Get into UK Nursing School For Dummies E-Book

Andrew Evered

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 373

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

The need for nurses is always great, but so is the competition to secure a place in a pre-registration programme at university. If you’re considering a career in nursing, Get into UK Nursing School For Dummies can provide you with the vital edge you need to succeed at getting into nursing school. This compact book provides you with expert advice at each step along the way, including:

• Career assessment — is nursing for you?
• Choosing a field to specialize in — adult, children's, mental health or learning disability nursing.
• Long term planning — A-levels, extracurricular activities, volunteer work, and work experience — that can make you a more attractive candidate
• Considerations for mature/non-traditional students.
• Personal statement — Plenty of insight and examples to help you create a winning and — truly personal — personal statement
• Research — Put together a plan that ensures you find a university that’s right for you.
• Test preparation — Brush up on your literacy and numeracy skills.
• The interview — Common questions and how to tackle them whether you’re in a one-on-one and group interview.

From "How do I get started?" to "When can I expect to be offered a place?" Get into Nursing School For Dummies answers the questions you have with the information you need.

Leseprobe

Get into UK Nursing School For Dummies®

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, www.wiley.com

This edition first published 2013

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Get into UK Nursing School For Dummies®

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/getintonursingschooluk to view this book's cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Conventions Used in This Book

What You’re Not to Read

Foolish Assumptions

How This Book Is Organised

Part I: Getting Started with a Career in Nursing

Part II: Focusing on Your Personal Development

Part III: Preparing to Apply

Part IV: Perfecting Your Application

Part V: Attending Selection Days . . . And Beyond

Part VI: The Part of Tens

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Getting Started with a Career in Nursing

Chapter 1: Getting to Know Nursing

Defining the Nursing Profession

Understanding the Role of the Nursing and Midwifery Council

Outlining the Role of the Nurse

Examining Who Goes into Nursing

Seeing Where Nurses Work

The National Health Service

The independent sector

The armed forces

Voluntary services

Nursing overseas

Training to Become a Nurse

Chapter 2: Exploring Your Options: Nursing Fields

Looking at the Nursing Field Ratios

Adult Nursing

Recognising the scope of adult nursing

Understanding the role of the adult nurse

Seeing where adult nurses work

Looking at key tasks

Children’s Nursing

Understanding the role of the children’s nurse

Seeing where children’s nurses work

Looking at key tasks

Mental Health Nursing

Defining mental health

Understanding the role of the mental health nurse

Seeing where mental health nurses work

Looking at key tasks

Learning Disabilities Nursing

Defining learning disabilities

Understanding the role of the learning disabilities nurse

Seeing where learning disabilities nurses work

Looking at key tasks

Separating Nursing Fields from Other Professions

Midwifery versus children’s nursing

Social work versus learning disabilities nursing

Care work versus nursing

Part II: Focusing on Your Personal Development

Chapter 3: Weighing Academic Qualifications

Charting Your Academic Path

Still at school

Applicants with life experience

Why Currency Counts: Assessing Your Study Skills

Back to Basics: GCSEs

Getting the Points

Aiming for A-levels (Advanced General Certificate of Education)

Choosing your subjects

Getting the grades

Getting Down to Business with BTECs

Choosing your subjects

Getting the grades

Scottish Qualifications

Talking About Access

Choosing your subjects

Getting the grades

Is Access suitable for me?

Certificates, Foundation and University Degrees

Tasting the Fruit of Experience: APEL

Using Foreign Qualifications

Chapter 4: Professional Requirements: How Do You Rate?

