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 :)

Preparation is Everything!

Since I've got such a long wait before I start the course in March, I figured I'd use the time wisely. I've been doing a few things to help me understand the things that I'm going to face over the next 3 years:

Vlogs/blogs: I LOVE reading blogs or watching vlogs about other nursing students' experiences, which is partially why I made this blog really. It's so interesting knowing how other people prepared, learning what I may come up against, what I might see on placement, things I have to learn, how people come through struggles and hearing success stories. I hope that somebody else out there will get some enjoyment out of reading my silly banter also :) I usually get quite distracted though, especially by makeup tutorials. My latest find is a girl who is also a student nurse who happens to record makeup tutorials - doubly brilliant! I can see it being an issue when I have actual work to do though.

Books: Anatomy and physiology books, advice books, clinical texts, etc. I'm going to write another post about the specific books I've been reading which may help.

Talking to current students/health professionals: I think this is the one that I'm finding the most helpful, after all they've already experienced all of the things I'm researching first hand.

Work: I'm working in care homes at the moment, specifically EMI residential homes. EMI stands for Elderly Mentally Infirm - I hate that name but don't know what else to call it :0/. Every time I go to work I have a million more questions to ask the in-house nurse, who must be very fed up of me by now! I feel very lucky that I'm going into this course with quite a lot of experience in health care under my belt. So many people have to start from scratch and honestly the first time you carry out personal care or feed a very ill person can be quite upsetting and feel strange. I'm glad I was able to do these things in my own time without the worry of being assessed.

Life preparation: I'm thinking a lot about how my life is going to be once I get in to the course. The PGCE completely took over my life and I was so unhappy, so this time I want to make sure that I make time for myself and my family/friends. I have to figure out how I'm going to afford to live. Luckily my boyfriend is amazing and he has said that he'll support me financially. He's a bit of a gem :) I'd like to keep up my agency work but it's very rare that they offer shorter shifts, they're usually 12 hours which I think would be impossible to fit in. I've heard that a lot of students take on some bank work after a round 6 months into their 1st year so that might be an option.

Lists: I am one of those sad creatures who enjoys writing lists - it's literally how I live. Everything goes on my list or in my diary...to then be added to my list, ha! So I've been writing lists of things that I need to research or purchase. Very exciting! I'm not really sure if I need the really nursey things like a stethoscope and a sphygmomanometer (copy and pasted as it's a ridiculous word!). I want them, but do I need them? Perhaps to practice manual BPs - look at me sounding like I know what I'm talking about - I don't by the way ;)

And finally, looking at course content, modules and timetables: All very important things so that I know what the hell I'm going to be doing for the next year. The timetable was an eye opener mind. It's going to be very interesting starting the term in March too.

That's about it for now. Until next time, TTFN!

The Nursing Application Process

I'm not even going to try to sugar coat this. I HATED the application process! Oh my GOD it was stressful, but so worth it when you see that status change on UCAS (that's the University and College Admissions Service to all that don't know). It was the best day of 2012 so far!

So the first thing you have to do, aside from actually deciding that you want to do the course and which branch/field (adult/child/mental health/learning disability), is think about where you want to study. My choice was always set in stone. I have several commitments at home, as many people do, so moving was never an option. Besides that, I have one of the most prestigious universities on my doorstep. So that was decided. Then you have to start to compose your personal statement. This is so important as it's the university's first impression of you. You can only use a limited number of characters so everything you say has to be concise and important - if it's not going to really convince them that you want it and that they should take you, then you don't need to say it. There are so many sites for advice on completing your PS (honestly Google it! 3, 470,000 results) that I'm not going to go into detail but I will say this....Show how passionate you are about nursing and definitely mention your chosen field. Nursing courses are so competitive now that you have to show that you know what you want and are committed to a certain field. If you want to study child nursing then make sure you say it and be absolutely positive that this is what you want to study for the next 3 years, as well as work in for the next 40. I would also advise to start your PS with something that will catch their attention. Admissions read sooo many applications that I'm sure they get sick of reading, "I want to study adult nursing because..." - be original! Remember, this is their first impression of you and you need to make it count. Also, in many uni selection processes, each section is pointed, including the PS so it needs to be good to get you further.

