Yesterday, on the 1st July, I was privileged to watch some of my PhD student colleagues from the School of Health in Social Science pass out of McEwan Hall officially with their doctorates.   It was a lovely sunny afternoon and the whole of Bristo Square was full of graduates, including the 2010-2014 undergraduate nursing programme, some of whom I have met and supported in their clinical placements.

I have to admit it did get me feeling quite nostalgic about my previous studies at this University, as a previous Nursing Studies undergraduate (2003-2007) and also as an Advancing Nursing Practice MSc student (2009-2011).

I don’t think I am the only one who reads the alumni magazine and enjoys reading about students who came to the University of Edinburgh and their memories, so I thought I would use the first blog to share some of my Nursing Studies memories to introduce myself, Alison Wood, as the ‘Nursing Tales blogger’.

As the class of 2003-2007, we were one of the last  years to have a mental health cohort, and whilst I did not choose the mental health branch I enjoyed hearing from those 6 about their mental health placements.  I look back at my undergraduate time fondly, despite early starts to drive to Roodlands hospital for a core shift, 9am Thursday lectures in AFB, huddled on the floor for tutorials in offices in Buccleuch Place and gazing out the library windows to students having fun in the Meadows who did not require to have a summer full of studies but we had clinical placements to complete.

My MSc was a part-time programme while I was working full time in acute medical ward areas in Edinburgh.  It was through looking after student nurses on the wards that I was inspired to come back to Nursing Studies and have a new academic challenge.

Flash forward a few years and I am now finishing my second year of a full-time PhD again back in Nursing Studies. I have almost finished my data collection and whilst I know I have a lot of work to do – I am nearing the end of my time as a student in this department and University.

I hope this blog will allow the sharing of what many students are staff are involved in, and give an opportunity for many of you to either remember your time within the department and the University, or inspire you to come and join us and be part of it.

I will leave you with a few pictures of my own graduations  – I haven’t met anyone who wasn’t jealous of the BN gown with the white fur and turquoise!  Hopefully my PhD graduation isn’t too far in the future…..

Alison

P.S. I hope my classmates and Tonks will forgive me for using these old pictures!

Nursing Endings … and Introductions / Nursing Blog by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0

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