As a student nurse paramedic, I find myself often answering questions about our role and the future of the profession—not only from the general pubic but from other professionals and students. I do not always know the answers to the questions they are asking, in large part because the role is still brand new. Nevertheless, everyone has been extremely positive about the role, which only increases my confidence and motivation—but most of all excitement—for my future career as a nurse paramedic.
During our second semester at Edge Hill University, we started our preparation for our end-of-term exams which, at times, I found very intense. With current restrictions resulting from COVID-19, we are often taught online. I have found this difficult due to the complexity of the subjects and I certainly prefer to be in the classroom but we were also offered more opportunities than other students to be on campus, which I am thankful for. During our time there, we spent time in the simulation suite, allowing us to develop and expand our scope of practice in preparation for our first placement in springtime.
When I received my email to alert me that my uniform was ready to be picked up, I could not wait to try it on. The feeling of this being real was setting in and I see my uniform not as a badge of honor in my university and career, but to myself. I had to stop for a moment and reflect on how far I've come. At times, I've questioned whether I could actually do this but working alongside people as passionate as those I am fortunate to work with has just added to my experience and my confidence that I made the right decision. Not long after uniforms arrived, placement allocation was made, which was very thrilling for myself and my class. My first placement was hospital/ward-based, which I was pleased about as I had never worked within the hospital environment and I found myself feeling less anxious about starting because two other students were joining me on the same ward.
Before starting placement, I reached out to introduce myself and gain any necessary information in advance. On my first day travelling to placement, I felt the same way I did driving to my first day at university—nervous and excited. Before attending, I was already made aware of who my placement assessor and practice supervisor was, and thankfully my off-duty matched my practice assessor and was allocated to work alongside them every shift. On my first day, they made me feel at ease and completed their induction which allowed me to find my bearings on the ward. My practice assessor was so friendly and supportive towards me, although had some very interesting questions about my role and profession, which I was used to by then. Each shift, we would make a little action plan of what we needed to do that day and what I wanted to gain/learn. I was given lots of opportunities to experience different aspects of patient care in the hospital environment and learn from specialist nurses. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my patients and delivering nursing care, while building on my fundamental skills.
I have to say that placement was the boost I personally needed during semester two. I am thoroughly looking forward to completing the rest of my first year and continuing to learn both in the classroom and online, but also in practice placement, where I can put theory into practice.