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Finished first year of uni

girl 3718526 1920 - Finished first year of uni

On 9th December 2018, I completed my first year of university and all I have left is an OSCE resit in January. I have 8 weeks off before I return for second year (if I return).

My first assessed placement didn’t end too badly, I ended up having to go in the day after I finished to get my paperwork signed of, I was just glad to be finished with the place.

My second assessed placement was much better, the mentor I spent most of my time with was utter crap but my other mentor and everyone else were great. The placement provided me with lots of learning experiences and I’m really happy with how my year ended. 

I feel I have developed over the year, I just have to wait for results the board meets this week!

From now on I am working as much as possible before I return, I am only on a bank flexi contract now so I can fit work around placements much easier. 

This first year was easy compared to what lies ahead. 

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Where I’m staying on holiday this year – Heathrow

The Finest Coffee - Where I'm staying on holiday this year - Heathrow

It seems that I don’t go anywhere other that the States for my holidays, I actually don’t. I just love America, it’s history, people, sport and beer!

We always go up to the airport the day before and stay in a hotel so as not to rush on the day of the flight, flights to America are generally in the morning or at least we book onto those.

hotel ibis styles heathrow airport london bedroom p - Where I'm staying on holiday this year - Heathrow

This time round we stayed at the Ibis Style just outside Heathrow Airport on Bath Road. It is in a perfect location and at a perfect price that we will be staying there again. The room wasn’t massive but we didn’t need much for just one night.

Last time we stayed at the Leonardo Hotel one stop closer to the Airport. It was an okay place to stay but it felt too businessy.  

I have stayed at many a hotel when flying from Heathrow but the closer to the airport the better

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Half way through placement # 3

cartoon nursing student asking questions - Half way through placement # 3

So far I have been on my placement for 3 weeks with 4 weeks left. I’ve worked with my mentor 3 times (all early shifts) and don’t appear to have a buddy mentor, though I have worked with one nurse a lot. 

I’m not sure what to make of this placement or how I am going to make up lost hours. They appear to think I need to work with my mentor 80% of the time when it really should be 40%. The only time I’m supervised is when it involved drugs, but I’ve only given them out twice.

I do the admission paperwork alone then they check and counter sign, I take out cannulas alone, I escort to theatre and x-ray alone and I’m expected to make my own arrangements to work in different areas. I went down to outpatients the other afternoon as there was nothing to do on the ward and there was nothing to do in outpatients, I’m not sure I really want to do a whole day there. I been told that my working is affecting what I can do on placement and that they really don’t usually give students a Saturday shift, they just so happen to have gave given me two?!. Fridays are their busy/interesting theatre days but they are days I usually work. I have managed to get 2 Fridays off which is good. They have ‘concerns’ about me travelling and me also working but they don’t actually express them to me. 

I have loads of competencies that need signing off but no one has seen me cover them. Also if I am lead to believe by uni, that we need to do 37.5 hrs weeks / 750 hrs in first year, then I need to make up 58 hrs during my next placement. Everything I read says 700 hours as it’s 800 in years 2+3 totalling 2300 overall. The NMC requires student nurses to work no less than 2300 hours, our student handbook states 700 hours, out unit information states both 700 & 800 but uni tutors say 37.5 hours a week or 750 hours in year 1. I’ve emailed the placement team to clarify as it’s going to mean 4 long days most weeks in my last placement to make those hours up, if they let me. It’s my fault for taking a holiday during placement time but why the increase in required hours. I still say it’s 700 hours!

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My 1st day at placement # 3

20180828 043512 Edited - My 1st day at placement # 3

I got up at 4:30 am to get the train at 5:24! I had to be at placement for 7 am and arrived at 6:30 am

20180828 063202 Edited - My 1st day at placement # 3

My latest placement is at the private hospital Nuffield Health. It’s the first time I’ve done anything private, I’ve always been NHS.