Next, reference - Make sure you ask your chosen referee as early on as possible to ensure they have time to complete a quality reference for you. I'm sure no one wants to be a few days from the deadline, flapping because their referee hasn't submitted a reference yet. And you definitely don't want them rushing it - it has to be as amazing as you, right?

Interview - ARGH! Even the word sounds scary. Usually, universities send out some information about the structure and content of the day. Mine sent an email, generally outlining tasks and such. All universities do things differently - some have group interviews, some have individual ones, others have both. Some have literacy and numeracy tests, some have 1 or the other, others have both. Most universities have a little information session though, to break you into the day and help you relax - and obviously to give you more information about the course! At my interview we started by registering. We had to take photographic ID and certificates to prove our qualifications. Following this we gathered into a room where we watched a powerpoint and listened to a talk about the course. The tutors are very friendly and put you at ease straight away. I think the biggest misconception people have with interviews is that they're trying to catch you out. They're definitely not - they want to bring out the best in you. So, anyway, after this we watched a short video (2 minutes) about a lady's negative experience in hospital. We had a 10 minute written activity about the video and had to write about any issues and how we would improve her experience. This was quite simple and was mainly to test your ability to write. This aspect is pointed in the same way as the PS. After this we were put into groups of 5 and had a short break before our group interview. We had the chance to get to know each other a little better and feel a bit more comfortable before being plunged back into the testing conditions again.

Group interview - This was basically a group discussion that lasted for around 40 minutes. Firstly, we talked about the video we had watched in the previous session. The interviewers (2 of them by the way) threw in questions to keep the conversations flowing. It's important to remember that this group interview is not just about what you say, which is obviously important, but the interviewers are looking at how well you can communicate. Communication is HUGE in nursing (or so I've been told :0p). They want to see that you don't sit silently and let other people control the entire discussion, or that you don't completely dominate the discussion and drown others out. You have to find the middle ground with this one. Another thing - make sure to make eye contact and talk to everyone in the discussion, not just the interviewers. I made sure to build on other peoples' points, agreeing, disagreeing, adding my opinion or experience to things mentioned. The best thing to do is to not over think it. Try to be as natural as possible. It's just a conversation - no pressure :0/ ha! To prepare I made sure that I had read up on relatively recent changes or important things within the NHS and in the media. I went in with a general knowledge of several things, but in depth knowledge of around 3 different issues. You don't have to know the ins and outs of everything or know everything that is going on in the world of health. They aren't looking for ready-made health professionals - just show that you've taken the time to read up on a couple of things.

The final part - the individual interview. We were told that this would be very short but I wasn't expecting it to be as short as it was - 5 minutes if that! They asked me one question - ONE! I had answers prepared for at least 40, including what was the last book you read and which bloody super hero would you most like to be! I'm glad I had prepared anyway, just in case. So the one question: which qualities/skills do you feel you could bring to nursing? A question you would expect and should definitely prepare for. I said communication, caring and compassionate nature (cliché but very important), experience in a caring role and adaptability, all very important in nursing. Following this, they asked if I had any questions and then if I'd applied elsewhere - I hadn't. I left, fumbling with my scarf that I almost tripped on, dropping my bottle of water and wishing the door wasn't so far away from my shaking hands. I never get that nervous in any situation, and honestly I didn't think it had gone overly well.

