Placement tips from a Nursing Student

My name is Han (Hannah) Telling, and I am a Mental Health Nursing Student at Wrexham University. Within this blog, I will provide insight into the practical hours of the course, highlight the importance of placements in Nursing and Allied Health courses, and provide top tips on how to prepare for your placement!

Overview

Nursing students are expected to complete 2300 hours of practical work throughout the duration of their course at Wrexham University. Whilst this may seem like a lot, it quickly totals up and – before you know it – you are finishing your placements!

Each year, Nursing students complete 4 different placements, normally a mix of both community and ward/clinical environments. This is such a positive way to learn about all the different aspects of Nursing and how different it is, depending on the environment you are practising in.  

Nothing makes you feel more like a student nurse than the day you try your uniform on and find out where you are going for your first placement! Personally, my favourite placements are in clinical environments working with patients who have been admitted to hospital for many different reasons. I find it refreshing to be able to help, support, and be part of a patient's journey from admission to hopefully discharge.  

Tips for placement preparation

If you are like me, starting a placement can feel like starting a whole new job: daunting and nerve-wracking, but incredibly exciting! Here are a few of my top tips to feel more prepared:

1. If possible, ring/contact your placement to ask if they would be happy for you to visit before you start. This way, you can find out who you will be working with, where your placement is, what your shifts are on, and how long it will take you to get there.

2. Read about specific conditions relevant to the ward/community setting you will be working with. This allows you to feel more comfortable with the patient/s and their condition/s and means you will understand the concept(s) around placements more easily.  

3. Don’t leave anything to the last minute! It is so easy to hold off on doing important things when you are nervous. Ensure that you have filled in all the appropriate paperwork and admin before you head off to placement! 

Before you know it, your placements are ending, and you wish you had longer there! Placements are such an enjoyable experience and teach you so many skills that you can’t learn during lecture time. Make the most of them, and ask as many questions as possible!  

- Written by Hannah Telling, BN (Hons) Mental Health Nursing student

If you are interested in our Nursing degrees or are keen to learn more about the placement opportunities available at Wrexham University, why not attend our next open day? Shape your future and start your journey towards a rewarding career in healthcare today!