Reviewing Your Fitness to Practise

Monitoring Your Professional Behaviour

’Ello, ’Ello: Examining Your Criminal Record

Infractions you can live with

Convictions incompatible with nursing

Taking Health and Wellbeing into Consideration

Health issues and adjustments

Situations that present a challenge

Dealing with Disability

Making every effort

When adjustments just can’t be made

Chapter 5: Proving Your People Skills

Understanding Nursing Behaviours and Values

Health boards

NMC

Considering Caring Characteristics

Assessing your attitude

Exploring your behaviour

Showing Compassion

Proving Your Commitment

Communicating Effectively

Email etiquette

Telephone manner

Body language

Chapter 6: Gaining Care Experience

Understanding the Role of Care Experience

Putting a Plan Together

Working within the NHS

Weighing up the pros and cons

Getting your foot in the door

Turning to the Private Sector

Weighing up the pros and cons

Getting your foot in the door

Volunteering for a Charity

Weighing up the pros and cons

Getting your foot in the door

Building Personal Experiences

Part III: Preparing to Apply

Chapter 7: Understanding the Nursing Programme

Overviewing the Programme

Understanding the NMC requirements

Surveying the academic teaching methods

Considering patterns of work

Focusing on Academic Study

Seeing the breadth of subjects covered

Taking academic assessments

Getting to Grips with Clinical Study

Covering the Essential Skills Clusters

Assessing you in practice

Understanding the Roles of Staff Members

The academic tutor

The personal tutor

The nurse mentor

Chapter 8: Exploring Universities

Probing Programme Particulars

Checking that the university offers the right course

Looking at length of study

Noting start and finish dates

Tallying study hours

Working in clinical practice

Checking out the day-to-day structure

Looking at Location

Being close to home, or far away?

Finding the type of campus to suit you

Getting there and back again

Considering Bed and Board

Exploring Extra-Curricular Activities

Scoping social activities

Overseas opportunities

Perusing Student Information Websites

The National Student Survey (NSS)

Key information sets on Unistats

Discussion boards and forums

Considering the Competition

Knowing what you’re up against

Choosing a geographical area

Chapter 9: Making the Most of Open Days and Visits

Planning Prior to Your Visit

On the Day: Meeting Staff and Students

Knowing who’s who

Making a good impression

Evaluating the University

Taking Advantage of Other Visits and Tours

Summer schools and taster courses

Campus tours

Applicant visit days

Chapter 10: Money Matters

Tallying the Costs of Your Education

Academic fees

The cost of applying to university

Clinical expenses

Housing considerations

Living expenses

Getting Financial Support

Help with entry qualification costs

Grants, loans and bursaries

Scholarships

Tax allowances

Hardship funds

Part IV: Perfecting Your Application

Chapter 11: Following the UCAS Process

Understanding UCAS

Mapping Out the Application Process

When to apply: The dates you need to know

How to apply: Organising your application

Managing Rejections

Using UCAS Extra: Having the extra choice

Going into clearing: Seeking those unfilled places

Receiving Offers

Chapter 12: Writing Your Personal Statement

Understanding the Rules

Looking at What You Include

Selecting information

Sharing your own ideas only

Being truthful

Using experiences to show key skills and qualities

Thinking about How You Write

Keeping the audience in mind

Structuring carefully

Making the most of every word

Proofreading to weed out mistakes

Avoiding Pitfalls

Chapter 13: Finding Solid References

Deciding Who to Ask For a Reference

Your academic tutor

Your employer

Your care colleague

Your family, friends and acquaintances

Looking at the Content of a Reference

Taking Responsibility for the References

Keeping an eye on deadlines

Discussing references with referees

Part V: Attending Selection Days . . . And Beyond

Chapter 14: Attending the Selection Day

Understanding the Basics of Selection Days

Running through a typical day

Identifying the selection team

Scoring candidates

Getting Ready for Selection Days

Confirming your attendance

Collecting documents and paperwork

Planning your outfit

Making travel arrangements

Keeping contact details current

Coping on the Day

Weighing up the competition

Controlling the signals you send out

Heading home at the end of the day

Chapter 15: Preparing for Assessments

Finding Out About Tests

Exploring Numeracy Tests

What to expect

How to prepare

Getting to Grips with Literacy Tests

What to expect

How to prepare

Doing Practical Assessments

What to expect

How to prepare

Chapter 16: Excelling in the Interview

Following the Three Stages of the Interview

Warming up

Questions and answers

Winding down

Getting Smart about Interview Etiquette

Getting Experience of Interviews

Rehearsing Your Answers

Understanding the types of question

Looking at typical questions

Questioning the Selectors

Chapter 17: Getting Your Results and Making Decisions

Handling Successful Offers

Looking at the offers

Making your decision

Considering adjustment

Asking for a deferral

Changing your mind

Waiting for the course to start

Dealing with Disappointment

Rooting out the reason for the rejection

Looking at your options

Re-applying

Part VI: The Part of Tens

Chapter 18: Ten Tips for a Successful Application

Plan Your Time Early

Develop a Research Strategy

Talk to Other Candidates

Gain Expert Advice

Create a Good Impression

Remain Motivated

Gain Interview Experience

Keep in Touch

Get Some Life Experience

Put Your Documents in Order

Chapter 19: Ten Common Pitfalls to Navigate

Ignoring Entry Criteria

Leaving Errors in Your Application Form

Applying to Multiple Nursing Fields

Failing to Keep Contact Details Up-to-date

Being Complacent about the Competition

Confusing Your Experiences

Ignoring Instructions and Requests

Being Too Creative

Demonstrating Poor Communication and Social Skills

Lacking Integrity

About the Author

Cheat Sheet

Introduction

So, you want to be a nurse? That’s a great ambition and one that many people aspire to. So many people, in fact, that nursing is one of the most popular courses at UK universities. But there are many more applications than places available, and ultimately, each year many candidates are disappointed.

