Make-up for Nursing Placements

So this is a slightly random one but a blog post that I would have been interested in reading when I first started in March. If you feel comfortable without make-up then good on you but I really couldn't go without just a little bit to make me look more human at 6am!

Anyway, I love a bit of make-up and thought it might be useful for those students who have just started their courses, prospective student nurses or even those who are yet to start. Actually it might be helpful for anyone who works on a sweaty ward! Anyone who has worked a 13 hours shift knows that they don't look great by the end of it - your foundation has rubbed off, mascara is down your face...you just generally look crap. However, I made a discovery that is student budget friendly that does not budge from my face even after a 15 hour day (including travel) and still looks natural. The main reason I am posting this is because my work colleagues have mentioned on several occasions how good my make-up looks at the end of the day and asked what I use and how I apply it so I thought it might be useful to share.

Firstly let me tell you about my skin and skin care. I have quite an oily T-zone, some redness, quite dark under eye circles (from said long hours) and the odd spot/pimple from time to time. I'm not the best with full-on skin care and generally use face wipes to take off my make-up at night with a full face wash in the morning. I use Huggies Pure baby wipes to take off my make-up as they are gentle and have no chemicals that dry out or irritate my skin, plus they are very affordable compared to the big branded face wipes that generally give me spots or dry skin. I then use a light moisturiser, either E45 or Clean and Clear Dual Action Moisturiser for more spotty days. I don't tend to use spot treatments as they are a little too harsh for my skin so instead I use the Clean and Clear Moisturiser (as previously mentioned). I just pop a dot on a spotty bit and it clears it up in a couple of days.



In terms of make-up, this is what I use:

• Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - £3.69 and better than a lot of high end concealers by a mile. I use this on any blemishes or areas of redness. 

http://www.superdrug.com/collection-2000/collection-2000-concealer-lasting-perfection-light/invt/592005&bklist=

• Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer - £6.99 and conceals my dark circles as well as brightening my under eye area. I extend my concealer just above the corners of my eyes to draw attention upwards and add as much light as possible.

http://www.superdrug.com/maybelline/maybelline-ny-dream-touch-concealer-ivory-01/invt/249970

• Revlon Colourstay Foundation for Combination/Oily Skin - £12.49 from Superdrug, so a little bit  pricey but I discovered a brilliant website that sells it for £6.99 from Fragrance Direct - bargain! I have used Estee Lauder and Mac foundation in the past and neither is as good as this, especially for the price. It doesn't last the stated "24 hours", but how many products actually last for the stated time? And who would actually wear make-up for that long....except in very rare circumstances...or if you fall asleep with your make-up on...? ;) I digress! All in all this foundation is excellent - it has great coverage, great staying power even over long and sweaty shifts and feels nice on the skin without being too heavy and cakey. I apply it with a Real Techniques Stippling Brush, which I find works very well and extends its staying power, however using your finger tips works well also. I'm desperate to try the Expert Face Brush but haven't quite got the pennies yet.

http://www.superdrug.com/revlon/revlon-colourstay-foundation-softflex-buff/invt/326690&bklist=
http://www.fragrancedirect.co.uk/revlon/revlon-colorstay-24h-foundation-combinationoily-skin-30ml/invt/0043123&bklist=icat,4,shop,cosmetics,cosmeticsface
http://www.fragrancedirect.co.uk/real-techniques/real-techniques-stippling-brush/invt/0048652
http://www.fragrancedirect.co.uk/invt/0048654&cm_vc=productpage


Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder - £3.99 and again better than a lot of high end powders. I do like Mac transparent setting powders but cannot afford them. I apply this to my T-zone and it mattifies my skin, preventing my skin getting oily/shiny throughout the day, plus it doesn't hurt the bank balance too much :) 

http://www.superdrug.com/rimmel/rimmel-powder-stay-matte-pressed-powder-transparent/invt/592471&bklist=

• Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzer - £6.99. This is very lightweight and just the right shade (it comes in light and dark but the light is far too light I think). I use it more for contouring my cheek bones and jaw a little and then just to give my skin a bit more colour. One of the greatest things about this is how long it lasts. I've had the same one for around 8 months now and have barely dented the surface, even though I use it nearly every day. This is definitely good value for money.

