Hello again!

Since I started studying nursing in September it has been a really busy time with lots of highlights. The time has flown by!

Studying nursing – my first exams

I have had my first science exam and safe medicate exam which involved a lot of hard graft and dedication. I am hopeful my hard work will have paid off. I really enjoyed learning about anatomy and physiology and the social science aspect of nursing science too. For the last 8 weeks I had some temporary wallpaper surrounding me which helped with my study. I find that I learn best by making mind maps and watching online videos about each topic. I must say I am pleased to have my room back to its normal form, where I can see the colour of my walls again! I am nervously waiting for the results to be released in January….results time is always a nail biting time. I am now busy preparing for my last exam of semester one. I really can’t believe how fast time is going!

Practical sessions

I also had the joy of two days of practical work at the beginning of the course. It was great to get a break from studying at my desk. On the first day I was at Woodhill House in Aberdeen learning the ropes in manual handling. This was really fun! Due to Covid we were in small bubbles of 2-3 people, which was a little different to what we are used to.

On day two I was in the RGU Clinical Skills Centre for the first time learning various practical skills.

We learnt the Aseptic Non Touch Technique, which was one of my favourite parts of the day, and then moved on to practicing Basic Life Support (BLS) across the lifespan. We had the chance to learn BLS using adult, children and baby mannequins. This was great too! Such a brilliant skill for anyone to have knowledge of.

Lastly, we moved on to learning about NEWS (National Early Warning Score) which is a form of assessment used within adult hospital wards to assess if a patient requires any care intervention. This included practicing taking someone’s blood pressure, temperature, pulse and measuring oxygen levels. Overall, it was a really great and informative day which I thoroughly enjoyed. The teaching was just superb! The two clinical days were not only great to learn practical nursing skills but it was the first time that I had the chance to meet some of my classmates. Unfortunately I didn’t meet them all due to the Covid bubble restrictions, but it was great to meet some of the people that I will be training with for the next four years. I have enjoyed making new friends with likeminded people.

Of course there were some tight restrictions in place on campus to keep us all safe. These included wearing a facemask, cleaning our hands regularly, social distancing measures and markings, one way systems and providing sanitiser gel and wipes to clean with regularly. RGU have done a tremendous job of keeping staff and students safe!

Find out more about studying nursing by watching my vlog below.

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A post shared by Chlo (@chlojackonhermacc)

Hosting my first Nursing Society Event

I have enjoyed hosting my first Nursing Society Meet and Greet and I am looking forward to hosting the society’s Christmas quiz this month. This event is open to staff and nursing society members so it is a great way to meet people. To get the competitive spirit going there will be a prize for the winning team as well as a bonus prize for the jazziest Christmas jumper on the night. This is a great event to wind down for Christmas and celebrate our achievements to date! As a society we are also delighted to be working alongside the Haven Community Larder to help support the food larder with fundraising this Christmas.

Attending networking events

I have also attended a couple of networking events too which have been particularly inspiring and have broadened my awareness and knowledge for this new profession.  

The first event was an Interprofessional Learning event. This event involved various stage 1 multidisciplinary healthcare and social care students; from student nurses, medical students, physiotherapy students and pharmacy students from both RGU and The University of Aberdeen. The event was held on Blackboard Collaborate. As student nurses we had the opportunity to learn the roles of allied health professionals.  

The second event was held by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and General Medical Council for stage one students only. This was a great session to be involved with. The event introduced future nurses, midwives and doctors to their future regulator and provide an overview of what both regulators do. This session was very interactive as they used a polling tool to interact with everyone.

So it has been a busy few months already with many highlights. I’m looking forward to what studying nursing will bring next. Until then cheerio!

Chloe

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