That’s why, if you’re to succeed in your nursing application, you need help and advice to plan your way forward. And that’s what this book is all about – clear, practical guidance from an experienced nursing admissions tutor that helps you make your application stand out from the rest.

A nursing application can take many years to prepare, and the application and selection processes are only the first stages in your long journey to become a qualified nurse. If you’re ready to take on this challenge then read on . . . and welcome to nursing.

About This Book

This book is born of my experience as both a nurse lecturer and an admissions tutor:

Selecting candidates: I spend a considerable part of my working week selecting future nursing students, and over the years I have seen many thousands of ambitious and eager candidates. Some of the candidates have gone on to be highly successful nurses, such as ward managers and senior nurses. Others missed out on opportunities and never made it past the interview stage.

Teaching students: A registered nurse, I spend the other part of my week teaching students at university and supporting them while in clinical practice, so I know a lot about students and how they cope with the nursing course.

These combined experiences have given me an in-depth understanding of what draws people to nursing, why some do well while others fail, and how to differentiate between the excellent, the good and the not-so-good candidate.

In this book, then, you get an insider’s perspective into what it takes to succeed in an application. I lead you through the whole process of getting into nursing school, from preparing your application through to getting that all-important offer letter, showing you the different aspects that you’re likely to encounter – and, crucially, how to handle them.

Conventions Used in This Book

Throughout the book I use a few conventions:

I use italics for emphasis and to highlight new words or concepts.

Boldfaced text indicates key words in bulleted lists or the key steps of action lists.

Monofont indicates internet and email addresses. If you're reading this book on an enabled device, the web addresses are hyperlinked.

Sidebars, the shaded grey boxes that you occasionally see, give examples to support the discussion, handy tips and background information.

In the interests of balance, I alternate male and female pronouns between chapters.

What You’re Not to Read

Whether you’re completely new to nursing or have many years of nursing experience, this book offers all you need to make that all-important good impression on admissions tutors. But candidates who arrive at the decision to apply for nursing come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and so following the logical order of chapters doesn’t necessarily suit your need for information. Well, that’s okay, because each chapter of this book is self-contained and gives you the relevant information and advice for that particular topic. So don’t feel that you need to read the entire book from start to end: if you already have a good knowledge of the subject that I explore in a chapter then just move on to the next one.

Foolish Assumptions

Having been an admissions tutor for many years and seen many candidates in that time, I have come to understand what the usual candidate is like and what draws them to nursing. With this in mind I have made a few assumptions about you, the reader.

Well, the first assumption is actually not to assume too much! Candidates come from all walks of life and I am always surprised at just how diverse the backgrounds of nursing candidates are. With this in mind there are a few things that I don’t assume:

That you are of a particular age or gender. Whether you’re a young woman or a middle-aged man has no bearing on my consideration about you. Age and gender don’t influence your suitability to nursing.

Your cultural influences, spiritual beliefs, ethnicity or nationality. None of these make you better or worse than any other candidate and so I take no regard of these.

I’ve given much consideration to why you’ve picked up this book and where you’re coming from. With this in mind I assume that:

You want to become a nurse and have a real interest in succeeding with your application. This book gives you the advice you need to improve your chances. However, I assume that you’re motivated and will put some hard work in preparing your application.

You have some understanding of nursing. Although I explain in some detail what nursing in the UK is about, you need to have an appreciation of the basic role of the nurse.

That you appreciate the importance of education in preparing for your application.

You like being around people! Nursing is about people and you need to want and like to be with people. Being highly intelligent with a great academic profile doesn’t necessarily make a good nurse. You must want to work alongside people to succeed with your application.

How This Book Is Organised

This book contains six parts, each of which breaks down into a number of chapters. Each part explores an important aspect of planning your application, and the chapters develop in more detail the various considerations relating to that part. Here’s a summary of each part.

Part I: Getting Started with a Career in Nursing

If you’re going to spend the rest of your working life as a nurse, the first step is to understand what nursing is. The nursing profession is a national institution that underpins all healthcare within the UK and it’s regulated to ensure that citizens are offered top-quality care. This part helps explain how nursing has developed into the profession it is today, and it offers you insight into the different types of nursing and the opportunities available to you after you qualify.