http://www.superdrug.com/bourjois/bourjois-blusher-delice-de-poudre-peau-mates-halee/invt/321079&bklist=

• MUA Blusher - £1.00! I love this make-up company for blushers, eyeshadows and brushes. They really are brilliant value. This blusher is such a lovely shade and at £1.00 can you really grumble?! It has lasted around 6 months and is still going. It lasts very well and looks nice and natural. (I use shade 4).

http://www.muastore.co.uk/index.php/blusher

• Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil - £2.99. This pencil is fantastic - long-lasting, a nice shade, easy to use, not too waxy and good value. I've never sen the point in spending a lot on an eyebrow pencil since this one does the job so well and I only use it to extend my brows a tiny bit any way. http://www.superdrug.com/rimmel/rimmel-eyebrow-pencil-hazel/invt/516526&bklist=

• 
  
• Loreal False Lash Telescopic Mascara - £10.99, Loreal Volume Million Lashes Mascara - £10.99 or Soap and Glory Thick & Fast Mascara - £10.00 - All 3 of these mascaras are equally brilliant. I'm pretty fussy with them as I have pretty crap eyelashes that don't do much really and all of these help a lot. They all last well although the Volume Million is too wet when you first open it so I let it dry out a little before I use it properly. I never buy the waterproof versions of mascara as I never seem to need them. I don't know whether it's just the type of eyes I have. Perhaps others would need waterproof formulas. It's all down to personal preference really and trying things out.

http://www.superdrug.com/loreal/loreal-false-lash-telescopic-mascara/invt/382251&bklist=

http://www.superdrug.com/loreal/volume-million-lashes-extra-black/invt/223440&bklist=

http://www.boots.com/en/Soap-Glory-Thick-Fast-Super-Volume-Mascara-Superjet-Black_1238274/

• Revlon Lip Butters - £7.99. I never usually wear any lip products (except lip balm) on placement but when I do I stick to these. The colours are subtle if you apply them sheerly, the application is lovely and they moisturise the lips. They are slightly pricey I think but well worth it. I once wore one for uni and it lasted 5 hours! Now that is good going for a lip product with such a balmy finish. 

http://www.superdrug.com/revlon/revlon-colorburst-lip-butter-peach-parfait/invt/409558&bklist=

I hope this post has been of some help. If anyone would like to know more please contact me via the form below or leave a comment.

Thanks for reading :)

Nursing assignments/essays

So about a month ago (actually about 4 months ago...oops!) I handed in my first assignment, a 1000 word formative essay about lifelong learning and the skills and attributes needed to be effective. I got it back a couple of weeks ago and was pleased with my result - a healthy 63%. In 2 weeks we have to hand in the same essay but this time it's 2000 words and summative which means it counts towards our final mark for year 1. I'm hoping to at least retain the same grade or of course improve (if possible!) but can't seem to find the motivation to get going again. I feel that although the formative essay feedback was useful, finding another 1000 words for it seems impossible!

So now I'm technically on a 'self-directed study week', which so far has comprised of spending time with family and drinking obscene quantities of tea. I must be more productive with the rest of my time off...I mean my study week, ha!

UPDATE:

I handed in said summative essay (in July) and managed to get 70% which is a 1st. Weyhey! I now have another essay due at the beginning of November that I have not yet started...old habits and all that. Why is it that you consistently tell yourself that you aren't going to stress yourself out and do everything at the last minute again and yet it always happens?! One day Carlene, one day...

My First Nursing Placement

I'm currently in the 3rd week of my 2nd block of placement on a general acute medical ward. The ward itself has 27 beds that are rarely empty and quite a high turnover of patients. There are 5 cardiac monitoring beds for patients who are most at risk. It is a very interesting ward to work on as patients come on with such varying conditions and I have learnt an incredible amount already, even after just 6 weeks. My mentor is a Sister on the ward and is obviously very busy but makes sure to give me excellent learning opportunities. I also have 2 co-mentors (staff nurses) who are brilliant and explain everything so thoroughly. I really think I have landed on my feet with this placement even if it is a fair distance for me to travel every day. The structure of placements at my university has changed recently and means that we have 1 Hub placement that we revisit over the course of the year and 2 Spoke placements in between. The placement I'm on at the moment is my Hub placement. I'm there for another 2 weeks and then back for 6 weeks in January. I have my Spoke placements after this placement where I will spend 2 weeks in a mental health environment and 2 weeks with a Health Visitor. These are basically to give us a broader outlook of the nursing career.

