Trainee nursing associate Review

I have worked on an acute medical ward now for 7 years. I feel this apprenticeship is my gateway to build in my experiences to become a qualified nurse. I am counted within the HCA numbers for staffing purposes , but try to find time whilst on shift to develop my nursing skills with such tasks as medication administration and evaluation of care delivered documentation.

I have developed my nursing skills greatly thus far. I already have experience in the health and social care sector but I am now able to apply critical thinking to the care I provide in order to deliver the best possible care and treatment for the patients on my ward.

I enjoy the programme immensely. In some respects it feels like “teaching to suck eggs” with some of the aspects taught when I do these things on a daily basis, but I fully understand that this is an essential part of verifying my skills and ensuring that I am practicing in a safe manner.

It can be a little erratic and disjointed at times. There were issues with enrolment for some of my cohort which were not sorted for some time in to the course. This meant that those people did not have access to the course content for some time. More recently there have been timetabling issues meaning we had to resort to online learning when it should have been a face-to-face session because rooms have not been booked for us or the uni was shut when we were scheduled in. Not an issue but something that should have been sorted way before it was. Communication between my provider and employer has been quite poor at times and likewise when I have attempted to email my lecturers, sometimes I have had no reply at all.

In short, not enough. We were told at the beginning of the course that we were to be counted with the HCA numbers. This was rather said, so that the funding is there to put more people through subsequent cohorts. This is difficult as I need 935 protected learning time hours on top of what I need to do as an HCA. I have been reasonably lucky insofar as I have been able to complete my HCA tasks and then proceed to partake in nursing tasks on top. My issue with that is that whilst doing this, I am nursing and functioning as my own HCA at the same time. I am able to manage this at times but have found myself under extreme pressure at times, especially when we are short-staffed. I have been on the verge of burn out and I have had to step away from all nursing tasks altogether for my own mental well-being.

I have not had to receive much support from my training provider up to this point. In instances where I have had questions regarding course content, I have simply dropped an email to the relevant lecturer and tend to get a reply within a day or so. When I was having issues with my mental health I approached one of my lecturers and steps were put in place to gain the support I needed.

I have performed my job role now for the last seven years. The course that I am currently undertaking and, therefore, the course content provided has given me a better understanding of medical conditions and why I provide the care I deliver in the way that I do. It allows me to be more critical in my analysis of a patient’s condition and plan their care accordingly.

There are health and well being sessions provided by the trust on a regular basis. There is a Trust page on Facebook, where my employer will post dates and times of these events. There are regular awards ceremonies to celebrate the achievements of staff within the organisation which have been big events in the past but have been relegated to Teams in the last two years.

Yes

Sherwood Forest is one big family environment. When I first started working there, I didn’t even know who the CEO was. In that time, a change of management has created an environment of being open and honest. Freedom to speak up has been a big issue which has been championed over the last year. We hear regularly from all branches of the management team on a regular basis with regular communications emailed to us, keeping us fully informed in all aspects of the running of the hospital.

I started at Sherwood Forest on bank. Even though I moved all around the hospital as an HCA, I found it difficult to be accepted by established teams, even if I was working with them regularly. My advise, would be to find your own team to work with permanently as soon as you can. Also, take on every training opportunity you can. You won’t regret it!