Part II: Focusing on Your Personal Development

Nursing attracts people from all walks of life and this diversity is one of its strengths. Identifying what qualities and experiences you have that support your application can make you a strong candidate. But equally, you need to identify which areas you need to develop. This part explores what it takes to be a nurse – from qualifications and care experience through to meeting professional requirements and demonstrating the necessary skills and qualities.

Part III: Preparing to Apply

Higher education is a whole new world, and with so many universities and courses on offer, the task of making suitable choices can be daunting. In this section I explain how university nursing programmes work, to help you select the right course. I give you a helping hand in exploring universities to see which best suit your requirements and offer some helpful tips for attending open days. I round off with a look at financial affairs – so you can be sure you can afford to study.

Part IV: Perfecting Your Application

After all your preparation, you don’t want a poor application to let you down. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) process can appear complicated and difficult to navigate should you not be aware how it works. This part explains in detail how the UCAS application process works and the tasks you need to carry out. I give specific advice for two key features of your application: the personal statement and the references.

Part V: Attending Selection Days . . . And Beyond

If a university likes the look of your application, you’ll receive an invite to a selection day, where you attend an interview and may sit a test. For many candidates, this is a stressful time. So in this part you’ll find plenty of information on what to expect on the day, and how you can make the most of these events and show yourself to be an excellent candidate. I also offer useful advice for the aftermath of the selection day, on how to manage your offers and deal with any disappointments.

Part VI: The Part of Tens

Each chapter in the Part of Tens offers a succinct list of hints, tips and helpful guidance. Head here for quick-grab info on how to make your application stand out and how to avoid common pitfalls throughout the process.

Head to www.dummies.com/extras/getintonursingschooluk for a free bonus Part of Tens chapter. In the bonus chapter, I offer advice on how to stay on top of the associated stress that comes with making a nursing application, to ensure you're in a good position to accept any offers made.

Icons Used in This Book

I use icons throughout the book to draw your attention to information that deserves special attention.

This icon highlights useful ideas or information that can add extra gloss to your preparations and application.

I use this icon to draw your attention to something you should keep in mind.

The Warning icon highlights errors and mistakes that can be very costly and possibly ruin your whole application. Take note!

Where to Go from Here

This book is full to the brim with useful information. Have a flick through the pages and get acquainted with the different sections, and you’ll soon appreciate what stage of the application process you’re at. You can then decide which chapter to read.

I recommend that you give Part I a go first. You may well know some of this information already, but it does no harm revisiting just who nurses are and what they do – after all, that information forms the very foundation of your application to nursing school.

Remember, you can find free bonus material specific to this book at www.dummies.com/extras/getintonursingschooluk.

Good luck!

Part I

Getting Started with a Career in Nursing

Go to www.dummies.com/extras/getintonursingschooluk for free online bonus content created especially for this book.

In this part . . .

Delve into the history of nursing.

Understand the four different types of nursing: adult, child, mental health and learning disabilities.

Find out about the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Get familiar with the different places nurses work – from the NHS to the armed forces.

Chapter 1

Getting to Know Nursing

In This Chapter

Finding out what nursing is

Understanding what a nurse does

Looking at career opportunities

Seeing how you can become a nurse

W

Chapter 2

Exploring Your Options: Nursing Fields

In This Chapter

Understanding the scope of nursing

Identifying the different nursing fields

Differentiating nursing from other professions

Nurses specialise in four fields: adult, child, mental health and learning disabilities. Before logging on to your computer and filling out your application form for nursing, you need to make sure that you fully understand your chosen field and are sure it’s the right path for you. After you start your nurse training, you’ll find changing course difficult, so you’re best making the right decision now. And in this chapter I help you do just that, by outlining the different types of nurses and their roles and responsibilities.

Some universities won’t allow you to apply to more than one field of nursing. Check with your chosen university before sending off your application form. And be aware that although other universities allow multiple field applications, because you submit only one personal statement across your choices, the lack of specialism in your application may hinder your chances of success.

Looking at the Nursing Field Ratios

Each of the nursing fields recruits nurses in relation to the amount of patients, the type of conditions and the way in which care is delivered. Adult nursing is the most in demand and has the most places, whereas learning disabilities is a very specialist role and recruits fewer nurses. Table 2-1 shows UK figures for nurse employment in 2011.

