Semester 1 Modules

This will be somewhat of a short post in terms of discussion, but contains plenty for you to see. =) As I now have access to the university student site I have found out the modules for my first semester. I have 2 different modules, each one consisting of different subjects. They are as follows;

Professional Values & Academic Skills (Module 1);

- Nursing as a Profession & the NMC Code of Conduct

- Record Keeping

- Introduction to Law, Ethics & Human Rights

- Portfolio & Employability

- Introduction to Evidence-Based Practice

- Introduction to Reflective Practice

- Diversity & Safeguarding

- Philosophy of Nursing

Introduction to Nursing Practice & Decision Making (Module 2);

- Patient Handling

- Basic Life Support

- Infection Prevention & Control

- Care, Compassion & Communication

- Nutrition and Fluid Management

- Organisational Aspects of Care

- Medicines Management

Anatomy & Physiology consists of;

- Cells & Homeostasis

- The Skin

- Cardiovascular System

- Nervous System

- Renal System

- Digestive System

- Respiratory System

- Physiology of Pain

- Principles of Pharmacology

And all this is just the first semester!!! Each module will coincide with the other, so it's not like we'll do just module 1 and then go onto module 2, we do them at the same time. I don't know if that's good or bad... Anyway, I am so excited to be going over all these subjects, and I am really looking forward to the challenge. I will try my hardest to write an entry on each of these, however, time may not allow that, I'll soon find out.

4 WEEKS & 5 DAYS TO GO...

Stress, Study & Shopping

Right, I am finally writing a new post. I've been saying for days that I will do a new one, but unfortunately I've had family things to deal with. Anyway, I am extremely excited about starting university in 5 weeks time, and I really want to get myself more prepared, but right now is not a great time for me, but the more I think about what I still have left to do, the more I feel slightly stressed. I am still mourning the passing of my Nan, she was a wonderful woman and I miss her dearly. Her funeral is on Tuesday so for the time being I have put uni preparations on hold

I've been trying all sorts this week to keep my mind busy so I'm not dwelling on the negative things that are going on. It's just really hard to stay focused right now. As I am back living with my mum for my first year of uni, she has kindly agreed to let me take the bigger bedroom to get me out of the box room I'm in at the moment, I really do need more space. So sorting all that out during the week will be great. My kids are off on holiday for a week now with their mum so I have an entire week to get a few thing sorted.

I really feel like I should be studying a bit too, I know it's not essential but I want to have a basic knowledge of things, and I found a love for studying during my access course, so now I can't help putting my nose into a A&P book in my spare time. I have been watching some YouTube videos which have been great, some of my favourites are from a series by ' Campbellteaching'. Here is one of the videos;

I have quite a lot of stuff I need to buy too; I have to buy all my stationary (pens, paper, folders, etc), I need to buy stuff we've been told to buy for the course (stethoscope, syg, shoes) and also I want to buy a few new books. I also have to buy a new computer as the laptop I am currently using is on its last legs! I've had it for 6-7 years now and it's now falling apart, internally and externally. I can't wait to start shopping!

I'm not going to post again now until next week. I really need to spend this week clearing my head and getting a few thing sorted. I will be back refreshed and ready to write soon. (I will keep you all updated on Twitter).

Have a great week everyone!

Learning About The Student Union

Each day I am constantly checking my Facebook and Twitter accounts and lately I'm noticing a lot of updates from my university's Student Union. To be completely honest I only joined/followed them on Facebook and Twitter because they were a part of the university. I only vaguely knew what a Student Union was but lately I've began to ask myself, what can they really do...? It's like having an NUS card, I know what it's for, but what does NUS even mean...? (I now know it stands for National Union of Students). I asked a couple of my student friends today what they thought Student Unions did, all they could tell me what that a Student Union was an organisation that represents the interests of students within the University. They couldn't really elaborate when it came to specific things they did for students.
Looking on my Students Union website I found out a great deal of information. Initially all I knew was that everyone registered on a university course (be it full time or part time and irrespective of which campus they studying at) are automatically members of their universities SU and can access a wide range of services and activities the Union run, and that in short... we as students run the SU by sharing ideas/concerns with a group of elected representatives; the Student Council who act on our behalf.

