SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
CAREERS STUDENT LIFE
From student to staff nurse Helen Ballantyne recalls the fears, the rewards and what a nurse on preceptorship absolutely needs to know ‘Please could you unplug the television?’ My first day as a staff nurse on the intensive care unit and I was being asked to unplug something. I checked and double checked, knowing that I did not want to be the newly qualified nurse who, on her first day, inadvertently tested the ventilator back-up power. I held my breath as I pulled the plug. This simple task led me to contemplate the learning curve I was about to negotiate as I began my transition from student nurse to critical care staff nurse. Like many new nurses in their first job, I felt reliant on the staff around me, nervous of them but anxious for their help and guidance. Six weeks into my preceptorship, I had completed four shifts caring
Making use of preceptorship Take an interest in your preceptorship; never be afraid to ask questions. Emulate how your preceptor works. Ask him or her to demonstrate clinical techniques to you slowly. Participate in ward rounds, multidisciplinary discussions and staff meetings. Take every opportunity to learn about your working area. Learn where items are kept in case you need something in a hurry.
RESOURCES Preceptorship resources tinyurl.com/Nurseprecept Flying Start Scotland www.flyingstart.scot.nhs.uk Student Life on the internet rcnpublishing.com/page/ns/students/student-life
for a patient on my own. I am supervised closely by my preceptor nurse. I can ask questions, check blood results and ask the team to perform procedures I am not yet able to perform. In turn, they give me feedback and teach and guide me as I plan my care. Over time something has happened. Although I am slow, I am thorough and I am using the skills I practised on placement. I can think a problem through and am applying what I learned at university. Last night, caring for a restless post-operative patient,
I began to consider the possible causes. There is so much I still need to learn, but I am nursing. Most importantly, I have benefited from a working culture where no question is a stupid question, and that encourages me to take my time. So, a supported preceptorship is possible. Unfortunately, some of my colleagues have not been so lucky. Two of my friends on a medical assessment unit were expected to know the complicated procedure for transferring accident and emergency patients to a ward without the process being explained to them.
Standing up
Another friend reported that she and three other newly qualified nurses were expected to cover a holiday period and she will be the nurse in charge. Another friend tells of being left to write the care plans of 18 patients, including six people she had not even cared for. Each of my friends stood up for themselves: they updated the patient journey policy, complained about the rota and reported the nurse who left them with a pile of notes to write. Yet it could have been so much easier. The preceptorship period can be challenging and there will be days when you feel as though you have taken a step backwards. There is a magic bullet – our code of conduct. It reminds me that I have an obligation to ask my colleagues questions, to ensure that my practice is safe and that I am working within the limits of my competence. Read the code, learn it, and work by it as it will keep you and your patients safe. For all of you about to start out as a newly qualified nurse, I assure you, it is an incredible journey NS Helen Ballantyne is a newly qualified staff nurse in the critical care unit, Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge
68 april 23 :: volfrom 28 RCNi.com no 34 :: 2014 STANDARD Downloaded by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 24, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
CAREERS STUDENT LIFE
From student to staff nurse Helen Ballantyne recalls the fears, the rewards and what a nurse on preceptorship absolutely needs to know ‘Please could you unplug the television?’ My first day as a staff nurse on the intensive care unit and I was being asked to unplug something. I checked and double checked, knowing that I did not want to be the newly qualified nurse who, on her first day, inadvertently tested the ventilator back-up power. I held my breath as I pulled the plug. This simple task led me to contemplate the learning curve I was about to negotiate as I began my transition from student nurse to critical care staff nurse. Like many new nurses in their first job, I felt reliant on the staff around me, nervous of them but anxious for their help and guidance. Six weeks into my preceptorship, I had completed four shifts caring
Making use of preceptorship Take an interest in your preceptorship; never be afraid to ask questions. Emulate how your preceptor works. Ask him or her to demonstrate clinical techniques to you slowly. Participate in ward rounds, multidisciplinary discussions and staff meetings. Take every opportunity to learn about your working area. Learn where items are kept in case you need something in a hurry.
RESOURCES Preceptorship resources tinyurl.com/Nurseprecept Flying Start Scotland www.flyingstart.scot.nhs.uk Student Life on the internet rcnpublishing.com/page/ns/students/student-life
for a patient on my own. I am supervised closely by my preceptor nurse. I can ask questions, check blood results and ask the team to perform procedures I am not yet able to perform. In turn, they give me feedback and teach and guide me as I plan my care. Over time something has happened. Although I am slow, I am thorough and I am using the skills I practised on placement. I can think a problem through and am applying what I learned at university. Last night, caring for a restless post-operative patient,
I began to consider the possible causes. There is so much I still need to learn, but I am nursing. Most importantly, I have benefited from a working culture where no question is a stupid question, and that encourages me to take my time. So, a supported preceptorship is possible. Unfortunately, some of my colleagues have not been so lucky. Two of my friends on a medical assessment unit were expected to know the complicated procedure for transferring accident and emergency patients to a ward without the process being explained to them.
Standing up
Another friend reported that she and three other newly qualified nurses were expected to cover a holiday period and she will be the nurse in charge. Another friend tells of being left to write the care plans of 18 patients, including six people she had not even cared for. Each of my friends stood up for themselves: they updated the patient journey policy, complained about the rota and reported the nurse who left them with a pile of notes to write. Yet it could have been so much easier. The preceptorship period can be challenging and there will be days when you feel as though you have taken a step backwards. There is a magic bullet – our code of conduct. It reminds me that I have an obligation to ask my colleagues questions, to ensure that my practice is safe and that I am working within the limits of my competence. Read the code, learn it, and work by it as it will keep you and your patients safe. For all of you about to start out as a newly qualified nurse, I assure you, it is an incredible journey NS Helen Ballantyne is a newly qualified staff nurse in the critical care unit, Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge
68 april 23 :: volfrom 28 RCNi.com no 34 :: 2014 STANDARD Downloaded by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 24, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
