Opening Day

Hi people :)

Well it's been about 10days since my last post and life has been same old...3 weeks into the 12week study block and work is slowly mounting up. We have a date set to attend an open day at the end of March to give us the opportunity to speak to people from the various hospitals regarding job opportunities and to ask questions and listen in on various talks-should be interesting! As I am also looking for work further afield in the UK I am also registering on NHS Jobs just to see what opportunities are arising, with another open day to attend at the end of February. Definitely worth registering on before looking for work, as you will be able to see what they expect and look for from newly qualified students so you will gain some indication of which area's you will need to focus on.

As the title states, I thought it a good opportunity to write about the university Open Day. Although I was determined to get onto the nursing course and only applied to Bedfordshire, I wanted to get a bit more information about the course from talking to people rather than just relying on the prospectus I had received. After keeping an eye out for dates, I attended the open day at Aylesbury (Bucks campus) as the date suited me and a lot of the staff are the same as well as the sessions and course structure. I finally managed to find the campus (advice-look at google maps/sat nav/map etc before leaving and leave extra time!) and there were a lot of other people there. The open day was aimed at not just potential adult nurse students but also mental health, child and ODP (Operating Room Practitioner). Even if you think you want to apply for a certain field of nursing, it is worth sitting in on the talks around the other area's as who knows, there may be other options and it also gives you an insight into the other roles.

I think the most valuable thing I found when there was being able to speak to admin staff about funding/bursary options. I knew I would need to contact the bursary/finance teams for more exact details but getting a good overview did put my mind at rest, as after years of working on a full-time wage I was wary about whether I would have enough to live off or whether I would need to take up a part-time job whilst studying (fortunately I am getting away with not having to, but it depends on your situation/lifestyle etc).

I know a lot of students who did not attend any open day prior to applying for the course, but feel they may have been able to gain more of an understanding about what to expect from the course. If you end up going-let me know what you think. Do you think it helped?

On a sadder note (but I feel worth bringing up) I had a death in the family last weekend of a close relative. We were aware he was ill from before Christmas so at that point I decided to work on my essay over Christmas and submit three weeks before the submission date. Over the three years other students have had similar situations where things happen-either family illness or personal illness maybe, and the last thing you want is the stress of an essay that is due in within the next week. As previously mentioned, some students thrive on pressure to complete their written work well and do work better by leaving things to the last week or two but my belief is if you can get it done early, do it. You never know what is around the corner and sometimes the last thing you need is uni work.

Right, well that's me for the day. See you next week!
Em x
 
 

Group work

Hi Everyone :)

I wasn't quite sure what to write about today until I attended a meeting at university representing the students in my class. Back in Year one I put myself forward to be a class representative and have stuck with it since. I attend the meetings when I can and these usually fall once every three months, with student reps, lecturers, representatives from the hospitals etc. present at both Butterfield and Aylesbury via a camera link.

During this meeting, student reps are asked whether there are any issues they wish to raise from their class. A student from Buckinghamshire raised the issue about group work. He felt that it was unfair to work in groups and rely on those people to gain a team grade as if one member did not pull their weight then this could potentially cause a lower grade.

Another student who is just about to qualify responded saying that she felt exactly the same early on, but the process of teamwork was an important factor in terms of being a student nurse. He didn't seem convinced.

Back in Year one, I probably had the same opinion as him. I didn't mind the concept of group work, but did not like the idea of receiving a lower grade due to another person not contributing. I did not want to be the person to tell others to make sure they attended or pulled their weight, as that may have meant I gained a reputation of being overly pushy or serious.

But after working on the wards, I realised group work is an essential element of the university experience for any student nurse. Once released into the world of nursing, you will come into contact with people who may be stuck in their ways or not contribute enough which could increase your workload. How you talk to people and resolve conflict is a necessity. Rather than look at it as the group could affect your grade, think of it as how much the task will contribute to your development as a nurse.

Looking back, I can really see how much I have developed in my communication skills. I had assumed that after 8years of full time customer service work I would have nothing more to learn about communicating with others, but now I feel I have grown due to the opportunities in both practice and university. Before, I was nervous as to not upset anyone by asking them to help out more or do their share, whatever it meant for my grade. Now I feel I have adapted to address issues before they develop and discussing at the start of any task what our expectations of each other are, with deadlines put in place to ensure no individual is over compensating for others.

The main thing is....not everything will make sense to begin with. I couldn't stand group work. I found it pointless. Two years on-I get the lecturers point of view. In Year one I viewed it as lecturers were not supporting and overseeing the groups enough, now I see it as encouragement of independent learning, being responsible for our own opportunities.

