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 :)