About the student
- Year of study: Third year student
- Course studying: Adult Nursing
- Why did you choose to study your course? I wanted to study nursing for many years but never had the confidence to. It was only after some personal experience that I decided to do it.
- Why did you choose University of Staffordshire? I visited many open days, but Staffordshire felt the most relaxed and offered more support, which meant more to me.
Background of the placement
- Placement setting: Prison - shifts patterns included 7.45am - 5.30pm or 7am - 7pm
- Types of patients: Male inmates
- Regular responsibilities: Medication rounds, clinics doing NHS referrals, assessments for various illnesses and conditions, emergency response.
The Healthcare Team
- Who else did you work with? I worked alongside GP, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, prison officers, mental health team, security officers and paramedics. I found this interesting as you get to see their roles and responsibilities.
- Did you feel like part of the team? I always felt part of a team and always felt safe.
- How did you find the support? There was support of anyone if I needed any.
What have you learned on this placement?
- There is a lot of risk assessment involved with working alongside my patients, this was to assess lone working, risk of escort and transfer, assessments.
- Within clinics we did immunisations they included ones for mental health which I found interesting. I have had many interactions with patients that were struggling with their mental health.
- Emergency responding to critical incidents, you don’t have a crash trolley to push around it’s a big heavy bag.
- Security procedures, as every gate you pass through has to be locked right behind you. There is no room for error on any part of security. Also making sure work without judgement and treat everyone as an individual.
What were the most rewarding part of the placement?
Gaining experience, learning new skills, helping patients. The feedback from peers, patients and patients' families I found invaluable; it was always positive and made me realise I was doing a good job.
Did you face any challenging situations on placement?
In the emergency department we had several patients whose behaviours were challenging, but I learned ways of dealing with the situation and I was always supported.