What I mean is-be open to all learning opportunities. Everyone will prefer a different method of study, but you never know until you try.
 
Good luck all :)

Applying for the course

Morning everyone :)

Three years ago, I was eagerly awaiting my response from the university as to whether I would be offered an interview, so thought this would be a good subject to discuss in today's blog.

For me as mentioned previously, I was living away from home with a lot of my family living in the Luton area. My Gran had been in hospital and I decided at the age of 25 at the time that it was a good time to apply. I only applied to the University of Bedfordshire as I wanted to not only be nearer to family, but also did not want to leave university with further debt. Maybe if I had applied when I was leaving college I may have wanted to experience the whole' student living', but it would just not have suited me now. I also loved the fact that there was a spare study room at my mum's, so I would have the peace and quiet to study when I needed to. I also was very eager to apply then as I would be joining the last year of diploma intake. I had the GCSE grades required but as I had completed an AVCE in college I did not have enough points to get onto the degree course. If I had left applying another year I would have needed to take a year's access course to get onto the degree course. Saying that, as my grades were high enough at the end of Year 2 I was able to transfer over to the degree for this the final year which is a bonus!

I received an offer of interview at the end of January 2011 and was both relieved and ecstatic. I had put all my eggs in one basket and had no back up plan as to what I would do if I was not offered an interview. When it came to the interview day I was rather nervous. I was sat in the large reception/learning resources area at Butterfield Campus with a large number of other applicants-some with a mum or dad, some alone. There was a feeling of nervous tension over the room. We were required to bring various documents with us to prove things like grades, ID etc and the time there finished with an interview. I was interviewed by two people-I think one academic and one from the community (service user I think but I can't remember as it all was a bit of a blur!). I had attended a number of interviews previously in my life and felt prepared with questions such as, 'name a situation when...'. If you have not had much interview experience it is worth hunting the web for sites/forums sharing information. I used a website called the student room which I found useful, as there were a number of forum threads involving people applying for various courses and discussing experiences including the interview process.

Then came the long wait. After a few months  of constantly refreshing the Ucas page, an unconditional offer popped through. I was so so happy! Following this, I gave my work two months notice and started planning on my move back home.

I was fortunate to move back in with family and actually find it successful. After so much time living away I assumed that I would hate being back, but it has instead improved the relationship between us all. What you will find in either the interview stage or first week at uni will be that there is such a wide mixture of people in the class. People straight out of college either living at home or have moved away for the first time in their life and living in student accommodation. Single parents, parents who live with a partner etc who have children from 6months to grown up. Parents who are supporting their own child going to university while supporting themselves. Inbetweeners like me who have worked and returned to study but have no dependants. That is probably the main thing I enjoy about my class. There will be at least one person who is in a similar situation as yourself. Also, learn from others. Everyone will have their own techniques in approaching study, and you will be required to do group work and work with everybody's individual strengths.

Just before Christmas I was sat in the learning resources centre at Butterfield waiting to meet my personal lecturer and found myself observing the large group of applicants waiting for their interviews. The room was quieter than I had ever heard it, and it did remind me of the wait I experienced three years ago. I ended up speaking to one of the mum's and realised how much I have grown in terms of randomly starting up a conversation with a stranger. If you do feeling confident on the day of your interview, say hi or smile at the person sat opposite you. I wish I had just as a distraction and realise everyone else is in the same anxious, nervous boat as you and hey, it will speed the wait!

Well that is it for today from me! I was only in Uni two days this week and it is nice being back but know that in 12weeks that will be it for the class!

For anyone out there waiting to hear back from the university, good luck!

Em x

Happy New Year!!!!

Happy 2014 everyone!

How was your New Years eve? Mine was the usual 'try to stay awake until midnight but failing miserably' routine. I think I gave up somewhere between early twenties and being in relationships!

Well winter leave is almost over, with university lectures recommencing tomorrow morning. It does always feel a little odd going back, especially seeing as we have been on placement since the end of September 2013. This two weeks off has been lovely-have tried to make the most of my last Christmas living so near family and also trying to get used to my life that may be starting in September once qualified.


I don't usually attempt to make any new years resolutions, but after a heavy two weeks of snacking and general over-eating, I'm attempting the '5/2' diet. A few people I have known have found success with it, and it basically involves five days of normal eating with two low calorie days of 500calories. I am currently on the low calorie day and I am officially bored of water!

