*This post was originally going to be a youtube video, as I thought that would be easier than a lot of reading, but when it came to editing the video there was only so much staring at my own face I could handle, so the plan is to write out the video into a blogpost instead, but break it up into a few posts so it’s not as long*.
If you didn’t already know, I am in my third and final year as a student paediatric nurse. I am currently on my final 12 week and sign off placement, which means by the end of it – if I am deemed competent – I will become a registered nurse!
I’ve had a lot of people interested and asking me questions about my experiences over the last 3 years both as a student nurse and working within paediatric nursing – and a lot of questions regarding mental health as a student nurse. I thought it may be of some interest to film (and now write) about my experiences, in the hopes of shedding some light and maybe offering some sort of comfort for potential future student nurses! This post will be my answers to the questions, the next post will be more of a discussion about mental health and nursing.
So. Here we go. The general consensus when I asked on social media was people wanted me to partly chat and partly answer questions about my experiences, but we all know I talk a lot anyway, so I’ll answer the questions I was sent in and elaborate on them that way so I at the least have a starting point.
What made you want to study paediatric nursing?
I always knew that I had a love for health care – as a kid I wanted to be a doctor, then that changed to nursing. Similarly, I always knew no matter what health care I went into, it would be with kids. I think this is largely thanks to my brother…my brother is what has motivated me to take up paediatric nursing at uni and as a career. He has cerebral palsy and with that, I’ve seen him go into hospital a few times. Like any person, he would be anxious and scared going into hospital, but seeing the way that nurses are with him, their love and kindness and making his stays as comforting as they could reduced his fear so much, to the point where now if he goes to hospital, he isn’t scared anymore because he knows the nurses will take amazing care of him. This is what made me want to choose to work with children. Hospital visits are scary for anyone, especially children who don’t really understand why they are in hospital…if I can make them feel even just a tiny bit less scared, and give them the best care I possibly can whilst they are there…that to me is mission accomplished.
What is your dream hospital to work in?
I use the word ‘dream’ loosely here, because in an ideal world, refugee camps wouldn’t be needed and refugees would have access to hospitals and healthcare, but my dream place to work is not so much one specific hospital, but to work as a nurse with refugees, or at a refugee camp. After all refugees have been through and experienced to get where they are, to be able to offer them the compassion, kindness and healthcare they not only need but deserve feels like the least that I, as a nurse, could do to help.
How is it being on placement with the current situation?
I actually missed working within the covid peak. I finished my last placement on the 2nd March 2020, and didn’t start again until July . I left the hospital just as Covid was starting to become a bigger issue here in the U.K., and I’ve returned when things are starting to not be quite so intense. I was so very anxious before my first shift back because I didn’t know what would have changed or what to expect, and whilst there have been changes within the hospital, these were changes I expected, and they keep everyone safe – so not too anxiety inducing after all!
When do you start your new job, and are you looking forward to it?
I start my new job as a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit nurse a week after my sign off placement is finished! I’m excited and slightly scared…it sometimes doesn’t feel real that I am nearly a fully trained nurse and that’s it – I’m off to work in the big scary world! But then I have days where I realise how much I’ve learnt and grown from my first ever shift in a hospital, and whilst it may be a bit nerve wracking and daunting, I’m sure it will all be fine. Similarly, all the nurses I’ve ever worked with have been really supportive, so I’m sure it will be a fantastic job. It’s in a whole new hospital to where I trained so a new area to get familiar with, new faces to meet…a whole new adventure!
What is your favourite area of paediatric nursing?
I have been very lucky to have had a broad range of learning experiences, working on lots of different words and specialities within paediatric nursing. I’ve enjoyed all of them, but much with life – you’ll have some areas you enjoy working in and feel happier and more comfortable than others. I really enjoyed Intensive Care (which largely influenced my future job), I enjoyed the cardiac and neurology ward and I enjoyed the day surgery. I enjoyed them all for different reasons but I think on the whole, I enjoy working in places where no two days are the same, and I never stop learning. There is so much to always learn in these specialties and you never know what your day will be like, something I rather enjoy.
What do you love and hate most about working in paediatrics? 
Good question!
I love that I get to meet adorable children, day in and day out, and as much as I (try and hopefully succeed) to make them smile, they make me smile too. I love kids, I always have, and I love caring…so being able to combine those two things together is amazing!
I hate how emotionally challenging the job is. To seeing these children being so scared of what they’re going through, sometimes not understanding what is happening or why…and knowing there is only so much you do to help them emotionally. It’s a physically challenging job, sure. But it’s as equally, if not more, emotionally challenging and that’s quite hard sometimes.
How do you balance your degree (placement) with your social life/doing things you enjoy?
The short answer: with difficulty. In all honesty, it is hard. You can work any day of the week, you can have day shifts and night shifts. The hours are long, you’re basically always tired – and of course it is a dream job you love doing…but like any normal person, you have things out of work you enjoy doing. To find a good balance took me a while, for my whole first year as a student I think when I was on placement I did hardly anything on my days off…but that didn’t seem to sit right with me. Living my life shift to shift felt wrong because when I thought about it – this wouldn’t just be a short placement for me one day, it would be my life…and when it’s my full time job I would be doing stuff on my day off and not living shift to shift, so why was I doing it then?
Since then, I tried to always have something fun to do on my days off, so I’m not just living to work, I’m getting fun things in too. You can’t let your work rule your life of course so do things you love on days off, but it’s also important to know your own limits. I would generally go to the theatre on my days off, but know if I had an early shift the next day, I would try and see a show that isn’t too long so I’ll get to sleep at 1am and end up exhausted the next day. On the same wavelength, if you come off a night shift, don’t force yourself to stay awake to do something cool in the day. If you need sleep – sleep! I know it’s not a normal sleep schedule but your health has to be a priority!
There’s also the difficulty knowing – you will miss out on some things. I have missed many a special shows and covers in shows I desperately wanted to see but couldn’t because of shifts. Similarly, my friends have different schedules to me so we can go sometimes weeks missing out on seeing each other, and whilst that can sometimes be frustrating and disappointing…you job HAS to come first. It’s always a priority. But I’ve worked hard to get there and I love what I do, so I can’t complain too much!
That brings us to the end! Thank you to everyone who sent me a question, I hope this was somewhat interesting! If anyone has any more questions, feel free to comment them or get in contact with me on social media – I could always do another one of these posts in the future and look back at the answers and see if they have changed!
The post on mental health and nursing shall come in the not so distant future, so if that is something you are interested, keep an eye out for that too.
In the meantime, as always – stay as happy and healthy as possible, and all the love.
One Show at a Time 