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A career that begins with care: Rachele’s nursing journey

Faculty: Health, Medicine and Social Care
School: School of Nursing and Midwifery
Course: BSc (Hons) Nursing - Adult
Category: Nursing and midwifery

17 November 2016

Rachele

When I embarked on my A Levels, I decided to study adult nursing. My main reason for wanting to be a nurse was due to my fascination in the amazing care and support nurses give to patients. This feeling started when my aunty got admitted to hospital due to a lung tumour.

I noticed how they were always there and were able to care for her not only physically but also psychologically through this though time. The other reason I chose nursing is that I believed that a career in adult nursing would appeal to my natural curiosity and interest in learning new things as I would be given opportunities to develop many new skills throughout my training and career progression. This career path would allow me to use different techniques such as counselling, and would help me broaden my skills which is my passion.

Nursing is a challenging career. One of the toughest things about being a student nurse is trying to balance university, placement and your social life. You spend most of your days in placement or university and may forget to take care of yourself. However on the positive side, you’re saving someone's life and helping someone in need, which is very rewarding. The best thing about nursing is that people let you in their life by trusting you to make them feel better. It’s a great feeling.

Studying nursing can be demanding, stressful, challenging and tiring and sometimes I wonder why I do it. However as soon as the thought comes into my mind I take a break, sleep or talk to someone about it (tutor or family member), which then reminds me why I went into such a career. This is how I overcome all the difficulties I face during my course. Being a student at Anglia Ruskin University makes you feel like there is always someone for you to talk to, which I find very helpful.

As a student nurse I am learning to be a 'real nurse'. Nursing is not only about caring for someone as shown in the media, but it’s also about having the ability to speak to someone and encourage them to trust you at all time, a skill acquired during your placement.

I have learnt a wide range of skills all thanks to the diverse placement areas I was able to work at. The skill that I believe is the most important is the ability to face challenging patients with a calm and delicate manner. I have also improved my leadership, management and communication skills. These skills are taught in the lectures and applied in your placement area. Due to learning these skills in my first year I was able to apply and run for the Afro-Caribbean Society vice-president role where I led and helped a wide group of people. This shows that the skills learned in nursing can also be applied to different aspects of life and also, maybe, improve you as a person.

So what makes a good nurse? Well, a good nurse knows how to perform all responsibilities with the utmost detail and accuracy. When dealing with a human being, us nurses have little room for errors. Another skill that makes a good nurse is the ability to effectively communicate with doctors, patients and other healthcare staff: the failure of communication can be very damaging. Finally, I believe that a good nurse is compassionate, this skill allows the individual to understand and empathize with patients at all times.

I chose Anglia Ruskin University because of the high employment opportunity, as so many students found a job in the healthcare sector after six months of graduating. This reassures me that I will have job security after my graduation. I also chose Anglia Ruskin University due to the amazing help from lectures and librarians outside the classroom.

One thing I would tell anyone about a career in nursing is 'be ready to work hard at all time'.

Disclaimer

The views expressed here are those of the individual and do not necessarily represent the views of Anglia Ruskin University. If you've got any concerns please contact us.