So when I first started reading blogs I was itching to know what student nurses do whilst on placement and at first I expected that people would be doing all of the nursey things straight away. Wrong. It makes A LOT of sense really as when you set foot onto a ward (which I had never done in a work capacity) it can be very daunting - alarms here, wires there, patients with life threatening problems, family who are anxious, staff running around, patients coming on the ward, other patients leaving, buzzers going...you get the picture - it's stressful! There is so much to learn that starting with the basic stuff, the fundamentals, is vital. So for the first 4 weeks of my placement (all of July basically) I spent in the role of a HCA (Health Care Assistant), learning from the resident HCAs, working with my mentor to understand the role better, getting used to the ward routine, learning how to take vital obs (BP, pulse, temperature, respirations, oxygen saturation, AVPU (alert, vocal, pain, unresponsive - basically that the patient responds and to what), blood sugar, passing urine and pain level (if any), reporting this back to a staff nurse if the patient had anything out of the ordinary, assisting with meal times, helping patients with daily living tasks (getting out of bed, toilet, shower, bed bath, dressing, etc.), bed making, restocking supplies, taking patients to different departments... the list is endless really. HCAs do a lot on the ward and basically keep it going. They have the most contact with patients and some of them can teach you anything you want to know. There are a few I have clung to on several occasions and they have taught me a tonne. Moral of the tale - stick with the HCAs ;)

Since I returned to placement after the Summer, my Mentor has given me more opportunities to broaden my experiences and is allowing me to partake in drugs rounds and slowly increasing my responsibilities, which I am thoroughly enjoying. I think the easiest thing here is to list the things I've been doing:

• Bed baths
• Showering patients
• Making beds
• Taking vital obs - completing NEWS charts (early warning system)
• Admitting patients onto the ward
• Completing documentation
• Dressings
• Watching procedures - Lumbar Puncture, Ascitic drain, Xrays, Endoscopy
• Assisting a Dr with an Ascitic drain - I put a sharp in a normal bin as I was so nervous...oops! I'll never make that mistake again!
• ECGs (heart trace)
• Serving food and assisting some patients with their nutritional needs
• Speaking to family/friends of patients
• Re-stocking supplies
• Tidying the patient's rooms/ward
• Taking BMs (blood sugar)
• Laying out a dead patient
• Drugs rounds
• Checking skin integrity
• Calling family regarding patients' needs
• Arranging transport for discharged patients
• Preparing IV solutions (e.g. 450g Tazocin with 20ml water, mixing then adding to 1000ml Sodium Chloride) and setting up the machine...under supervision obviously.
• Simple drug calculations
• Injections (4 and counting!)
• Observing Aseptic technique - Catheterisation and an aseptic leg dressing
• Observing an Occupational Therapist assess a patient and attending a home visit
• Assist in a cardiac arrest (SCARY!)
• Swab to test for MRSA
• Dip urine and sent samples to the lab
• Accompany patients to other departments (Xray, Ultrasound and Endoscopy so far) and observed the procedures
• Attend Medical Gas Safety and Syringe Driver Training
• Removing venflons
•  ...the most important one I've found - talking to patients.

I have come across a variety of patients on the ward, mostly elderly but some quite young. One girl was younger than me (around 20) and unfortunately admitted due to taking an overdose. That one was difficult. I love caring for elderly patients and to be honest before I started I was dreading working with elderly people. I think because of my previous work experience I expected it to be the same but the environment in a hospital is vastly different to that of a care home. I realise now how poor the care actually was in the home I worked in for a few shifts. This whole nursey thing doesn't half make you reflective!

I feel like I've dealt with all that has been thrown at me quite well and am adapting all of the time. I can feel myself learning and developing constantly, dealing with situations and people I never thought I'd have to contend with. All in all the best advice I can give to any student nurse is to just take things as they come and not expect too much. Every one learns at different rates and every hospital/ward/mentor is different in how they teach students. I have some friends on the course who did all I've done in the first month and at first I was jealous but after realised that taking things in my own pace leads to a better learning experience personally. Apologies if I've skimmed over things a bit. I've been trying to finish this post for ages and been a busy bee. If anyone reading this has any questions or would like any advice please don't hesitate to comment.

