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Rachel Roberts
Jul 25, 2011 @ 17:43:25

Hello, i am also a nursing student (child branch) and am looking at going to Africa for my elective, do you know of any companys or anywhere i can try for sponsership to help towards the cost as i have no money!! Thankyou
Rachel Roberts

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littlenursey
Jul 25, 2011 @ 21:28:59

Hi Rachel thanks for your question!

I’m afraid I don’t know of any companies who would fund you – the type of companies who would sponsor you are medical companies but they normally tend to fund medical students and not nursing students
However I have been given advice by both my university and by the company who I am going to Sri Lanka with (Work the World).
Local churches and other Christian companies are often willing to help – contact them by phone/email/going in and tell them about your plan. You need to prove that the placement is well planned and that you will definitely be going if they can help you to raise the money. Most religious organisations will expect you to return the favour by asking you to perform a simple presentation about your experience when you return (a slideshow containing photographs and information on what you have learned & achieved). You do not have to be religious to raise money through a church – they are normally willing to help if it just means benefiting the less fortunate.

Other ideas are fundraising on your own – this can mean anything from putting up posters at work/social clubs/university where you can ask for sponsorship (make sure you explain why – make it sound worth while). Post it all over social networking sites like Twitter & Facebook too.
Create your own fundraising events and ideas – this website might help you http://www.100fundraisingideas.co.uk/

It is also a good idea to ask your university if they know of any companies in your area who would be willing to sponsor you.

My biggest piece of advice is to start fundraising for it sooner than later to give yourself a better chance of raising as much as you need.
You can also take a look at this web page by the company who I am travelling to Sri Lanka with:
http://www.worktheworld.co.uk/blog/planning-your-elective-fundraising_2125

Hope this helps Rachel! If I hear of any companies you can sponsor you I will let you know ASAP

Sarah M

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April
Aug 14, 2011 @ 00:31:00

Hi. I googled some nursing tips and came across your site. I am a student nurse too! I am actually finished but not working yet so I still consider myself as a student BTW, I am Filipino aswell

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- littlenursey
  Aug 14, 2011 @ 00:38:21
  
  Hello April!
  Aww thank you for your comment, I’m glad you managed to find my site congratulations on graduating! How did you find the course? I’m really nervous about starting my 3rd year :\
  Ooh, are you living in the UK or in the Philippines?
  
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April
Aug 16, 2011 @ 00:28:25

I really enjoyed my placement and University (not the essays!) lol I am living in the UK… Newcastle to be exact what about you?

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- littlenursey
  Aug 16, 2011 @ 14:51:29
  
  Good stuff, which placements did you enjoy? Are there any that you didn’t?
  I must admit I’m not enjoying the essays either – I almost got kicked off the course because of an essay
  I am living in Manchester. Hoping to stay here when I qualify!
  So how is the job hunting going? Is there much work for nurses where you are?
  
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April
Aug 22, 2011 @ 01:43:49

I enjoyed them all but not much on theatre aww, that’s terrible.. I’m glad no essays for me at the mo lol Got an interview this week on my management placement so fingers crossed really nervous though..

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- littlenursey
  Aug 23, 2011 @ 18:52:13
  
  Oooh good luck! I’m dreading interviews next year. I’m sure you’ll do fine though, just remember you’ve got nothing to lose by trying
  I didn’t enjoy theatre either and I only did 1 week, it’s definitely not for me!
  
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April
Aug 24, 2011 @ 22:26:53

Thank you! Goodluck to you aswell I’m sure you will be a great nurse!

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Claire Johnson-Stowell
Sep 12, 2011 @ 19:15:05

hey im just about to start the nursing degree and i was wondering do you have to buy your books before you get there? i feel like everyone already knows what theyre doing and i have no clue!! xx

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- littlenursey
  Sep 12, 2011 @ 19:35:17
  
  Funny you should ask this as I’m just in the middle of writing a post about the books I have bought/acquired before and during my course! You don’t need to go crazy with books which is the good news. If you want you can either subscribe to my blog so you’ll get an email when I publish the post, or just keep checking tonight.
  PS: Don’t worry, no one knows what they’re doing -I found that the students who went out and bought a load of books regretted it after because most of the materials you use to write assignments come from online journals or books you can borrow in the library. Will carry on with the post now X
  
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Lindsay
Jan 18, 2012 @ 22:52:05

Hi Sarah,

I have applied to start a Nursing degree (child-branch) beginning in September. I have a friend who works in a hospital as an eye specialist and tells me all sorts of horror stories about nursing and is giving me doubts! Including the fact that all student nurses (and some qualified) do is clean up ‘accidents’ and make beds! Obviously i know there is more to it than that but is it anything like this in your experience? Also, can you give me some examples of assignment subjects / titles? I know the first year is the same no matter what branch you take in second/third year.

