I have been at uni for 4 months now so feel it’s about time for an update.
Our first week there for all induction, info on course + modules + tutors etc, we got down to business the second week. We are only there Monday – Thursday so I have been able to keep my job, though I will be leaving it soon (more to come later).
In the first year we have the following modules:
- Foundations Of Nursing Knowledge
- Foundations Of Nursing Practice
- Human Anatomy And Physiology For Nursing
- Nursing Assessment Skills
- Person Centred Practice
By far the hardest module is Human Anatomy And Physiology For Nursing. I find it the most interesting but also the hardest 🙁 We have four 1 hr online exams for this module, thankfully mostly multiple choice. I’m not doing any current revision as yet as I am concentrating on my other modules.
Very early on everyone broke into social groups, most people are local, but there are a few of us that have to travel some distance. There are/were 24 people in our co-hort, so a nice small group, we have since been joined by 6 (I think) students from the co-hort before us. they either needed to make up placement hours + failed a module or failed part of a module. You fail the year if you fail 60 + credits. Some are retaking Foundations Of Nursing Practice (they failed either hours or assignments), some are retaking that plus Nursing Assessment Skills and some just Nursing Assessment Skills. We have also lost one student you gave up and one student who is pregnant so isn’t allowed to do placements, therefore she is doing her placements with the September co-hort and will be in the year below us.
We have so far only handed in two assignments. One was a 1000 word report for Foundations Of Nursing Knowledge the other was a presentation that was recorded! We should be getting our marks back any day now. We have a presentation due in in July (as well as anatomy) but our main focus right now is placements.
Placements have been another thing entirely. There were many an issue for some people. I pick Portsmouth uni due to the placement area i.e Worthing, but all my placements this year are in Bognor or Chichester. When I queried this, as it turns out you stay in that area/hospital the full 3 years, they were surprised as I live in Worthing and asked if I’d be interested in Brighton. No difference in travel but a much bigger hospital, so I said yes. As far I haven’t heard anything, so either nothing will happen or it will change for next year. I was expecting to get a nursing home placement 5 min walk from my house but that hasn’t happen, maybe next year.
Other people had much bigger issue than me, some couldn’t get in touch with anyone, some had their placement taken away and some didn’t even know where they were going to start with. We start placements next week and have two 3 week placements with our OSCEs the week between them!
More on placements + OSCEs to follow.