Overall placement came as a bit of a shock for me as well as my nails. They're usually coated in something sparkly but now look absolutely pants, short and plain. My toe nails remain overtly sparkly to compensate. Moral of the tale - make the most of holidays and paint your finger nails, ha!

P.S. I'm not sure if I mentioned this previously, but I applied for a Bank HCA job at a private hospital and heard last week that I got it! I'm very excited to get going.

Hope you're all well :)

A little information on my first nursing placement

I've just fell upon this little blog post that I obviously meant to post a good while ago but never got around to doing. So here it is...

I found out where I'm going on placement - YEAH!

When I first found out let's just say I was less than impressed with it and I had an email ready to send to my personal tutor begging for a swap. It turns out I have to travel over 50 miles a day, adding 2 hours to an already tiring day. For obvious reasons I can't say where I'm placed but I will say I'm over the moon with it now that I've thought about it clearly and came to terms with it all. My partner and family are being very supportive about it and telling me to focus on the positives, of which there are many. The hospital is very modern, in a lovely area and quite small with only a few wards. The ward I've been placed on is acute general medicine which means I could deal with anything that isn't surgical...so I'm going to learn a tonne. There is a specialist cardiology bay as well as a palliative care bay within the ward which I'm terrified about but so excited to learn and help as much as I can. I know it's going to be difficult but I've always understood what I signed up for. Not everyone is going to be fighting fit and skipping out of the ward. I know some people will require support and guidance towards the end of their lives. It's absolutely heart breaking but it's reality isn't it? I know I'll probably spend a while in the sluice/toilet bubbling whilst I come to terms with everything properly as I'm soft as clarts but I'm hoping I'll learn to deal with these things in time and be the supportive, caring and professional nurse that someone needs in their final hours.

Note: I have been on placement now for almost 6 weeks and am currently writing a post about my experiences so far. I'll hopefully be uploading it in the next couple of days. Hope all is well :)

Quick Update

Hi guys,

It's been an awfully long time since I updated this blog and to be honest I have no excuse as I've been off uni and placement for several weeks now. I've just enjoyed the breathing space and time with family and friends.

Quick update about the kitten we got a couple of months ago. Millie was a little poorly a few weeks ago so we took her to the vet. The vet thoroughly examined her and there was nothing major wrong. However what we thought was a lovely little girl kitten is actually a little boy, haha! So we have amended HIS name to Milo, slightly more appropriate than Millie don't you think? :)

Other life/uni updates:

I received my first graded assignment back recently and managed to scoop a 1st which I was obviously over the moon with.

I also applied for a Bank HCA role and have an interview soon. Excited!

I go back to placement on 2nd September for 4 weeks in my second Hub placement. Then straight after this I go to my spoke placements - 2 weeks in a mental health placement and 2 weeks on a health visiting placement which I'm massively excited about.

I've been collating and writing up as much evidence as possible for my practice assessment document (PAD - what a name!) and preparing for going back to placement.

I've been a bit unhappy with the format and layout of my blog so am going to redesign it soon with the help of my arty BF. Look at his latest painting - it's fabulous :)

Other than that I will write a post about my first placement as soon as possible but I am preparing to go on holiday - a lovely little boating holiday with my immediate family and boyfriend to the Norfolk Broads which I'm very excited about. It will be my Mam's first holiday since 2001 so I think it's well overdue.

Anyhoo, I'll post soon. Hope everyone in Nursing world is well and of course any other curious folk who read my rambles :)

We got a new kitten!!

On a completely different note to nursing but something that will keep me very happy I'm sure...(as the title suggests) WE GOT A NEW KITTEN!