Thank you

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- littlenursey
  Jan 19, 2012 @ 20:38:27
  
  Hi Lindsay,
  
  I’m sorry it’s taken me all day to get back to you! But thank you for your comment
  Firstly congratulations on your decision to apply to a child nursing degree – I’m always happy to hear that more people want to be nurses!
  To answer your question about the horror stories, it completely depends on what the student nurse wants to do, and what kind of ward the qualified nurses work on. I don’t know any student nurses who spend most of their training cleaning up accidents and making beds, and the ones who do are most likely the kind of students who do not put themselves forward to get involved in other nursing procedures. I do know of some student nurses who will try very hard to avoid giving injections, taking part in drug rounds, getting to grips with medical equipment and rescuing patients who need urgent attention. These are normally the students who are less likely to be asked to do anything as it shows a lack of interest or even confidence. Students move from placement to placement all the time, so I’d also find it unlikely that the nurses who are training the students are to blame. We are encouraged to ask to perform or watch any procedure we are allowed to do, so if a student hears that a patient needs an intramuscular injection and wants to do it, all they have to do is ask the nurse, who more than likely will be more than happy to teach them.
  In my experience, I do spend some time cleaning up accidents and making beds, but in all honesty, I have found that the health care assistants (thank God for HCA’s) generally take over this role while the nurses get on with other tasks that only they are qualified to do. So far my training has been a very exciting mix of wards and community placements, such as ICU, HDU, Acute Stroke and District Nursing. I’m learning new clinical skills all the time.
  During your training you will have placement documents that list learning outcomes relating to the unit you are studying at the time that you must complete. These are always achievable, and your mentor at your placement will read through them and help you achieve them. For example if one outcome states that you need to get involved in administering medication, your mentor will make sure that you are involved in drug rounds, and sign that outcome to say you have achieved it.
  Is your friend a specialist nurse in eye care who doesn’t work on a ward? Sometimes people who regularly visit wards only really notice the mundane tasks that nurses do and assume that this is what they do most of the time. They don’t always see what goes on behind the scenes, particularly because we perform many procedures in privacy where no one can see us or the patient!
  
  Some examples of assignment subjects and titles I can give you are are Acute Care, Sciences applied to Nursing (normally an exam), Communication and Psychology, Public Health and Primary Care, and Severe and Life Threatening Illness. These can range from exams (seated and online), essays, presentations and sometimes online conversations with other student nurses and lecturers. It is a lot of work and I must admit, I can’t wait to qualify so I have less academic work to do, but it is achievable!
  
  I hope my very long reply has helped and put your mind at ease. You will hear all sorts of horror stories about being a student nurse, but as I said before, a student nurse is in control of their training. Let me know if you have any more questions and take care
  
  Sarah
  
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john
Feb 07, 2012 @ 20:12:23

hello i liked your bit about tom i am in the uk and dont exspect to last either year i have been ill quite some time and spent alot of time in hospital , it sounds quite scary to me some of the things they do to a dead body , i have spent times in the hospital were care has not been good left days before being washed , gone to operation table with out a wash and in a gown from the day before and seen a man die before the nurses knew and had to tell them he already had migor mortus so had been dead a while , being not too old iam not ready to go so it hurts to hear the things we have to go throw after death after all the pain weve gone throw to get there i have not been out of hospital long and i must admit there was a careing student this time who held my hand while i was having a purseger done and when i ask if someone could help me wash as i had not got washed the day before she jumped at it wish there was more like her , john

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- littlenursey
  Mar 10, 2012 @ 16:49:31
  
  Hello John, many thanks for your comment, I am very sorry it has taken me so long to reply – I have been out of the country since January studying nursing and internet access was not the best.
  
