Phase 2

Well first off let me start by saying Happy New Year to you wonderful people! Hope your Christmas holidays have been good and that you got everything you wanted! It has gone so quick I can hardly believe I'm now back at university.  It's been 8 weeks since we were last all together and sat in a lecture. Now it's time where the lecturers expect us to know a lot more and be a lot more clued up on things.  

Phase 2 is the beginning of my new semester at university. I have completed six weeks of class and six weeks of placement and it has gone so quick it is hard to get your head around it some times. 

I have enjoyed it all, but the pace is quick. It is so easy to fall behind and struggle on a course such as nursing due to how much you have to learn and in what seems to be so little time. Other universities structure the placement time differently so this may differ for you on your course. But ours are six weeks in and then six weeks out.  

I am looking forward to getting this phase underway and recapping what we have done last phase.  We then start to learn a lot more and a lot more in depth before we have an exam and then out onto our second placement.  I have looked at what is available on our university portal and what we will be learning. So over the Christmas holidays I have began to look and read over things and do my revision.  It is important you keep organised and keep on top of things, don't think I can stress that enough! I have completed my portfolio and handed that in.  I have also completed my travel form, made copies of all my receipts and handed my receipts in too. These are all in my placement module folder in which I have also kept the patient advice leaflets from some of the medications I was able to administer on placement.  These come in really helpful, especially when it comes to looking at medication management and administration, (we actually have a lecture and tutorial on that this phase). My receipts I have photocopied and handed in the photocopies with my travel expense form so I am able to claim back my expenses for my first placement.  

Luckily I didn't have to pay for parking at my previous placement so I can claim back the mileage. We are only able to claim one or the other (whichever is the cheapest).  For my next placement I am using the bus so I will just need to keep each bus tickets but I think I can get a months pass which will work out cheaper.  I will then keep the receipts for this as well so I can claim that back.  The organisation involved in this course is quite surprising at times! 

For my next placement, I am in a hospital setting again, this time I will be working with children.  This is a children's ward so it will be those with and without a learning disability.  I will be ringing them up closer to the time to see what I will need to learn and what is needed for the placement itself.  I have been able to find out that the ward is orthopedics so I'm sure that will be interesting! This placement is our alternative placement for each branch.  So each branch is doing a placement that isn't within their chosen field. I am glad I am on children's surgical.  Although within learning disabilities you work with both adults and children you may find you are with adults more depending on the trust you are in. I am looking forward to the learning again and the process involved.  Within nursing, you never stop learning.  I have spoken to a nurse that is a family friend over Christmas and she was also doing work before her family arrived that is to be submitted and she has been qualified over 15 years now! So there will always be something!