She's beautiful and so, so mischievous. She's a tiny ginger tabby, just over 8 weeks old and sleeps on my partner's pillow with him - very cute. With no further ado...meet Millie! :D

A lot going on...a quick update about life, OSCE, essay and placement

Well the last month has been rather crazy to say the least. I started to feel really poorly a few weeks ago - migraine, nausea, fever, exhaustion/insomnia...awful! After 4 days I went to visit the local walk-in centre who did a full set of obs and decided to send me off to A&E to get some blood tests as they didn't have the facilities and he was worried about my persistent fever and migraine. I waited for several hours at A&E (as is obvious!) to be told that I should take time out of university to recover and to stay away from work/uni/as many people as possible as they suspected I had Glandular Fever. ARGH! I waited (impatiently!) for my blood test results which thankfully came back negative for GF - turns out I just had an awful viral infection which took over 2 weeks to clear up.

Any way the reason I'm mentioning all of this is that it's caused me no end of hell due to the recent workload I've had but has taught me an awful lot about how things can build up and fall on you. I had an OSCE exam, an essay and placement prep to complete, all of which had to be put on hold whilst I recovered and waited for test results. I missed my OSCE and had to get an extension to finish my essay (boohoo!). I think the OSCE will now be in September so at least I have plenty of time to practice these skills prior to it and a 2 week extension for my essay. Of course that's helpful but I start placement tomorrow and now have to write this at the same time...oh dear. Best to get used to it now I suppose - lots of multitasking practice.

So on a MASSIVELY exciting note, I START PLACEMENT TOMORROW! TOMORROW!! I am ever so slightly excited right now and am writing as a way to get some of my excitement out so that I may get some sleep tonight and be fresh for tomorrow. I have a lovely 50 mile journey and won't be home until after 10pm so I'm straight in at the deep end. What an introduction to being a nurse?! Ha! Today we had our Trust induction where we covered mandatory training and received information about what we can expect and what is expected of us. We also received our Trust IDs. I took my (posed) preprepared photo with me (post photoshop) only to find out that they were taking our photographs anyway and our other photos were to be shoved in a file :(  So my ID photo is terrible and I look constipated and awkward, hahaha! Never mind, I'm hoping I can get a new picture taken if I decide to change my hair colour or something.

Any way, my uniform is ironed and packed, my paperwork is packed, as is my lunch, my fob, badges and my notebook and black pen, now I just have to get to bed. On that note - good night. I'll report back soon, if I have time to breathe of course :)

More Nursing Practicals

Over the last few weeks we've had more interesting practical sessions where we covered bed making, personal care (helping to clean a patient), vital observations, injection technique and poo/urinalysis (yum!). All very 'nursey' things to learn and finally a little time out of the lecture theatres.

I swear bed making sounds easy. Our tutor is an ex-army nurse and takes hospital corners faaaar too seriously! I still have "make a triangle, fold it under and tuck" stuck in my head, which may be a good thing I suppose... I also didn't know that there were different names for the sheet 'layers'; he called them some weird name that I really can't remember cos it seems truly irrelevant really.

Personal care was a really interesting session although the tutor didn't spare any details (good thing I'm sure!). I have delivered (how detached does that sound?!) personal care in the past so have experience already although I have never done this in a hospital environment which I can imagine is slightly different given how busy it will be and the possibility of it being on a bay rather than a private room. I like that the way he described the entire process was focused on maintaining the dignity of the patient and ensuring that they retain as much independence as possible. One thing that was highlighted quite frequently was curtains are not sound proof which I'm told many healthcare professionals forget. Another thing that struck me is how operational it all seemed. All cleaning equipment is disposable to prevent cross infection. The whole help a patient to wash and change a sheet beneath them...I'm not sure how comfortable I would be in this situation... :0/

The vital observation sessions have been challenging. We've been    learning how to take manual blood pressure, temperature, capillary refill, oxygen saturation, pulse and respiratory rate and are soon to have an OSCE based around these skills (as well as communication of course!). My friends and I have been practising so we're hoping we'll cruise through it and I've been using my close ones as patients too :) I'm still absolutely terrified for this exam mind :O

Urinalysis and poo analysis were yummy as you can imagine. Again it was quite a basic session (more of an introduction to it) as I seriously couldn't just go into practice now and confidently say , "Yes, that's a 3 on the Bristol Stool Chart and that person's urine means they have XX wrong with them because they have XX in their wee!". Clearly practice makes perfect with these things. It seems pretty icky to wish for more experience with these things but I am...all part of being a nurse :)

Injection technique was an OK session...not exactly as I hoped but we learnt the basics, which I suppose is all we can hope for at this early stage. We were each given an 'arctic roll' (a rubber one, not an ice cream one) and practiced both subcutaneous (injection in fatty tissue) and intramuscular techniques (muscular tissue - deeper and more painful). I visited my first placement and my mentor told me that I will be administering subcut injections - terrifying prospect but really exciting too!