Nursing: Vocation, not job

In its basic definition a job is work that is undertaken for which you receive pay; the job could be, for example, cleaning windows or gardening or working as a shop assistant. You could consider nursing to be a job – you carry out tasks for which you receive. But nursing is much more. Very few nurses stay in the same role, have limited responsibilities and leave the job at ‘the bedside’ when they clock off, and most nurses don’t enter nursing because of the pay. Nursing becomes part of who you are, and it very much impacts other parts of your life. For many, nursing is a vocation that becomes a lifelong career.

Table 2-1 UK Figures for Nurse Recruitment, 2011

Field

Number of Nurses Employed

Adult

608,000

Mental health

100,000

Child

41,000

Learning disabilities

24,000

Don’t let the difference in numbers influence your choice of nursing fields. Each field has a wide range of roles and specialties that allow a fulfilling career. You may well come to regret your decision if you choose a field of nursing based on how many nurses there are.

Adult Nursing

Adult nursing is by far the largest field of nursing. This is hardly surprising when you consider the nature of the role. Adult nurses care for patients from late teenage years right through until old age, and not only is this a large age group but the type of nursing is also very expansive.

Recognising the scope of adult nursing

Think about just how many areas adult nurses cover:

Specific parts of the body: Consider the human body. Looking at the head alone, think of the different basic features – skull, brain, eyes, ears, nose, teeth, skin and hair. Each of these body parts can go wrong – be injured or become unwell – and then the patient needs nursing. In the case of the head, several nurses can help: the neurological nurse (brain), ophthalmic nurse (eyes), ENT nurse (ear, nose and throat), dental nurse (teeth) and dermatology nurse (skin), just to name a few. Apply the same thinking to the rest of the body, with all its organs, muscles and bones, and you start to get an understanding of how many different types of nurses there can be focusing on specific parts.

Specific conditions and treatments: Complications may require treatment through surgery or a medical approach, and in some cases, when treatments aren’t going to improve the condition, a patient needs a palliative approach to care. Therefore, there are nurses for different conditions or treatments, such as the heamatology nurse, the theatre nurse, the diabetic nurse and the oncology nurse.

Critical and long-term care: Complications to the body can arise in very different ways. Patients can suffer from acute symptoms due to trauma, such as a traffic accident, or sudden-onset illness, such as a heart attack. Other illnesses are long lasting, or chronic, where the patient has to live with the condition and adapt her lifestyle to accommodate it; examples of such illnesses include stroke, arthritis and asthma. So some nurses work in critical care, and others work in long-term care.

Understanding the role of the adult nurse

The focus of adult nursing is on the patient rather than the illness or disease. This means the nurse approaches the care from the patient’s perspective and not from a medical perspective. The intention is to ensure that the patient understands the illness and see how the illness impacts on the patient’s everyday activities. The nurse then plans and delivers nursing care with the patient’s problems as a core to the interventions.

The care a nurse provides is holistic care, because the nurse addresses the patient as a whole and doesn’t focus only on the illness or disease.

One of the main roles of the nurse is to support patients to carry out daily activities like washing, going to the toilet, eating and drinking, working, playing and socialising. These activities affect how the patient relates to her illness, and when the activities are neglected, the patient struggles to cope. This is fundamental care, also known as basic nursing care, and it underpins every other aspect of the adult nurse’s practice.

Adult nurses work as part of a multidisciplinary team and act as the patient’s advocate to ensure that all healthcare professionals are clear about the patient’s expectations, concerns and wishes. It’s usual for nurses to be the voice of the patient when working with medical staff, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers and many other members of the healthcare team.

Although fundamental care is the foundation for good nursing care, adult nurses also need an extensive understanding of health and social care. The complexity of the adult nurse’s roles requires her to have a range of skills appropriate to her clinical specialism, and it isn’t unusual for nurses to undertake roles that are traditionally the domain of doctors, such as making clinical diagnosis, treating wounds and prescribing medication.

Seeing where adult nurses work

Adult nurses work in a range of clinical settings in both the public and private sectors:

Hospitals. Most hospitals are large, specialised buildings that offer a wide range of services and it is typical for nurses to work in wards, departments and care units:

• Wards. Nurses work in medical wards where the focus is on particular illnesses such as diabetes, cardiac or respiratory conditions. Other types of wards can include respite care where patients are nursed for short periods of time to help families or rehabilitation wards where nurses work with the patients to promote independence before going home. Nurses also work in surgical wards: those that cover a range of surgical procedures and specialist wards that focus on specific types of surgery such as neurosurgery, orthopaedics or gyneacology.

• Specialist units. These areas, such as intensive care, accident and emergency or theatre nursing, deliver very specialised care, often when patients have unstable or acute conditions and need very close monitoring.