So I was left with the inevitable wait. I received an email from the university a few days later telling me that I had been successful at interview and that I was going to be short listed - fantastic!! I had to send them a second reference and then they were going to take my application and total score to a selection event, where a group of admissions tutors look at applications and decide whether they are strong enough to be accepted. I emailed admissions every few days, phoning them just to be sure they received my email, praying that I'd hear soon. I was told that it would take them until around Xmas time to make decisions and inform everyone, so you can imagine my surprise when I received an email from UCAS telling me that my status had been updated only 2 weeks after the interview. I logged in apprehensively to see the word "Conditional" beside the university name. To say that I cried with joy would be an understatement! 

The application process was difficult, the wait was even worse but finding out I was in was absolutely amazing. 

If anyone has any questions about the application process or needs some clarification on any aspect, please feel free to leave me a comment or send me an email.

Until next time, TTFN.

We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us...

Many people come to nursing later in life so I thought it might be helpful to explain where I came from and why I made my decision to pursue adult nursing.

I started out, at a very young age helping to care for my family. I'm the youngest of 5 siblings; 4 girls and 1 boy (bless him!). My Mam is an absolute inspiration and has devoted her life to bringing up her (very complicated!) children and caring full time for one of my sisters. She was born perfectly normal but at the age of 1 she had the Measles vaccine, which caused severe brain damage - the technical name is vaccine encephalopathy. This meant that a very normal little girl, who spent the small amount of time she had on her feet being mischievous, was no longer able to function in the way that she had. Her behaviours changed and she lost the abilities that she had developed in her first year. She never developed the ability to walk, talk and feed herself and became entirely dependent on our family to complete daily tasks. I was born several years later and as soon as I was old enough, I threw myself in to caring for my sister - aiding her with all of the things she needed. Of course she never lost her mischievous side and took every opportunity to knock my dinner from my lap, trip me up, laugh at me when I fell/bumped into things/generally injured myself, and all other sorts of naughty behaviour - evil little sense of humour she has! :) Now she is 32 years old, still being cared for by my Mam and my family and still causing mischief. Of course caring for your family is very different to caring in the public/private sector. But nonetheless, this is where the first urge to work in care came to me. Later on something big was to change my direction in life...

When I was 11 my eldest sister suffered a major stroke, aged 22. This experience shook me to my core. I looked on, too young to do anything substantial, as another blow struck my family. As I explained earlier, my Mam literally is a hero and refuses to let anything get her down. She powered through. I did my best to follow in her footsteps, although honestly at such a young age I hardly knew what was going on. My sister lost her motor skills and had to relearn everything, which, with the help of health professionals, rehabilitation teams and family she did (and is now a high calibre graduate to boot!). It was at this point that I discovered a path that I would pursue in the future - teaching. I helped my sister regain her abilities to read, write and talk and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Following this I took on every teaching or mentoring role I could throughout school. My friends would pile their work onto my desk so that I could proof read it for them and give them pointers to improve it. I loved being helpful in this way. I had also trained in Aikido for many years, achieved black belt and began teaching classes. Everyone told me how good I was and encouraged me to pursue a career in teaching.

To cut a long story short I was accepted onto a teaching degree but did not achieve the A Level results to continue with it. It was around this time that another challenge was sent towards my family. My Mam was diagnosed with MS (multiple sclerosis). Admittedly, I lost my way a little, confused as to how all of the other people at school and sixth form 'seemed' to glide through life with a normal family experience. Why was my road always so bumpy? I couldn't focus on anything and went through a stage of going out a lot, drinking, as some form of escapism. When I finally let reality back in, I took a good look at what I had. I'm pretty sure you've gathered by now that I think rather highly of my Mam (as most people do, obviously!), but she has more fight in her than anyone I have ever known. She was what I had, my siblings were what I had. I had to do something, if not for me, for them, after all, my Mam had sacrificed so much for me, I had to give her something back. I made the decision to complete a degree in English Literature and Education with the idea of completing a Primary PGCE afterwards, and so, I plugged away and worked hard to achieve a 2:1. I don't think I'll ever forget how proud my Mam was at my graduation. Shortly after, I applied for the Primary PGCE but did not gain a place. I was devastated but took it as an opportunity to gain some work experience. After trying to gain a position in a school environment and failing, I noticed a job in a care setting, specifically supporting the needs of disabled adults - an area where I was very comfortable given my experience. After about a month I became very good at this job. I loved the ladies I worked with and had developed such a great bond with them, however after around a year the council started to make massive staff and budget cuts. It was at this point that I realised I had to look for something more stable.

