What course are you studying?
BSc Adult Nursing
Why did you choose to study at Northumbria?
Northumbria had everything I was looking for. As an international student, I was also interested in finding a university that celebrated the diversity of its students and brought that spirit of celebration into everyday university life. I was also hoping to find a program that offered scholarships to international students and was pleased to find that Northumbria did. The degree I was interested in was, and still is, highly ranked nationally and while doing research during the application process, I found great testimonies of graduates from the program I am currently studying which further solidified my choice!
What inspires you on your course – the staff, opportunities to work with industry, guest lectures, your fellow students or more?
My tutors have really inspired me to fully delve into the subject of nursing. Every tutor or mentor I have will drop little hints to the class on things like new studies that have just been published, documentaries they found informative and books or articles to read. Once I started taking the time to pick up on those little hints, I found that this wealth of knowledge became available to me and research and academic reading has become something I do out of interest. I now strike up conversations with my tutors about things that I have read or information I have come across and it has helped me build great relationships with my tutors and mentors as well as bringing me further into the ever-changing world of nursing!
Have you taken part in a placement or study abroad year? If so, where did you do your placement and what skills did you learn?
Placements are an integral part of a nursing degree and so far, I have done 5 weeks of placements with another 5 coming up soon. Nursing placements require you to bring all of the theory that you learn in university out into the real world just a few months after starting your course. It is intense and the task may seem daunting, but it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. My first placement was in the community; first in a care home, then with the district nurses. While those two settings are vastly different, they both taught me that communication skills, interpreting non-verbal cues, taking initiative and asking LOTS of questions are all a vital part of developing confidence in a clinical setting. Those skills are transferable to any career choice in any field, but in nursing they are especially important. Nursing placements are a great example of the saying, "what you give is what you get". When I showed my mentors the work I was willing to put in and the enthusiasm I had, they were even more eager to give me new responsibilities, share their knowledge and let me take more hands-on roles in my time with them.
Are you part of any societies, sports teams or been involved in any volunteering projects?
I am not part of any societies or sports team, but I am working on finding a project to volunteer with.
What do you love about Newcastle upon Tyne?
I love just how vibrant Newcastle is! It is definitely a student city with people from all over the world living, studying and working here. Its multiculturalism is part of what makes the city so unique with its restaurants, celebrations, shops, museums, galleries and music. Also because of where it's situated. There is easy access to beaches, farmland, parks, and with an international airport a 15-minute drive from the city, you have easy and affordable access to the rest of Europe! The night life here is notorious for the many pubs and clubs too! As someone who is used to having to drive everywhere, I was so amazed that you could walk the whole city in about 25 minutes and that there was such excellent public transportation.
What would you say is the biggest challenge facing your subject area/ generation? Are you doing anything to tackle this challenge?
I would say that the biggest challenge for nursing students is just how much pressure there is waiting for us once we qualify. So much is changing in the world of nursing and we are already feeling it as students. The shortage of nurses in England is putting a lot of stress on the healthcare system and the qualified nurses who are already working. There is a growing need for qualified nurses who have skills beyond the basic requirements, so universities are having to adapt their curriculum's to address that need, which makes the course more rigorous. The NHS needs more Nurse Prescribers, more Research Nurses, more Clinical Nurse Specialists and more Advanced Practice Nurses in general. Even in my second semester, I can feel the need for me and my peers to specialize sooner and go into the workforce with a much wider skill set. As I mentioned, Northumbria University is adjusting our degree schedule and curriculum in order to give us more clinical hours and more experience in an effort to make the transition roles like Nurse Prescriber easier due to our increased level of experience. What I do to help in this effort is to soak up as much information where ever I can; reading memoires of nurses, looking at recently published studies, finding out more about advanced roles in nursing and most importantly, asking my tutor and mentors about their experiences and seeing what advice they can pass down to me.