Student Unions also offer a great deal of advice to students in areas such as;

Financial Support - They will help you find the financial support you're entitled to and help you find a student bank account that offer interest-free overdrafts. They will help you with your budgeting and even help you if you feel like you're getting into debt. Hardship funds are even payed out for students who are in financial crisis and are thinking of giving up university due to financial problems. (Students studying part-time and those who chose not to accept student loans only). TIP: If you have a low income, you can get what is called a 'HC1 Form' from your Student Union, this will exempt you from health costs such as prescriptions and dental costs.

Health & Wellbeing - The SU will help you if you feel you have issues with crime, alcohol, drugs, mental health and sexual health and will provide you with appropriate services should you need them.

Academic Support - During your time at university you will be asked to take various assessments to test your learning and understanding of your subject. Unfortunately problems can and do sometimes happen. Your university will have resources and help available for students who are struggling with their learning, whether it is help preparing for exams, problems with referencing, or general study skills advice.  

The Student Union is also there to help you if things go wrong during your studies. They will offer advice, information and representation, on a range of academic issues, including:

• Applications for Exceptional Circumstances: What to do if illness or personal problems affect your work and you need to defer an assessment or request a coursework extension.

• Errors in the way an assessment is conducted: What to do if you feel that an error the University has made has affected an assessment e.g. the assessment rules were not followed properly.

• Disciplinary procedures and appealing the outcome of a hearing: What happens if you are accused of breaching the University rules i.e. plagiarism, an examination offense or issues about your behaviour.

• Complaints: Information regarding how to complain about a member of University staff, the course delivery or an aspect of your time at the University that you are unhappy with.

And for us student nurses in particular...

• “Fitness For Practice” What to expect if your “Fitness For Practice” is called into question whilst studying a professional course (i.e. Nursing).

It is doubtful problems like this will occur, but incase they do, you now know where you can seek help. Thank you for reading. If you have any questions please comment below.

Starting An Access Course?

So, a friend of mine who is about to do an access course asked me to sum up the course and give some advice in a blog entry. Well, I’ve been wondering how I would go about doing this, as there is so much to talk about. So I have decided to make a short post to (1) talk about one particular subject to start with, and to help you kick start some studying… and (2) to also try and give you some tips on how to cope during the course. On my course we studied Biology, Health Studies, English and Maths.  Some of the access courses include units such as Psychology and Sociology, I didn’t study those so I can’t comment on those. So, I will begin by talking about my favourite subject, biology! If you have any questions relating to any of the other subjects, feel free to contact me.

Biology; This was by far my favourite subject. I came into it not having any idea what to expect but having done a bit of research prior to starting I knew I was going to love it. With biology, I’ve heard a few people tell me that before they start they are doing their own research (i.e. looking at the body systems), which to be fair I looked up myself. However, you are jumping way ahead of yourself. At the beginning of Access you start from the bottom and work your way up, by this I mean you learn in order of the levels of structural complexity. So, within the body are different levels of structural organisation and complexity; cells being the smallest independent units of living matter. In complex organisms such as the human body, cells with similar structures and functions are found together, forming tissues. (I would go on and explain the rest but don’t want to bore you right now), basically cells are grouped together to form tissues > tissues are grouped together to form organs > organs group together to form systems, e.g. digestive system > systems work together to form the organism that is our human body. It is also important to know the “goings on” within a cell, understanding the function of a cells contents, tiny little organs called ‘organelles’. Below is a diagram I actually drew for my cells assignment. (Not very artistic, I know lol!)

Why not look up some of these organelles and learn their particular functions? I guarantee your biology tutor will be impressed, haha!

So, jumping from a specific subject to more general advice, if you’re about to start the access course this September, these three tips may help you;

•  Take notes in class, it’s likely that your tutor will make PowerPoint slides from the class available to you, you may be an auditory learner and may just want to sit and listen, but I assure you, there will be things your tutor will say that won’t be in the slides/hand-outs that may end up being rather important.