There were 2 nurses + 2 hca’s in the morning and 2 nurses + 1 hca in the afternoon, with only 1 inpatient and 5 (I think) coming in as day cases or overnight. I found it very routine and I can only describe it as an admissions unit. Patient comes in, you go through admission and pre ob questions, do a set of obs, ask them to get changed, do pre ob medication  and wait for them to go down. You then escort them down and bring them back up. If they are day cases then you do 3 sets of obs 30 mins apart and once they are ready to go home you go through discharge questions and send them on their way. If they are staying in you do their medication.

I was told that it was a quiet day but a good one to start on. During the shift, I escorted patients to theatre and back, did obs, and sat around quite a bit. I was able to leave at 6 pm.

20180828 182111 Edited - My 1st day at placement # 3
20180828 180945 1 e1535896110358 - My 1st day at placement # 3

On the way home there happened to be a hot air bollon on the next food field.  I watched if for a short while but really needed to get my train home. I arrived at the station to just miss a train and then realising the trains were messed up and either delayed or cancelled. I ended up having to travel to Littlehampton and then get the train to Worthing. Due to the train issues the train I was on decided to cancel some of their station stops so I ended up getting of at Worthing rather than West Worthing. It wasn’t that big a deal but all in all it took me 2 hours from leaving placement to get home!

Back there tomorrow, here’s to leaving early again 😉 

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Why I’m not a typical blogger

Why Im not a typical blogger 1 - Why I'm not a typical blogger

I don’t confess to being any good at blogging, in fact I’d say I’m terrible at blogging. Below are my reasons why I’m not your typical blogger

  1. I’m extremely lazy
    Both in writing content and commenting on blogs, joining blogger chats etc
  2. I don’t much care for flat-lays
    I find them boring actually, not always, but I do think they are over done in the blog world
  3. I won’t be seen standing on chairs etc to take photos of food in public or even my own home
    I find it quite embarrassing, I can’t imagine being out and seeing others do this
  4. I don’t have the kind of social life that makes a blog interesting
    In fact I don’t really have much of a life. If I’m not at uni, placement, work or micro pub, I can be found sitting on the same sofa as always, watching TV or on the web 
  5. I rarely use pinterest
    I’ve tried using it, I have a few boards but it doesn’t really grab me 
  6. All I do on twitter is post links to my blog
    Enough said
  7. I don’t know how to edit images
    I don’t think I have the patience to ever learn, I don’t see the need for it on instagram, I like things looking natural
  8. I rarely think of any good content
    Well I do but it’s mainly when I’m trying to sleep, not when I’m actually trying to write a post
  9. I’m not connected to brands and wouldn’t know where to start
    This is mainly because I haven’t really build a following for this blog that drives brands to me
  10. I don’t have real direct for this blog
    I have 3 main areas I blog about on here and it is a bit of a mishmash really

I realise that if I want to build this blog, I need to stop being lazy, I need to work on post content, images and engaging with others. 

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When a bank job isn’t a bank job

interview 2204251 1920 - When a bank job isn't a bank job

Yesterday I had an interview for the local eye centre. I’m not looking for a new part-time job and don’t really need a 2nd job right now (other than increased debt payments) but I wanted a bank position where I could work as and when I liked and was local.

I applied for the job on the 31st May with a closing date of 6th June. This was clearly for a bank position. I’d given up on it and started to think had I actually applied or forgotten.

Anyways on the 9th August I received an invite to interview and quickly booked my slot for 21st August. All this time there was no mention of hours other than on the advert. I arrived yesterday, had a good interview and was shown around. It wasn’t till the end of the actual interview when I asked about shifts  was I told it was a full time position! Hold on a min, the advert stated bank and I’d gone to the interview for a bank position!

I really like the sound of the job and if I wasn’t doing my nurse training or it was a part-time position I would have jumped at an offer. I hear today if I was successful and if so I have to turn it down. 

The trust have since placed a new general bank advert but I can’t apply as I am on placement on the interview day. I think I am just going to wait til after placement in December and hope something comes up. I still have my part-time role, bank within the same trust (only same department for 3 months, then I can work in other areas), and bank with another trust, so I’m not short of money thankfully.

I’ll just chalk this up to interview experience.