• Departments and units. Many hospitals have departments that offer nursing care but not in typical ward environments – for example, day centres, where patients with strokes or dementia receive rehabilitation care. Other examples include the outpatients department or day surgery units where patients have investigations and minor procedures.

The community. Adult nurses work in the community in a variety of settings, including district nursing, liaison nursing or in GP practices. They visit patients in their own homes or work out of health centres.

Industry. Many nurses have a career working in organisations that don’t have a healthcare emphasis. For example, many nurses work in occupational health and are employed by large companies to look after the health and wellbeing of the other employees. Another example is the role of in-flight nursing, where the nurse uses their skills on board airlines to repatriate the sick back to their home.

Looking at key tasks

Adult nurses have a wide range of skills developed according to their specialist areas. All adult nurses have skills in fundamental nursing and are expected to:

Act as advocate for the patient in team meetings.

Check and administer drugs including injections.

Communicate with patients, families and carers.

Educate and promote health.

Mentor students.

Perform nursing assessments and identify patients’ needs.

Perform observations and record blood pressure, pulse, respirations and temperature.

Perform wound dressing and remove sutures.

Write care plans and maintain legal documentation.

Children’s Nursing

In child nursing the age group is very diverse, from newborn babies to older teenagers. This age group represents approximately 20 per cent of the population but counts disproportionately for those who use the healthcare service, especially in relation to injury and emergency care.

Children aren’t ‘little adults’; they have their own health needs distinct from those of adults that require specialist nurses. The children’s nurse works not only with the child but also closely with the parents or carers.

Children suffer from a catalogue of acute and long-term illnesses and medical conditions in much the same way as adults do, but the impact of how the disease affects children can be very different. Children are vulnerable individuals and need to be treated with sensitivity and understanding. The young have difficulty communicating their worries and anxieties, and it takes special training and consideration to ensure that nursing care is appropriate.

Understanding the role of the children’s nurse

The emphasis in children’s nursing is family-centred care and the recognition that children are best cared for by their parents or those they know well.

A children’s nurse must:

Act as the child’s advocate. The nurse puts the best interest of the child first, protecting her from abuse and neglect, and ensuring her views and preferences are taken into account.

Understand the biological, psychological and social aspects that affect children. In particular, the nurse understands stages of human development and how to care for children as they grow up, in terms of the cultural, physical and mental concerns of the child.

Communicate and assess expertly. Children’s nurses face a range of complex and unpredictable situations where sound clinical judgments are necessary to manage rapidly deteriorating situations or ethically challenging occurrences, especially when caring for infants and young children.

Handle technology. The nurse embraces new innovations and is competent in the use of technology. Safe and effective care of children and young people, especially those ill and disabled, relies considerably on the nurse’s ability to complement her nursing skills with medical aids and equipment.

Work well with others. You’re expected to be involved with the multidisciplinary team and place the child’s interest first when working with medical practitioners, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists and social workers. This requires good leadership skills, a professional attitude and the ability to challenge views and opinions.

Seeing where children’s nurses work

Your working environment depends upon your role. Health provision is gradually moving to a more community-based service, but some care can’t be delivered near to or in the child’s own home, and hospital-based care is still a significant part of children’s nursing.

Here’s where children’s nurses work:

Hospital. You find children’s nurses in various locations of a hospital, such as:

• Neonatal intensive care. Neonatal nurses care for newborn babies who are born prematurely or who are unwell. Many causes of illness in the newborn are compounded by the immature development of the baby and require specialist intensive care. Neonatal nurses are highly trained and have a very close working relationship with the multidisciplinary team.

• Children’s ward. Many hospitals have children’s wards that care for a variety of conditions both medical and surgical. Nurses on children’s wards care for children who require surgical intervention, either from physical conditions such as appendicitis or due to traumatic injury due to an accident. They also care for children with medical conditions including asthma, cystic fibrosis and respiratory infections. These wards often also have separate units for caring on a short-stay basis, such as oncology or diabetes units.

• Adult areas. Some hospitals have specialist children’s nurses working in departments and units that may not be immediately recognised as children’s: for example, dermatology units and accident and emergency departments or in theatre recovery. These are highly experienced children’s nurses with additional training in their chosen specialty.

Community. Children’s nurses in the community aim to offer care in the child’s own home. Many children with life-limiting or terminal conditions, complex disabilities and long-term conditions such as asthma and eczema are able to live and be cared for at home. Community nursing requires skill and experience at managing complex conditions and working independently within a multidisciplinary team.