So that's a really brief overview of what we've been doing. I start placement in less than 2 weeks so will be able to (hopefully!) practice most of these things in real life.

I'll keep you posted :)

Moving House!

Gosh this has taken me an age to post. I've been a very busy bee of late as is probably obvious by the title of this post. My partner and I bit the bullet and purchased our first home together - very exciting but so, so time consuming, expensive and stressful. We moved almost 3 weeks ago and although the time has flown it's probably because we haven't stopped to notice.

It's a very humble abode - a 1 bedroom flat with a loft conversion that we've split between us - 1 side for my partner's chilling/game area/man cave, and the other half as my clothes store/study. When we first moved in it was a nightmare. We're nearly finished sorting things out but still have a few more things to collect from my Mam's house and a few bits and bobs to buy but they'll have to wait until we have more time and money. The walls were bright blue and green which is definitely not us. I think sitting in rooms that bright would give me a migraine. So now we've nicely toned it down and personalised it in our own little budgety way. Luckily for me by BF is a rather talented artist and so painted some designs on the walls to jazz it up a bit. I hate that I'm not arty, but I've always been able to picture what I want so it's great having someone who can translate that and actually paint it for me :) So, here is what he did:


This is at the top of the stairs. We are thinking of making it into a "coat tree" for guests' jackets. He continued it into the passage/hall with birds above the bedroom and bathroom door and one flying away:

This is in our bedroom above the bed. I love oriental flowers :)

After living in a rented flat and not being able to decorate how we wanted we thought we'd go all out. Plus my BF's always wanted to draw on walls and thoroughly enjoyed the rebellious feeling :) 

I've also started being a little bit creative with a needle and thread. I made some cushions for our living room...well I made 2 and I've had no time to make any more but I will. Here's 1 of them:

Very excited to have my own space to enjoy and concentrate on my studies :)

Finally getting our hands dirty...or clean. Nursing Practicals!

Hey!

So this week we've finally been able to get started on the exciting things - practicals. Yeah!

Hand Hygiene

We began by learning about the importance of infection control and how to wash our hands, which I must say is not as easy as it sounds. They asked that we put some sort of lotion on our hands (which would show up as dirt) and then wash our hands as we normally would. Personally I'm a bit of a stickler for having clean hands so I wash thoroughly. Following washing we had to put our hands under an ultraviolet light which showed me that I had missed several places on my hands - the heel of my hand and under the corner of one of my nails. Yak! So, lesson number one is to chop off my long-ish nails. As awful as that is to me, they have to go!

These are the places where most of us missed, and in fact most people miss when washing. Not good when you consider how easily those germs can be passed on.

Anyhoo, we were shown how to correctly wash our hands so as not to miss any areas. Here's the sort of flow that we were shown to follow:

These posters are above most sinks in hospitals so really there is no excuse to "forget".

The nurse taking the session gave us a warning though that the constant hand washing can have quite a large effect on the integrity of our skin and given that I have quite sensitive skin, this is something that I will have to keep on top of. All of the hand moisturisers that I received for Christmas will come in very handy I'm sure (absolutely no pun intended there, ha!) :)

She also shared this with us:

It's pretty self explanatory but it's basically the main times when you should be performing hand hygiene whilst in practice.

De-escalation

We also covered different methods of de-escalation, so how to try to avoid aggressive behaviour and how to calm situations down. This was a bit of an odd session. It was very much common sense - calm tone, eye contact, open body language, etc. We covered some different scenarios and carried out some role play which seemed simple enough, however I don't feel that the session has equipped me to an extent that I would feel ready to face a similar situation. In fact I don't think I'll be ready until I'm in that situation  It's very much a case of everyone and every situation is different as well. Human emotions are always going to be a big challenge and I don't think I'll ever predict what may happen. I just hope I develop enough skills to be able to cope without curling up into the foetal position and calling for my Mam! :0/

First Aid

The next session we had was around First Aid, mainly focusing on shock, dressings and choking in babies, children and adults. I've been to several of these sessions before but it was refreshing that we actually got to practice the techniques on actual people (dressings by the way, not knocking someone on the back!).