•  Start your assignments on the day you get them. I cannot stress how important that is, the lesson was fresh in my mind on the same day so it made it easier to start planning and writing down the most important points. A friend of mine always used to say ‘I’ll start it tomorrow, a day where we had a different class, so the previous day’s lesson was but a distant memory.

• USE YOUR TUTORS! This is one of the most important points. Utilise your class tutors, as well as your personal tutor. They are there to help you, squeeze as much information out of them as you can and never be afraid of bothering them. They are there for you, first and foremost. Get their email address and their office extension number, keep in regular contact!

One of the hardest things to do on this course was maintain my time management, I’m not afraid to admit that at one point I was all over the place, wondering round college like a headless chicken wondering what the hell I was going to next! We were regularly handed one assignment after the other and it was non-stop, it become tedious and never ending. You have to keep reminding yourself that there is a point to it all, that all your hard work will pay off in the long run. There were times that I had to force myself to go into college on a day off and spend the whole day in the study room completing assignments (I don’t work well at home, too many distractions).

In hindsight, although the access course was stressful, tedious, annoying, frustrating and exhausting, it was quite possibly the best academic experience of my life thus far, it taught me a hell of a lot and I feel that I am 100% academically prepared for university.

My First Ever Blog!

Yes ladies and gents, I'm afraid yet another 'student nurse' blogger has entered the blogging world, however, I have not yet seen many male nurse bloggers out there. I know nursing is perceived to be a highly female dominated profession, and believe it or not I have spoken to a few 'old fashioned' males who feel that nursing should be an all female profession... RIDICULOUS! 

So fellas, if you are considering a career in nursing and are worried about such ridiculous attitudes and any stigma that may be attached to male nurses, fear not, I will offer you an insight from a male's perspective. 

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Ok, so i've been racking my brains about what to talk about in my first ever blog. Well, as this is my first ever blog, why not start with the reasons as to why I've started it, and tell you more about myself. I promise to keep it short, haha! 

Not long prior to starting this, I started using the micro-blogging site Twitter for the first time, I thought it would be great to use for when I become a student nurse in that I could tweet quick updates to my followers about how I'm getting on, but then I started to think, what if I have a lot to say? I won't always be able to sum up what I want to talk about in 140 characters! So I began to think it may be a good idea to start writing a blog for the more lengthy updates. 

So, after recently finishing my Access to HE course I am now enjoying a long summer break with my 2 children before I get the biggest kick up the backside and start feeling as though life is going at 1,000,000mph! My children (aged 4 & 8 - See pic below) have been amazing since I started at college, my youngest doesn't really understand the full extent of what I'm about to go through, my eldest, however, does! He is very proud that his Daddy has "gone back to school" and has worked hard. =) 

Many people asked me, why do you want to be a nurse? There a couple of reasons as to why this is... Firstly, because I was in and out of hospital myself as a child, so I can sort of empathise with children who go into hospital and wonder what the hell they're doing there lol. Long story short, I was born at 24 weeks, and spent the first several months of my life in hospital. Then, later on was diagnosed with a mild form on cerebral palsy. I spent my whole childhood in and out of hospital receiving all kinds of treatment, and were it not for doctors, nurses and physiotherapists, I would not be who I am today. Thankfully, today I no longer present with any symptoms of cerebral palsy. Another reason, and perhaps the biggest of all, was the birth of my son Brayden. Being a dad came with a huge responsibility, and being 20 at the time, my life wasn't really going in any direction career wise. Then, looking at myself and seeing my ability to care for, nurture and be patient with this little boy; it really reignited my interest in becoming a nurse. 

Having been on both ends (as a child and as a parent) I can empathise with children who find it ‘scary’ going into hospital, and the uncertainty of what is happening and why. I can also relate to the parent who is concerned about their child being in hospital, the fear that comes with not knowing what is wrong, and the helplessness they may feel. I just hope I will be competent in the role and not make any mistakes, I have a memory like a sieve at times and it takes me a while to process information. I guess only time will tell. 

I will finish my ramblings here for now and hope you come back to read the next blog. I hope you've enjoying reading this, and hope that this will be the first of many. If you are also interested in following me via Twitter you can click on my nice little twitter button at the top of the page lol, from there I can update you when a new entry has been posted. 

Thank You For Reading! =)