Last 4 weeks......

So it's been a while since I last posted because as you can imagine I've been extremely busy. For the last 8 weeks I've been loving every minute of my final placement....and there are only 4 weeks left until my last shift as a Student Nurse!

The fact that my placement is on the ward that I have secured my post is such a bonus. I'm feeling really supported and I'm hoping this is going to help with the transistion from wearing a White uniform to wearing Blue. I'm happy that the path I have chosen is the right one for me. I love the area of nursing that I'm going into and the team I'm working with are fab! :)

One last hurdle is looming before me though! A week on Monday is results day! For some reason I am not feeling confident at all! So much rests on passing these last modules.....I'm desperate for it all to go well so I can see this journey through to the end in the way that I have hoped and worked so hard for!

On the family front all is good. My daughter is now sitting her GCSE exams and my eldest son is about to finish his apprenticeship in electronics and starts his job at the beginning of August. I'm extremely proud of their achievements.

When I first started this journey, my youngest son was only 9 years old. I can't believe he is now a teenager and soon to be going into year 9 at secondary school! The last 4 years have flown by! I'm so excited to be able to treat the kids to special treats when I'm earning a proper wage.....they have been so patient with me during the times when I have been stressed that they deserve a little spoiling! In fact, my whole family have been so supportive, they all deserve a special treat! The plan for my first wage is to take the whole family out for a celebratory/thankyou meal!

But before that, there are only 6 weeks till our family holiday to Majorca. It is safe to say that everyone is excited and on countdown! This really will be a relaxing holiday, time to lay back and appreciate how far we have all come as a family! Good times ahead! <3

Update Post Interview.............

Thought it was time to finally update the blog about the latest news. I am so happy to say that I have been offered, and accepted a job as a Staff Nurse on the ward I most wanted to work on!! :)

Luckily, I will also be on the same ward for my management placement for 12 weeks so I think I'm going to have a positive experience and hopefully a smooth transition from Student Nurse to Registered Nurse!

The interview process was no where near as scary as I thought it was going to be, in fact I quite enjoyed it! For anyone going for an interview, just be yourself, smile and talk about your experiences!

In other news.....I'm still plodding on with my Dissertation. It's due in next week so I'm just doing some final ammendments and tweaking until I'm as happy with it as I can be. However, although I am excited to get this assignment finished, I'm not looking forward to the fact that I need to crack on with the final 2 essays of the course! These are both due in at the end of April.....doesn't look like I will be getting much of a break at Easter!

Thought I would also leave some Top Dissertation Tips:

• Start as early as possible - everything takes twice as long as you think it will.
• Pick a topic you are truely passionate about.
• Find a study buddy....Dissertation Hell can be a lonely place!
• Save, Save, Save and Save again! No-one wants to re-write 10000 + words!
• Reference as you go.
• Feel proud! It's an amazing achievement to complete a dissertation at the end of a mentally and physically draining course! At some point, you will reap the rewards! 

Nerve wracking week........

Interview at the local hospital this Saturday coming. Have been shopping for a suit and have been reading around current issues in nursing and the NHS is an attempt to feel prepared! However, no amount of reading is going to make me feel confident about Saturday!
The interview process starts at 9am and finishes at 3pm......first off we have a maths calulation exercise followed by some group work on a sceanrio and finishing with a 1 to 1 interview. To be honest, as much as I'm nervous I am excited! Hopefully this ends well and by the end of next week I will know if they are going to offer me a post as a Staff Nurse! However, roll on Saturday evening, I think I will be rewarding myself with a few glasses of wine!

Just an update on my dissertation, I am now writing up my findings and discussing my themes. Every word, sentance, paragraph and chapter is painful and slow, BUT I can see a light at the end of the tunnel and I know I will be proud as punch once it's printed off, bound and handed in! :)

I will be back to post again in the next few days with news on my management placement and to say how Saturday went! Wish me luck peeps! :)

And I thought I had February to concentrate on my dissertation......

Wowsers! The weeks seems to be passing by in the blink of an eye and my 'to do' list keeps growing and growing!
So following the celebration of good results, I honestly thought I had some time to concentrate  on my dissertation before my final 2 modules need attention! How wrong was I??

Extra job 1) One of the modules involves a group of students teaching a 3 hour seminar each week. Our group is first up! So we have lots of work to do on accountability and delegation. We have decided to compose some sort of game based on scenario's where we can look at both aspects of our topic. For the 2nd half of our session we are going to hold a debate. All in all, this is eating into my timetable much more than I anticipated that it would.

Extra job 2) So we were visited by the recruitment team from our local trust. Fab session...the trust has so much to offer a newly qualified nurse, with a great preceptorship programme! Great! So we all need to apply....closing date in 2 weeks! Arrghhhh! Interviews planned for the end of the month! Argghhhh! So, Personal statement to write and interview preperation to consider.