School. It’s possible to gain a role as a school nurse straight after your initial registration, but normally these nurses undertake a specialist practice qualification. School nurses are responsible for providing health and sex education, managing illnesses at school, undertaking developmental screening and administering immunisation programmes.

Looking at key tasks

Although duties will vary according to the role, all children’s nurses have fundamental skills in practical procedures, such as:

Administering drugs and giving injections.

Assessing patients and planning effective care.

Cleaning and dressing wounds.

Enabling children to socialise and play.

Giving psychological care to reduce stress and anxiety.

Helping children eat and drink.

Helping children with their personal hygiene.

Measuring temperatures and taking blood pressures.

Using health promotion strategies to encourage good health and wellbeing.

Working closely with family and carers and demonstrating excellent communication skills.

Mental Health Nursing

Mental health is of serious concern. Aside from the misery of mental illness itself, statistics demonstrate that those with a mental health problem encounter more negative life experiences, such as unemployment, physical illness and social discrimination, than that of the general population. The issue is increasingly common, with an estimated one in four people experiencing a mental health condition at some point in their lives.

There’s a growing recognition that the mental health of individuals has been long neglected, and the government is currently developing policies to improve medical care in this area. To implement such policies the country needs a competent and professional mental health nursing staff with the necessary knowledge and skills.

Defining mental health

The World Health Organisation suggests that to be healthy does not necessarily require the absence of disease or illness but to be in a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing. Mental health, therefore, broadly relates to the cognitive and emotional capabilities of the person to be able to meet the everyday demands of living.

Many problems are covered by the term ‘mental illness’; here are some that a mental health nurse commonly deals with:

Attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is characterised by difficulties with inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. It’s the most prevalent childhood disorder, and symptoms include the child being easily distracted, struggling to concentrate on what she’s doing or saying and becoming very restless and fidgety.

Bipolar, also known as manic depression, causes severe mood swings in patients. Although emotions are never constantly stable in patients with bipolar, the change in moods are exaggerated from low, depressive periods to highly overactive emotions. These changes in moods can last several weeks to several months.

Dementia is a syndrome in which the patient gradually loses brain function, particularly in the areas of memory, thinking, language, understanding and judgment. Many types of dementia exist, but the most well-known type is Alzheimer’s. Dementia is a common condition, and the number of cases is likely to double over the next 30 years as people live longer.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviour. The obsession can be both frightening and unpleasant and usually takes over many aspects of the patient’s life. The condition is relatively common, with an estimated 3–5 people in every 100 being affected.

Schizophrenia is a psychotic illness that causes hallucinations and/or delusions that can cause a change in behaviour. Often the patient can’t differentiate between her own thoughts and ideas and reality. The common perception that all schizophrenics have split personalities and are violent is untrue; schizophrenics are more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violence.

Substance misuse can affect a patient’s mental health, especially if they already suffer from a mental health condition. Society is tolerant of substance use, and smoking, alcohol and recreational drugs are still largely accepted lifestyle choices. Substance misuse, however, is when the drugs have a negative effect on a person’s functioning.

Understanding the role of the mental health nurse

In very broad terms, mental health nurses look after the psychological care of the patient.

As a mental health nurse you work with patients who suffer from mental health issues with the intention to help them recover from their illness or come to terms with how to live with their illness. Caring for the patient also includes supporting and encouraging the family to participate in the care. Mental health nurses are involved with identifying the psychological condition and any associated physical issues, the assessments of the patient’s problems, and the management of any drug regime used to control the condition.

Mental health nurses care for patients from all backgrounds, cultures and ages, including children.

Mental health nurses rely on their skill at communication and strength of personality as core attributes when helping patients. Often a patient’s condition can mean their behaviour is very manipulative or demanding and the role of the nurse is to see these as symptoms and manage these episodes by using a range of communication skills that allow a partnership to develop between the patient and the nurse.

Another role of the mental health nurse is to offer empathy to the patient and be non-judgemental with regard to the patient’s behaviour or condition. The nurse acts as the patient’s advocate, breaking down misconceptions within the general public and helping to improve the image of mental health in society.

Seeing where mental health nurses work

Mental health nurse are involved with patients’ care in the following settings:

The community. The community mental health team provides assessment and care co-ordination for those people who have severe or enduring mental health problems. Based in the community, the nurses visit patients in their own homes and residential settings. (Residential homes contain patients who’ve been assessed as needing full 24-hour care and would be at risk living in their own homes, but don’t require hospital admission.) The team is multidisciplinary, and nurses work alongside psychiatrists, social workers, psychologists and occupational therapists.

