First Year Lessons

First year is as good as over! I have four weeks of placement left, then (presuming I pass) we're thrust into second year. Given how for most of us there's no long summer break, it's bizarre to think of how much things will change practically overnight. No longer will we be "just first years". People on placement might not look down on us! Shocking.

I was saying to my mom a few weeks ago, I feel like so much more of a nurse now than I did a year ago. Mental health nursing is almost nothing like I'd anticipated, and I'm still not wholly convinced it's what I want to do (my heart belongs to psychology and therapy), but I feel reasonably confident that I can do it. I may not be feeling this confident at the end of second year, but we'll see.

In the spirit of bidding first year adieu and saying hello to second year, here are the most important lessons I've learned in the past twelve months...


1) Never tell anyone you're a first year!  If they ask, then don't lie, but don't offer up the fact that you're a beginner. In my experience, many people will instantly think this makes you incompetent. Prove your worth. Surprise people when they discover you're a first year. Imagine you're a third year. Read up on the things you don't know about. Use that knowledge. Never think of yourself as "just a first year", even if everyone around you does.

But of course, don't do things you're not confident or competent with, ask questions, and ask for help! Nobody knows everything.

2) Look after yourself on placement! I had no idea this was going to be so hard. My first placement was reasonably easy as I wasn't working through all of it, but I'm juggling work and placement at the moment (this week, I'll be working 75 hours) and let me tell you, it's hard. Take the breaks you're entitled to, eat well (I find this most difficult because of my stomach issues), go to bed early, make time for yourself.

There are so many friends I've not been able to see in months because of placement and work commitments. Sometimes I cancel plans just so I can have a day in bed and not have to deal with the world. I feel guilty, but ultimately sometimes being lazy for a day is better for you than anything else.

3) Do essays early! You should know your assignment title at the start of each module, and you'll cover the material early on. DO IT WHEN IT COMES UP. I know everyone always says this, but the sheer number of people I see leaving essays til a few days or even the day before they're due is shocking. You won't do your best work that way! And you'll die sooner because you're so STRESSED.

Of course, it's easy for me to say this because I LOVE writing essays. But I also get good marks. So ner.

4) Lean on your friends! Nobody, even with the best of intentions, will understand what you're going through like the people in your cohort. We've not quite reached the point of living in a nurse-eat-nurse world, we're not competing against each other for jobs or accolades. Make time to go out to lunch and gripe about how tough it is being a student nurse. Complain about your placement experiences (being mindful of confidentiality!), complain about poor practice, complain about the ridiculous things people in your cohort come out with. Laugh at everything. Cry at everything. Do it all together. It'll keep you sane.

5) Finally, remember why you're there! I couldn't have survived my first placement without the lovely patients I worked with. I've been informed that MHNs do their nursing in the office, and while this is a part of nursing culture that's unlikely to change, remember to put your patients first. Don't tell them to wait ten minutes for simple things. Don't give up on a one worded conversation. Make an extra effort with patients nurses have no time for (because they're "difficult" or "abrupt"). Stick with them. Believe in them. Hope for them. It isn't all as quantifiable as writing a care plan or updating risk assessments,  but it lasts a lot longer.

Obviously, if I fail first year, do the opposite of everything above...

Four weeks of placement, three weeks of uni, then placement 3 is upon us. I have a community elderly placement next, which I'm over the moon about, because community is the place for me, without a doubt. And then it's Christmas! Balls. See you in a few months?