Well I passed my final placement of year one and then went on a well deserved break to Manchester. But when I returned I was informed of the sad news that my poor child minder had suffered a stroke and was now in hospital!
I have tried desperately to organise care for my children but without success. Therefore I have had to leave the course for a year and hope that there will be better child care in my area in March 2010.
So now I have a year of nothingness and as nice as being with my boys is, I can't help but feel disappointed. But, never one to procrastinate I have already gathered together a huge pile of books and nursing magazines. I also rang my nearest hospital and requested to speak to the volunteer manager (I didn't know a name or staff extension number). Once I was put through to the right person I explained my circumstances and said that, as my husband works 9-5 Monday to Fridays could I possibly volunteer as a healthcare assistant during weekends. The lady was very kind and said she would actually speak to the nursing bank to try and get me some paid work! Lets hope it pans out as I would love to keep my knowledge up to date and continue to build both my confidence and skills as I've been a student nurse for a whole year and feel I still have so much more to learn - perhaps more than can be fit into a three year course.
23 March 2009
28 February 2009
End of year 1
Well, that's the first year over with!
I can't believe I've completed the first year of the course already.
During my placement I was able to make the most of the opportunities there by letting my mentor know who I was interested in meeting (such as social workers etc.) to follow cases we were working on. My mentor was good enough to provide me with contact numbers so that I could arrange to visit members of the multidisciplinary team, which has really given me a flavour of how care is provided. I went out on visits to:
A child and family social worker
A nursery nurse
two difference nurse prescribers
A mental health worker
A children's community nurse (the equivalent of a district nurse)
A women's refuge health visitor
A school nurse
two district nurses
A midwife
CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health) nurses
SCBU (special care baby unit)
I would advise anyone on a community placement to bring a diary wiuth them to keep track of everone one they are going to spend time with.
Before I went on each visit I wrote a list of what I would like to find out about. I took a witness statement and then after the visit I wrote a reflective diary entry where I was able to explore how the care I witnessed fit into the picture, this also provided me with evidence to meet my placement competencies.
I must have done something right on the placement as I got a good pass mark and my mentor wrote some lovely comments in my placement book.
Anyway I've finished the first year. I got a mark of 70% for my final essay giving me an average assignment scores of 60% across the year. This means I will be doing the advanced diploma. Which means I will have two extra units to study in my final year, I'm disappointed as I can't choose to opt out of this and I think the extra work will make my work/family life balance even worse. I must admit I've found this year very hard in places particularly when I'm required to do 12 hr shifts and complete essays and placement evidence on my days off, rather than being free to spend spare time with my family.
But it'll be worth it in the end.....
I can't believe I've completed the first year of the course already.
During my placement I was able to make the most of the opportunities there by letting my mentor know who I was interested in meeting (such as social workers etc.) to follow cases we were working on. My mentor was good enough to provide me with contact numbers so that I could arrange to visit members of the multidisciplinary team, which has really given me a flavour of how care is provided. I went out on visits to:
A child and family social worker
A nursery nurse
two difference nurse prescribers
A mental health worker
A children's community nurse (the equivalent of a district nurse)
A women's refuge health visitor
A school nurse
two district nurses
A midwife
CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health) nurses
SCBU (special care baby unit)
I would advise anyone on a community placement to bring a diary wiuth them to keep track of everone one they are going to spend time with.
Before I went on each visit I wrote a list of what I would like to find out about. I took a witness statement and then after the visit I wrote a reflective diary entry where I was able to explore how the care I witnessed fit into the picture, this also provided me with evidence to meet my placement competencies.
I must have done something right on the placement as I got a good pass mark and my mentor wrote some lovely comments in my placement book.
Anyway I've finished the first year. I got a mark of 70% for my final essay giving me an average assignment scores of 60% across the year. This means I will be doing the advanced diploma. Which means I will have two extra units to study in my final year, I'm disappointed as I can't choose to opt out of this and I think the extra work will make my work/family life balance even worse. I must admit I've found this year very hard in places particularly when I'm required to do 12 hr shifts and complete essays and placement evidence on my days off, rather than being free to spend spare time with my family.
But it'll be worth it in the end.....
16 January 2009
The results are in...
