Phase 4 done and ready for placement!

I've completed phase 4 and im just about ready to head out on placement! 

This phase we have learnt the history of learning disabilities, the nursing and caring aspect. We have also covered catheter care and female catheterisation, our basic life support, venepuncture and communication and nursing frameworks.

It has been a quick six weeks and we have done a lot of theory around law and legislation of learning disability nursing.  It is important to know and we have covered the holding powers of the learning disability nurse in relation to mental health and learning disabilities too. All of these topics are important to learn and cover as once we are qualified, we will be expected to know this and to be able to put it into action should we need to for the welfare of the patient.  

I now have an assignment to concentrate on as well as my care plans that we have to write while on placement this year.  Each placement we are required to do them to put into writing what we may have learned as well as what we will need to know for when we do qualify.  

There has been a big jump this year from last year, and we are expected to build on what we learnt last year and put that into practice along with what we are learning this year.  All of this then leads to enquiry based learning.  This is where we are expected to learn and be able to say why we are doing what we are doing and what evidence is there available to say that that action is the best one to take.

A lot more responsibility this year and a lot more to learn! It has been a fast paced 6 weeks and we have covered quite a bit, especially when it comes to the law in nursing! 

For my next placement I will be in a children's respite unit and I am really looking forward to it.  There should be a lot to learn as it is children with learning disabilities and they may have complex medical needs that will need nursing care.  So this should hopefully be a great learning opportunity and a great way to learn a lot more clinical skills.