First and foremost we talked about the priorities of first aid:

• Assess the situation quickly and calmly
• Protect yourself and any casualties from danger
• Prevent cross infection
• Comfort and reassure casualties
• Assess the casualty
• Give early treatment and treat the casualties with the most serious (life-threatening) conditions first
• Arrange for appropriate help

I think the second point hit home the most for me. Although I'd be very tempted to trump on in there and try to help out, it's so important to ensure that it's safe for you first, otherwise what help are you going to be if you're in the same position as them?

Following this, we learnt about how to recognise a choking casualty and how to treat them, learnt how to distinguish between different types of bleeding and how to treat it, and finally identified the possible signs and symptoms of shock and how to care for someone in that position.

Choking:

We were shown the correct technique, which is very similar to the picture below. I must say though that we were told to carry out up to 5 blows. What is the point in continuing beyond 2 blows if the item is dislodged and the patient is fine after that? Sounds silly but it's true. We were warned about the final, drastic step also. If abdominal thrusts are used then we must refer the patient to A&E as it can cause internal bleeding/damage. We were also shown the techniques for children and babies which I must say was not a pleasant experience but one I'm glad I now know about just in case.

Bleeding and Dressings:

This part of the session seems a lot easier than it was in practice I can assure you. There is definitely an art to applying a bandage and a triangular sling, one which I need to practice...a lot! Mine was rather squint and my sling was not ultimately supportive so I think I'll be purchasing a couple of first aid kits and fluttering my eyelashes a bit to my partner. Speaking of him, after 3 weeks of learning how to be a student nurse he has now decided that I know everything and can subsequently tell him why his leg hurts, how long things will take to heal and the best action to take...after 3 weeks! Clearly not. Anyway, I digress...
Here's what we did:

Seriously looks easier than it is!

 Shock:

Finally we looked at the signs and symptoms of shock and how to treat someone with them. The most common include:

• A fast, weak pulse
• Low blood pressure
• Feeling faint, weak or nauseous
• Dizziness
• Cold, clammy skin
• Rapid, shallow breathing
• Blue lips

We were advised that the faster the symptoms are recognised the better, which in some cases can be very difficult if there are a lot of things going on. Imagine being in a car accident and this arose...how would you react? How quickly do you think you would recognise this, if at all? Definitely something to ponder...

As a final thought, we were told that being a nurse will always be a part of our lives, both inside and outside of work. It is our responsibility now to help all of those in need where we can and at least call emergency services if required. It really does make you realise that nursing is definitely a vocation and not necessarily a "career" per se. And for all of the bad press that nurses have had recently, I'm still proud to say I'm a student nurse. I'm learning the right way and I came into nursing in order to care which is exactly what I intend to do for the next 40 or so years.

Thanks for reading!

My First Couple of Days as a Student Nurse!

I've just finished my second day at uni and it's all getting very exciting. We were introduced to our Guidance Tutor (GT) and group, told where our placement area will be, given lots of info about the course itself, given our PPDF file thingys (I think they're a record of the skills we build in placements but not so sure yet), measured for our uniforms, given our 'Student Nurse' badges, given lots of paperwork and timetables etc and given a tour of the university and clinical skills areas. We've generally had a lot of free time so far but I'm expecting this to change rather rapidly. I'm really chuffed with my GT and group but not so much with my placement area. It means travelling up to 70 miles each way for some hospitals which would be impossible for me. I'm in discussions with my tutors to try and change this though so hoping for the best.

Not much to report as of yet but here's a pic of some lil things I've collected :) 

Excited for the next few weeks!

