Monday, 25 February 2013

Wearing nail varnish again

Nail varnish and watch are back again 

I have finished the first placement of my nursing course - 10 weeks working on the wards, under the supervision of qualified nurses.  I've now done 450 of the 2,400 hours required to qualify as a nurse.  It feels like a milestone.  

Inevitably there were challenging moments, but I truly loved it all, and met some lovely patients and inspiring nurses along the way.  This week I am on study leave, writing an essay, before going back to University next week.  It's a strange shift of perspective after doing such practical, physical work for the last ten weeks.  I'll be at University until the middle of May, when I go out on placement again.  I think this mixture of classroom learning and practical learning is one of the strengths of nursing education in the UK today - it makes for a stimulating and interesting course, and I think it will produce nurses who are practical but also thoughtful.  That's the sort of nurse I would want looking after me or my family.

I feel slightly jet-lagged after working long shifts and getting up at 5:20am on my work days.  It's lovely to now be able to lounge in bed in the mornings, wear my hair down, put nail varnish and my watch on again, and not be constantly washing and folding uniform.  I miss the people though, and am wondering how the patients I was looking after last week are getting on - have they gone home yet?

 At least my essay distraction techniques have not been forgotten while I've been on placement - so far this morning I've washed the kitchen bin, made a batch of yogurt and now I'm blogging.  Happy times.

Essay time again
Essay time again

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5 comments:

  1. The Coffee Lady25 February 2013 at 14:38

    Oh good. You have a warm drink.

    ReplyDelete
  2. dottycookie26 February 2013 at 16:58

    I'; thinking I might bust out the nail varnish for this weekend. But I am not writing an essay, no way, no how. Not sure I even could write that much these days without getting cramp!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ali27 February 2013 at 13:21

    Just think how good you're going to feel come Saturday when it's all handed in. Look forward to seeing you and the nails then!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous4 March 2013 at 11:01

    beautiful hand. deserves nail varnish.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Unknown15 March 2013 at 15:26

    I loved reading this post- it made me smile and remember that feeling of finishing ward placements- I was a nurse a good few years ago now- but still the effects still linger- I still never wear nail polish nor a watch, wear my hair long and have an erratic sleep pattern after years of shifts- I hope the rest of your placements go well:)

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Even though I often do not have the time to reply to everybody, I really appreciate all your comments so much - thank you for taking the time to read my blog and share your thoughts on what I've written.

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