  I am also very sorry to hear that you are ill and that you have suffered at the hands of nurses and health care assistants who give poor care. There is never an excuse for this. I seriously hope that the student nurses of today remember never to slip downwards with their care, especially with the essentials such as helping a patient to wash.
  I am glad to hear that you liked my post about Tom. I can understand it sounding scary to you, particularly with some of the things I wrote about in such graphic detail. Nothing I say can take away this fact, but I do hope that my post brought some comfort in knowing that there are nurses and health care assistants out there who put the same amount of care into the deceased as they do with the living.
  I am very pleased to hear that you met a student nurse who treated you with the care and compassion that you so needed. To hold your hand during a procedure and to be eager to help you wash must have made you feel a million times more valued. I have met many student nurses who hold the same level of compassion in their care.
  
  I hope my reply helps you in some way, please feel free to contact me again if you want to talk some more
  
  Sarah
  
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- john godfrrey
  Mar 12, 2012 @ 09:41:56
  
  hello sarah thanks for your reply , the hospital i go to already has a bad reputation and been in the papers alot , i have just discharged myself after 4 days my pain med was stopped after 4 days and i was left in pain so i had to get out of there , agian i was only washed one of the days but put back in same pjs that in went in with and come home with same ones on , my daughter is a nurse but not at this hospital , as she tells me she treats them good , i would rather die at home now , as at least you dont know what they do to your body when your dead
  
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  - littlenursey
    Mar 12, 2012 @ 15:47:19
    
    Hello again John, thank you for your reply.
    Wow, it’s such a shame that this hospital has such a bad reputation, I hope that any further care you need would be available as an out-patient or at home? Is there any way you can get help with personal care at home or do you have family who can help?
    It’s great that your daughter is a nurse as she could have a lot of information you need about arranging to die at home. Have you made your family aware of this decision? I believe it is a nice choice and many patients opt for this.
    I understand that it is painful for you to hear about what happens to the body after death, and perhaps you have made the right decision not to dwell on these thoughts and focus more on what will happen while you are being cared for. But please let me know if you do want to talk about any of these aspects or anything else about your situation.
    
    Sarah
Priscilla
Feb 28, 2012 @ 07:07:10

Hi there.
I stumbled on your page last night looking for questions to ask on an A&E department. I failed my first placement in second year, which almost killed me. I have just begun a specialist placement in A&E, I have carried forward 4 components from last placement to this placement together with this placement’s components. I am scared to bits as I soo want to pass. Is there any advice you can give me? I am desperate.

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- littlenursey
  Mar 10, 2012 @ 17:37:16
  
  Hello!
  Thank you for your comment – I’m very sorry it has taken me so long to reply and that this might be too late now, but I have been out of the country since January as part of my nurse training.
  Your situation is enough to make any student nurse panic, but try not to (easier said than done I know!) The best thing you can do is put more energy into formulating a plan.
  Speak to the mentor who you were with when you failed your placement in second year and speak to your tutors at your university. Read through the paperwork you had. Ask them why you failed and what you need to do to pass. It’s not nice hearing criticism, but to be a good nurse, you need to be prepared to know where you’re going wrong.
  Make sure you take advantage of being able to ask questions! Put your personal tutor to use and take any offers of help or advice from registered nurses or other student nurses on your course. If you don’t understand any of the components you need to ask questions.
  Unfortunately I don’t know what your components are or why you failed your placement, so there isn’t much more advice I can give you I’m afraid.
  However some advice I can give is to be a social recluse for a little while and get all these components out of the way! Does passing these components mean a lot of paperwork?
  
  I’m sorry if my reply isn’t much help – my university works differently to yours so I am unsure about what you need to do to pass.
  
  Sarah x
  
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john godfrrey
Mar 12, 2012 @ 16:40:00

thank you for your reply i have good personal care at home , its hard to talk about it to famely or its just me , i thought i was going to get better and they have always looked up to me , my social worker rang today and ask how i was , i said horiable she said your not horiable john !! it dont take much to make you feel good does it . my daughter has been present in a few post mortems and layed out quite alot and sounds alot of care

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