To celebrate International Nurses Day we are showcasing nurses and the incredible work they do, especially after COVID. Emily Taylor outlines what she enjoyed overall about the course and her plans and aspirations for the future. Emily also provides advice to aspiring nursing students!
Sadly, my journey as a student nurse is quickly drawing to a close. Come August my degree will be finished and not long after I will receive my pin, join the register as a registered nurse and be introduced to the world of tax and national insurance when I start my first full time registered nurse post.
I’d be lying if I said my 3 years as a student nurse have been plain sailing and stress free, COVID hit when I was just 6 months into my training and the way in which teaching and placements were delivered quickly changed, however, on reflection what a 3 years it has been despite the chaos! I have gained friends for life, developed as an individual in ways I never knew was possible and my love for nursing has just grown and grown! My favourite part of being a student nurse has to be placement- the opportunity to work within many different specialities across a wide variety of trusts across Liverpool is amazing. During my second year of training I was placed in Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital for a 12 week placement, where I quickly learnt the speciality I loved and was extremely passionate about was cardiology! I knew there and then that was the speciality I wanted to work in, without the exposure to the speciality through placement it wouldn’t have been possible to know. Shortly after finishing the placement, I applied for my first band 5 post in cardiology and was successful! I cannot wait to start my first RN job later this year! My other placement experiences have included stroke rehabilitation unit, GP nursing, community nursing, childhood immunisation team, renal high dependency unit and A&E. The learning experience I have had has been amazing, the exposure to all different types of nursing and patients has provided me with plenty of knowledge and skills to take forward in my career.
I have future plans and aspirations to continue studying once qualified, allowing the progression of my career and hopefully progress into an advance nurse practitioner role after a few years and maybe even a nurse consultant one day!
Current and aspiring nursing students, I was once given a piece of advice by a nurse on my first ever placement and it’s stuck with my through my entire journey as a student. She said, never be afraid to ask for help, you might not be able to do everything by yourself, but together we can take on anything.
All I have to say is enjoy the experiences you get as a student nurse and always remember to believe in yourself because you can do it!