Celebrating the NHS at 70 with Nursing Students
Maggie Carson was at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh on Thursday 7 July 2018, in her role as Undergraduate Programme Director, to celebrate 70 years of the NHS with Morna, Sophie, India and Hannah, second year nursing students on surgical placement.
When asked what celebrating the NHS at 70 meant to her, Sophie said “Nursing is a golden opportunity for me to give back. The NHS is such a special thing to be a part of, especially after 70 years! It’s lovely to know that the small input I have as a student nurse, can make a difference and have a positive impact on others.”
They were later joined by some of the medical students, their Student Support Officer Neale and the EUSA President, Eleri, for tea and cake.
India highlighted the essential mentorship role that our clinical colleagues undertake in supporting our students: “Overall, my experiences as a student in the NHS have been highly positive and rewarding. The support and learning opportunities within the NHS are fundamental to the development of student nurses today. There are fabulous support mechanisms in place to ensure that students and staff are comfortable and confident in the wards. One major support mechanism for students is the mentorship programme. Qualified staff nurses partner up with students to provide support and establish action plans for the students learning. They integrate students into the multi-disciplinary team, illustrating the importance of holistic care provided by the NHS to patients. Physiotherapists, doctors, occupational therapists and other members of the multi-disciplinary team, all work closely with nurses. They also offer fanatic learning opportunities for nursing students, highlighting the importance of integration and team work in the NHS.”
Hannah recognises just how far the NHS has come in terms of technology: “Being a student nurse in the NHS today means working with diverse and highly skilled nurses alongside amazing technology. While on placement on a surgical ward I have been able to learn about the advanced surgical techniques used in laparoscopic cholecystectomy and ERCP as well as the post operative care. It has been great to learn from the highly skilled specialist nurses and other disciplines on the ward.”
Morna feels that “Working within the NHS as a student nurses allows you to understand the work that nurses, doctors, physiotherapists etc do daily. Without the multidisciplinary team working in unison the NHS would not function to the standard it is now. I have just finished a 7-week placement on an orthopaedic ward at the Royal Infirmary. Orthopaedics is a speciality where you can see the incredible work that each of the multidisciplinary team do for patients in their care. Each member of this team has a specific role in a patient’s journey to recovery, whether that would be operating on the patient or getting the patients back to mobilising. Without each speciality of orthopaedic doctors, nurses or physiotherapist, the patient’s recovery would not be as successful or as fast. Without each member of staff working within every hospital in the UK, the NHS would not be the reputable organisation is it today. Happy 70th NHS!”
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