a schedule to work around whilst I am out on placement, evidently the whole experience of being in Laos is making me extremely excited.

Another exciting journey I have embarked upon and I am hoping to incorporate into my practice is becoming a new SQA. A student quality ambassador is a champion who works with many trusts and organisation around the North West of England. I attended my induction at the beginning of the month across at Manchester Metropolitan University and was able to network with fellow student nurses and also other health professionals such as speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, midwives, medical students and many more. Now, I need to focus upon applying my role as a SQA into developing best practice in my theory sessions at university, out in my next placement area and most significantly introducing the SQA role to Laos. I have a sense this new journey is going to be something pretty special...