The idea that I have started university is a strange and overwhelming one. I had hoped for so long that this would be where I would see my career going—however, this journey has not always been easy. Prior to starting this new course at Edge Hill, I worked full time in the social care sector. Although I appear to be a very confident person, returning to education as a mature adult learner raised fears within me. However, overall I'm very excited to have taken these steps. I initially applied for adult nursing but when offered the opportunity to explore this new integrated role of nurse paramedic, I could instantly see my future in this field. This course is a combination of nursing and paramedic practice with the options to register with both professional councils.
Starting university has not been what I imagined due to COVID-19. The university has put in place restrictions to protect students such as reduced classroom sizes, online inductions and lessons, reduced classroom-based lessons and the introduction of blending learning—which is not my strongest point because technology and I have our battles, although by the end of term one, I feel an increased confidence in this area. When induction started, we met our lecturers and the founders of the course who covered its areas of study in detail and the health sectors we would be covering. Nurses and paramedics share a skill set of up to 95%: this number was overwhelming and I could not imagine the skills between nurses and paramedics being the same. As nursing and paramedic students, we are being trained to the high standards of both fields, and the remaining 5% will also be covered but this shared skill set is so beneficial, particularly during placement experience.
To say I was disappointed with placements being cancelled due to COVID-19 is an understatement, however understandable. Those of us in the nurse paramedic programme found ourselves experiencing some time in the clinical skills lab doing some hands-on basic and intermediate life support training, again trained to both standards of practice. This ended up being very exciting and personally gave me the boost I needed.
The time table for year one looks thrilling with a mixture of modules and placements and clinical skills practice. I'm excited to have started my journey as a student and looking forward to placement practice but juggling working long shifts during a pandemic has been very difficult at times; reintroducing time to study and balancing personal time has been increasingly difficult. This has brought me to the conclusion that to protect my mental wellbeing and make sure I can give myself the best possible opportunities, I need to reduce my working hours.
As a nurse paramedic student, I am to adhere to both sets of professional standards—those from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)—and although this personally feels very daunting at times, words cannot describe how excited I am to have this opportunity to be one of the first students to start in this course. I am highly honoured to be one of the first in the country as no other university is offering the nurse paramedic course. As students, knowing that currently there is no professional role or job description for us when we qualify really excites me because we can work alongside trusts to create a role that is not only beneficial for the trusts and organisations, but that will produce the best patient outcomes.