I've written my personal statement and I'm really happy with how it reads. Just really hope the interviewer can hear my passion and eagerness when they read it! Fingers crossed I get short listed and get the chance to show how enthusiastic I am in an interview!

I need to re-plan my time so I don't feel like I'm drowning in jobs! 6 weeks left until my dissertation is due in so I really need to make this a priority.

I shall keep reading and researching current nursing issues and I shall have to have a good think about my own strengths and weaknesses so I am prepared for interview, alongside dissertation writing. Busy busy!

Just remembered, job 3) I need to buy a suit and practice my handshake!!

But the end is in sight.....6 months to go!! :) :)

3rd Year, Semester 1, Results Day......

So thrilled, excited and proud to say that I passed all 3 modules with 2 A's and a B+. Have felt in a bit of a daze all day because I had convinced myself I would get a resit for the Medicines Management OSCE! Never did I think I would get an A!

So my overall average at the moment is 71.5....this means if I can keep it up I could possibly finish my degree with a 1st! However, that said a 2:1 would be just as amazing! 

In other news, my friend and I have been busy working on our Dissertation....it's all coming along nicely. I'm actually enjoying writing it, you learn so much about your chosen topic area. The hardest part was constructing a decent research question but once you've got that the rest seems to fall into place. 

So, 2 more modules and the dissertation to conquer, 12 weeks on management placement and that's it....3 years training done and dusted! I'm allowing myself to get excited now....feel like I've survived the worst part of the year and I'm now on the home straight!

Feel so excited for the future right now! Can't take the smile off my face today! :)

Dissertation Underway......

3 days into working on my dissertation and I've already lost the will to live! After changing my research questions umpteen times since September.....I thought I was finally happy with my decision but who would have thought finding research studies would be so flippin' hard?!?!?

We use the databases all the time to write assignments, but for some reason I can just not find what I need! It's driving my nuts!

Hence why I am updating on here....I'm hoping a little break and 10 minutes distraction will clear my mind and I can return to searching with fresh eyes! :)

On a side note.....went into uni yesterday to hand in hours and competencies for my last placement. My link lecturer had a look at my feedback and praised how well I had done in a difficult placement. She asked if I had thought about applying for a job there....I told her I thought I should get some experience on the wards before heading into ED, as this is what I have been advised previously. Her response...."that's an old fashioned view, get stuck in, no reason why your first post shouldn't be ED".......this has now got me thinking.....what to do? What to do? Argghhhhhh! Think I will wait to see where I end up for my management placement....see how I get on and go from there. Who knows where I will be this time next year?

Anyway, must get back to research! :(

2014 Comes to an End.......

Lot's to catch up on.....have not posted in so long as the first semester of the 3rd year has been what I can only describe as INSANE!! I honestly think the semester was designed to either make you or break you! Thankfully, I'm still standing and marching onwards! :)

So, a quick recap of what has been going on since September........

• Assessment - Presentation. I did this on the role of the Health Visitor. I feel it went really well and the time I spent with the Health visitors on placement really helped me to put together a thorough presentation. I actually enjoyed presenting much more than I thought I would.
• Assessment - 3000 word essay on Using Evidence and Making Decisions. Didn't really enjoy writing this essay....really enjoyed the taught content however, found it really difficult to pull all the information together in a way that fitted the marking criteria for the essay! 
• Safe Medicate - 100% First time!! Fabulous! :)
• OSCE - Practical Medication exam. Drugs I was tested on: Nitrofurantoin, Paracetamol, Bisocodyl and Sodium Valporate. Didn't go too badly but I totally forget to talk about the cautionary labels for Bisocodyl!! Resit in February!! Nevermind.....I now know these drugs inside out! :)

Results due in at the end of January......Hopefully the only resit I will have will be the OSCE! :)

So on to placement. Have just spent the past 10 weeks in the Emergency Department. Absolutely loved every minute. Was totally exhausting but I learned so much that the 12 hour shifts whizzed by! A few highlights include:

• Taking part in CPR.
• Mastering the art of chin thrusts to maintain an open airway.
• Triage of patients in Majors - Learning to ask the right questions!!
• Lots of time spent in Resus - invaluable experience of gaining confidence in recognising  a deteriorating patient.
• Great mentor.....she had loads of time for me and enthusiasm.....makes such a difference to a placement!

Back to the current day.....Enjoying the Christmas holidays with my lovely family! I know this time is precious....next year I am sure I will be working over the festive season so adjustments will need to be made! 

Plan for the next few weeks ahead.......knuckle down to my dissertation. 12 weeks till the deadline!! Arghhhhh! Only in uni one day a week so going to have to be strict with myself and treat every day as a working day so I'm not scrabbling around towards the deadline trying to finish this 10000 word essay! ;-)

Anyway, as I bring this post to an end (It's New Years Eve....time to play some games with the kiddie-winks!).....I would like to wish everyone a fabulous New Year!! 2015....the year I (hopefully!) qualify as a Staff Nurse!! :):):):):)