Institutional settings. These are environments for people with a very high level of offending and challenging behaviour. The patients present a danger to others and themselves and are often in the criminal justice system. You work in a secure setting such as a prison, police station or court.

Mental health hospitals. Once all mental health patients lived locked away in institutions – think dreary stone buildings on hillsides away from the population. But many of the hospitals now are new purpose-built developments. They cater for people who have been detained under the Mental Health Act and require a secure setting. Nurses in these settings deal with acute disorders, delivering effective care and assessing care pathways to promote health and wellbeing. Typical types of ward include acute admissions wards, where patients need initial assessments of their problems, or long-term wards where patients who have become institutionalised and cannot manage living in the community are nursed.

Looking at key tasks

The daily activities of the mental health nurse relate to the psychological care of the person; a significant difference to the ‘hands-on’ care delivered by adult and children’s nurses. But depending on the type of patient, mental health nurses may also help on the physical side too, such as when nursing elderly mentally ill patients who have considerable physical health needs.

Here are some of the typical roles of the nurse:

Acting as the patient’s advocate and ensuring legal requirements are met.

Administering medication, including injections, and monitoring effects.

Applying calming techniques in the management of emotions and behaviours, including watching clients who are at risk of self-harming.

Assessing the patient’s mental health and talking to the patient about her problems.

Building relationships, fostering trust and interpreting needs.

Organising care plans to develop the patient’s social skills.

Physical care dependent upon the patient, such as personal hygiene, eating, drinking and mobility.

Using high-level communication skills to respond to distressed patients.

Working with families and carers to promote understanding of mental health issues and encourage acceptance.

Learning Disabilities Nursing

The least well known of the four nursing fields, learning disabilities nursing, aims to support the wellbeing and social inclusion of people with learning disabilities. Learning disabilities affect up to 2 per cent of the UK population, and they’re lifelong conditions. Advances in healthcare and greater understanding of the conditions has brought about an improvement in the health and wellbeing of people with learning disabilities, but the number of children and adults diagnosed is increasing, and with it the need for appropriately trained nurses.

Defining learning disabilities

Learning disabilities affect a person’s ability to learn, to communicate and to carry out everyday tasks. More specifically, people with learning disabilities have core difficulties in understanding what is being said to them but also expressing their own needs. They often find it difficult to cope with change and see life events in a very different way to others, and they can have memory and attention issues as well.

To compound these difficulties, many people with learning disabilities also have significant physical disabilities that can often lead to premature death. Due to their difficulties with communication and everyday tasks, social isolation can often occur, with the patient having little involvement with mainstream society.

It’s not always apparent that someone has a learning disability, but two features are outwardly suggestive:

Autism is referred to as a spectrum condition because it varies quite considerably in how it affects each person. Autism causes problems with communication and many patients have difficulty with the usual modes of verbal and non-verbal communication. There are also issues with social interaction, with patients lacking the social skills needed to engage and maintain relationships; some may actively seek social interaction while others withdraw from social activity. People with autism are also very rigid in how they perceive concepts and lack imagination; this causes issues with abstract situations such as understanding emotions.

Challenging behaviour is a term used to explain behaviour that, due to its intensity and duration, causes concern for the safety of the patient or others. Causes for the behaviour are quite numerous but may stem from mental health, abuse, poor housing or physical discomfort. In a small number of people the behaviour leads to criminal offences, and these patients often need support from the learning disability serv-ices while they are being reviewed by the justice system.

Understanding the role of the learning disabilities nurse

People with learning disabilities have very complex problems and are more susceptible to poorer physical, social and psychological wellbeing than that of the ordinary population. Learning disabilities nurses act as advocates for patients and help them as follows:

Physical. Nursesaddress the personal care of the patient, such as washing and dressing, and may also help with eating and drinking if the patient has swallowing problems. Many patients suffer sensory impairments, such as deafness and visual problems, and those with Down’s syndrome are more susceptible to infections such as pneumonia. Epilepsy affects approximately a third of people with a learning disability and is often associated with hospitalisation due to the severity or social isolation from anxiety. The role of the nurse here is to support both personal care but also manage a range of clinical conditions such as chest infections or epilepsy.

Psychological. Nurses implement strategies that enhance self-care, peer support and risk of self-harm. People with learning disabilities have poor coping mechanisms, find it difficult to manage situations and suffer from poor self-esteem, often because of discrimination. These patients can become very dependent upon others and particularly their helpers and nurses.

Social.