Well it's my second week of my health visiting placement and I love it. The staff are great and my mentor is fantastic, she's been helping me to reflect on situations we have encountered and the communication which took place. She's also arranged for me to visit other professionals. This week I spent a day with a nurse prescriber and a social worker, next week I will be joining a midwife on her visits and also attending a conference about children with special needs. This will be useful as I am becoming increasingly concerned with regards to my own son.
Because of the hours I have worked this week my mentor insisted I had a half day today - something I was quite happy to miss as I enjoy this placement so much. However I used the afternoon to travel to my campus as the results of my exam and an assignment were ready for collection. I had thought that by collecting the results in the afternoon there wouldn't be such a big que, unfortunately everyone must have had that idea as the que was very long as it usually is on results day.
Anyhow I received a mark of 55% for the exam which I am a bit disappointed with, which is silly as the pass rate is still 40%. For the essay I received 71% which is my highest pass mark to date. I have one last set of results to get, next month and that will be this year completed.
If we receive an average mark of 50% and above we automatically begin the advanced diploma which is two extra units of work in the final year. So far my average is 61% so it's more than likely I will be working towards the advanced diploma. Which means I need less CATS points to top up the diploma to a degree (though I'm not sure how this will work with a health visiting degree).
Because of the hours I have worked this week my mentor insisted I had a half day today - something I was quite happy to miss as I enjoy this placement so much. However I used the afternoon to travel to my campus as the results of my exam and an assignment were ready for collection. I had thought that by collecting the results in the afternoon there wouldn't be such a big que, unfortunately everyone must have had that idea as the que was very long as it usually is on results day.
Anyhow I received a mark of 55% for the exam which I am a bit disappointed with, which is silly as the pass rate is still 40%. For the essay I received 71% which is my highest pass mark to date. I have one last set of results to get, next month and that will be this year completed.
If we receive an average mark of 50% and above we automatically begin the advanced diploma which is two extra units of work in the final year. So far my average is 61% so it's more than likely I will be working towards the advanced diploma. Which means I need less CATS points to top up the diploma to a degree (though I'm not sure how this will work with a health visiting degree).
06 January 2009
Community placement
Today was the beginning on my 3rd placement with a health visitor after a 1 week study break and 2 weeks of holidays.
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting parents in their own, home environment and being able to assess the holistic needs of the parents and their children. I was also able to attend a child protection meeting and witness the multidisciplinary team working together. The hours of 9-5 are more sociable than working on the 12 hr ward shifts. But it is Monday to Friday rather than 3 days a week so what I gain in sociable hours I lose in free time as it's almost impossible to study during the weekend with the boys needing attention. But that's okay, on my last placement I was able to provide evidence and therefore pass a lot of the competencies meaning this placement will not be so intense.
I can't wait for the next eight weeks as the health visitor team I met today all seem very open and friendly. It was lovely to hear my mentors opinion on systems and current practices and it will be interesting to work alongside other members of the multidisciplinary team.
Plus, this month i will find out the results of both the essay I submitted in December and the exam. I have already received the results of the workbook I submitted - I achieved 63% which i am obviously happy with.
Yesterday I submitted another essay, about care recieved by a service user from another branch. The results of this should be available in February but to be honest I will probably wait until the end of my placement to get my results as the assignments office shuts at half past four and I don't want to miss any of my placement.
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting parents in their own, home environment and being able to assess the holistic needs of the parents and their children. I was also able to attend a child protection meeting and witness the multidisciplinary team working together. The hours of 9-5 are more sociable than working on the 12 hr ward shifts. But it is Monday to Friday rather than 3 days a week so what I gain in sociable hours I lose in free time as it's almost impossible to study during the weekend with the boys needing attention. But that's okay, on my last placement I was able to provide evidence and therefore pass a lot of the competencies meaning this placement will not be so intense.
I can't wait for the next eight weeks as the health visitor team I met today all seem very open and friendly. It was lovely to hear my mentors opinion on systems and current practices and it will be interesting to work alongside other members of the multidisciplinary team.
Plus, this month i will find out the results of both the essay I submitted in December and the exam. I have already received the results of the workbook I submitted - I achieved 63% which i am obviously happy with.
Yesterday I submitted another essay, about care recieved by a service user from another branch. The results of this should be available in February but to be honest I will probably wait until the end of my placement to get my results as the assignments office shuts at half past four and I don't want to miss any of my placement.
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