I decided to reapply for the PGCE and after a short wait, discovered that I had a place. With great sadness, I handed in my notice and said goodbye to the people I had grown so close to, preparing myself for a very challenging year ahead. As soon as I began the course I felt a bit lost but I kept on going, gripping onto the passion that I'd had for years. My first school placement rolled around - it wasn't great, but I loved working with children. My second placement was better, working with older children with SEN, an area of comfort. I loved helping them 1-1 and interacting with them. Third placement: this was the moment when I realised how much of an error I had made. As I said, I love working with children but I certainly did not enjoy shouting at, or telling them off, planning until 4am, getting back up 6am and generally teaching children in such a strict and constrained environment. I have never been a particularly authoritative person and really struggled with these aspects. I sat down and asked myself if I wanted to continue to put myself through it, and each time I told myself no. Could I see myself teaching in 40+ years? I couldn't even see myself teaching for the following 40 days! People always came back to me and told me to continue with it, my Mam included - "There's not long left!", "You can do it!", "Just keep going!", were the resounding cheers that everybody directed towards me. I pushed myself, wanting to make my Mam proud, defying my gut feeling, extended my study, tried my hardest to fit back into a school setting, refusing to give in, to complete the final 8 weeks of my PGCE...but my heart was not in it. My heart no longer belonged there. I don't think it ever did. It wasn't fair to keep doing this, for myself, for the profession and for the kids. My Mam agreed that it was wrong to do something that I didn't want to do, and supported me in the decision that I had to make. I decided there and then that I'd had enough of lying to myself so I quit. This was the biggest and best decision of my life. You can truly only see the light when you have taken steps down a path. If you simply look at a path without taking a step, you get a restricted view and cannot feel the ground beneath your feet. It is when you take steps on the road that you discover the truth. As cliché as it sounds, that's the way it was and is.

I had been working for a care agency for the last 2 years, prior to and during the PGCE. It was partially this experience that cemented the fact that I no longer wanted to be a teacher and admitted to myself what I really wanted to do - nurse. The memories that stick in my mind are coming home from teaching placements and being an emotional wreck vs. coming home from a care setting feeling fulfilled and happy. I spoke with several professional tutors, current nurses, my family, friends, my partner, researched courses and the realities of the profession, had a holiday to think about things and came out the other end with a plan firmly in my head and in my heart. I had to apply to undertake nursing training! It came to me that, after everything, the happiest I have ever been has been in a care setting, whether it be personal or professional. So I applied for an adult nursing degree at a prestigious University, something I should have done a long time ago. After around 2 weeks I heard back from the Uni - they wanted to interview me! I attended the interview, which went very well and heard back after 10 days that I had a place, and here I am!

I hope I haven't bored you with my long winded tale, but I just wanted to let people out there know that sometimes people come around to things after a long time, after pursuing several other things. That doesn't mean that you want it any less than the next person, nor does it mean that you won't get it. I've had a rather complicated personal/professional/educational life so far and finally feel that I am on the right path for me. I can always take forward the skills I learnt from teaching and will definitely use them for mentoring, teaching small groups or in martial arts teaching again, but I most certainly won't be going back into a traditional classroom again.

I urge anyone who is unhappy with their current path in life to take account of what you have and what you want. Don't lie to yourself. If you think you want to pursue something else, look into it, ask questions, research until you are blue in the face, make sure you are sure! You never know...it might be the best thing you ever do. I know it was for me.