I'm trying to be organised and have just submitted an essay that is due in just under three weeks. For anyone new to the whole online essay submission, each piece goes from an electronic system called 'Turnitin', designed to be an anti-plagiarism thing to identify use of references and your own work. Simply put-it now means that in most cases we can submit all of our written work this way and do not have to go to the university to do so (trust me-it will feel beneficial if it means having to travel to the campus on a day off to do so!) I'm trying to work in the frame of mind that if I submit work prior to starting the next 12week study block I can then focus on the upcoming exam, OSCE and degree project presentation as I am quite poor at juggling a number of items of work at the same time!


I'm now looking forward to 12weeks not involving shift work. After this next study block and Easter leave it will just be 13weeks of placement followed by summer leave. Once that is done there will be a few days back at university before starting work, so really this next 12weeks will be the last study I have not in the hospital. Please believe everyone who says it goes quickly! I'm also looking forward to being back with my uni people and catching up with everyone. Myself and two others have signed up to do a 26mile day trek along Hadrian's Wall for charity in May (yep-during management placement and two written pieces on the go) so will need to have a catch up there to see about heading out for some walks at some point and money raising.

Well, I only have two days in next week (four the next) so will post next weekend to let you know how it went. Until then, stay warm!

Em x

Post Xmas Hello!

Afternoon All!

Welcome back to my first blog post-Christmas! I hope you all had a lovely day whatever you spent doing and whoever you were with :) I am fortunate to live at home during study, but speaking to various students who travel home for Christmas leave it was great to see how much they looked forward to getting back. After years of living away from family I now appreciate the build up...baking, the drive around to find the town's 'tackiest in a good way' lights, Boxing Day dog walk and sales shopping, eating leftovers etc.  



I'm determined to have a little more laziness before getting back to uni work. Am hoping to spend tomorrow and Monday turning my essay draft into a neat and tidy one ready for submitting and then will be heading to Somerset for a New Years getaway. Even then I will be adding a little 'work' to the break as have arranged to view a potential place of employment while I'm down there-lucky I have a supportive partner! I had in my head that I do not want to apply for any jobs unless I have seen the location first and had a look around as hopefully that will give me a bit more of a real picture of whether I could see myself working there.

Well, I'm afraid I do not having anything more exciting to ramble on about-the house has been emptied and cleaned post-Christmas so I'm looking forward to indulge in a little relaxation!

Will catch up in 2014!

Em x

Seasons Greetings Everyone!

My very first video blog... Merry Christmas!

Tis the season for family

Morning all!


Well I have finally reached my countdown...Christmas leave! I finished my placement on Wednesday and had a plan to get my head down and write up my essay to then be able to switch off and enjoy Christmas.

Note to self: Plans do not always go to plan.


In the last week a close relative has been given a poor health diagnosis and went into hospital for four nights. Not only did this happen, but on the second night he was in hospital, his home was broken in to. As you can imagine, the day after this happened I was not in a very 'get my head down and write' mood so I wrote off the day.


I have learnt over my time at university so far that if my head is not in the right place, I cannot have a productive study session. In my first year I would make a plan to sit down and write, and get annoyed with myself (and everyone around me at the time) if nothing came out. Now I assess where my head is at first and then get on with it. The day after, I sat down for eight straight hours and came up with 2500words, completing my draft. I guess this makes me an 'all or nothing' person. As mentioned previously, some people can only write essays at night. Others can only work on adrenalin by completing things last minute. But my worry of that method is what happens if something...happens? What if a family emergency comes up, or you develop a heavy head cold over the days you were due to write? Any more insight on this would be appreciated-it has always mystified me!

Anyway, the draft has been done and been put aside until after Christmas, and the family are all rallying together and supporting one another. Now my relative is home we are no longer having to pay for hospital parking (many of you will be aware as to how expensive it can be!) and it is a lot easier to see him as he is fortunately only next door. It did feel a rather odd experience to visit him on the ward as I felt naturally drawn to checking he had been offered plenty of drinks, was he in any pain, had they been updating him and supporting him, etc. They do say nurses make the worse patients so maybe it is the same when visiting a loved one.

The other downside of being in healthcare is maybe knowing too much. From caring for a large number of patients with varying health conditions, I am aware of how bad it can get for some people. Even if certain symptoms are usually rare, I am aware of potentially how bad it could get for my relative.

On that note, all of this happening at this time of year makes me appreciate those I have around me, and how important Christmas is for bringing everyone together. So onwards with a day of cheesy Christmas music, baking and present wrapping!

Have a very Merry Christmas for those celebrating, and enjoy the time with your loved ones!

Em x