Staying Balanced & Healthy, both Physically & Emotionally

It is so  important to maintain who you are whilst doing something very stressful so that you can retain some balance in your life. In fact one of the biggest pieces of advice I've been given for starting this course is to try my best to make time for myself and the things I enjoy. The way I intend to do this throughout my time at university is to keep up my hobbies and make damn sure I do. I always tend to get lost in what I'm doing but this time I've promised myself that it'll be different. My current front runner hobbies are playing with make-up, reading books and exercising regularly. Perhaps a touch of meeting friends and consuming a lil bit of my old mate Rosè wine and Bournville choccy :) I WILL keep this up, I will! (Perhaps just the wine and choc :0p)

I'll keep you posted on my success levels :0/

I Start Uni this Month: My Nursey Supplies

Hi there!

So...it's now March, the month that my course begins. How very exciting...and nerve racking/terrifying! :O This aside, it's been an age since I posted so thought I'd do a lil post about the items I've collected for uni. Collecting things has helped to prevent me being so impatient...hence the volume of things I have, some more unnecessary than others, ha! Some were gifts, some are things I've had for a while and some are little treats that I insisted on purchasing. Have a gander if you wish :)

So here's a little list of what I've got and where to get them:

• Various post-it notes - Asda - £1
• NU notebook with dividers, lined, plain, squared paper and index cards - Asda - £3
• Hole punch - Asda - £2
• File of index cards - Asda - £1 
• Small notebook for placement notes - Asda - £0.50
• Folder - Staples - £4
• Mini stapler with 1000 staples - Asda - £2
• Memory pen - Mam - £Free :)
• Planner (with photo) - personal-planner.co.uk - approx £20
• Box of various bull clips, paper clips, etc. - Staples - £2 (bargain sale!)
• Cork board pins - Wilkinsons - £1
• Love pencil case - Wilkinsons - £2 with highlighters inside (£1 for 10)
• ID badge holder - goodiesfornurses.co.uk - £?? (Gift)
• Tourniquet - goodiesfornurses.co.uk - £?? (Gift)
• Injection pens - goodiesfornurses.co.uk - £?? (Gift)
• Scissors - goodiesfornurses.co.uk - £?? (Gift)
• Bristol Stool Chart Air Freshener - goodiesfornurses.co.uk - £?? (Gift)
• Tetley's Tea bags - Gift :)
• Casio Calculator - Stationary Box (had since I started Secondary school and still works - excellent stuff!)
• Bic Coloured pencils - (Also had for a long time)
• The Student Nurse Handbook - Bethann Siviter
• Bailliere's Nurse's Dictionary
• The Human Body - DK
• Palgrave's Cite Them Right
• The Royal Marsden Hospital Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures (Student Edition)
• The Illustrated Atlas of the Human Body - Beverly McMillan
• Nursing Calculations
• Ross and Wilson Anatomy and Physiology text book and work book
• Littmann Stethoscope Classic II S.E. in ocean blue - £?? - Gift

Still to get/things I want:

• Comfy/ugly nursey shoes
• Fob watch
• Pocket organiser
• Tote bag for books
• Clinical pocket reference guides
• Hand sanitiser and clip
• Blood pressure cuff
• Micropore tape
• Dictaphone 
• BNF Drugs guide

The books I've mentioned can be found in most good book shops, either online or in store. I purchased all  of mine when they were on offer and bought some second hand to avoid paying too much. I think I may be going a little bit mad with all of this...but I don't care. It's all a very exciting journey and I like being prepared for it. I'm slightly nervous about relearning about the body etc. so went a little crazy with A&P books. I should be a genius by the time I've made my way through this lot!

More Nursing Goodies: Littmann Stethoscope and Nursing Dictionary

Hi!

I just thought I'd post a picture of one of my favourite Christmas gifts - a Littmann Classic II SE Stethoscope. My Mam got it engraved with my name so that no one pinches it - apparently that happens rather frequently. And she got it in ocean blue which is my favourite colour! Mine came with an instruction manual and a free interactive learning disc which I'm sure will come in very handy. I was originally just going to get a cheap steth but decided to splurge a little bit on a good quality one so that it lasts for a long time throughout my career. I have literally no idea how to work it properly yet but will be picking my boyfriend's Mam's brain very soon. I also want to get a a blood pressure cuff so that I can practice manual BPs before I start my course in March but let's just see how the pennies work out :) So here it is:

I also bought a nurses' dictionary recently and am looking forward to understanding at least some of the terminology soon :)