Ryan is a Student Learning Disability Nurse in his third year at university. Explore how he's reached his current position through placements and an apprenticeship scheme for learning disability nurses.
Without the apprenticeship programme I don’t think I would be a nurse today, so I’m massively grateful for the scheme. I’m a firm believer in the apprenticeship schemes as it has provided me with a platform to grow and develop.
Ryan
on how he's reached his current position
Overview of current role
As a student nurse you need to be adaptable to work in line with the requirements and pressures of the everchanging health and care system. Being a nursing student means having to overcome the challenges of academic pressure, placements accessibility, inadequate resources for facilitating clinical skills and inconsistencies in healthcare practice.
As a nursing student you're required to complete an academic programme and 2,300 hours of practical experience to gain registration with The Nursing and Midwifery Council. Throughout my programme I've achieved many personal goals and developed as an individual and although there has been some challenges each learning opportunity has shaped my career prospects of being a social care nurse.
Setting
Over the last three years of my learning disability nursing education programme, I've had practice experience in mental health/learning disability forensic low secure services, community nursing and a speciality ADHD and Autism assessment team.
I was lucky enough to have two social care nursing placements which opened my eyes to social care as a whole and the possibility to work in this sector of nursing as a career. Within my social care placements, I experienced a nursing home for residents with learning disabilities and complex health needs and a nursing home for residents with an acquired brain injury along with complex physical health needs.
Being exposed to the social care placements experiences really opened my eyes of nursing and it completely changed my perspective of nursing as a whole.
How did I get here
I worked within special educational needs, training as a teaching assistant in a school which involved working closely with emotional, behavioural, and physical needs of children aged 7-19. Here I gained transferable skills, such as patience, organisation, and creativity as I worked with students who require specialist individual care.
I then joined an assisted living residential home as a senior support worker role for people with complex mental health needs, learning disabilities or autism. During that time, I became a key worker for a service user and supported them with physical exercise and independence skills.These roles gave me the initial feelings that I belonged as a learning disability nurse as well as supporting me in my understanding and academic achievements. From these roles I gained first-hand experience of relationship-centred support and the concepts of biopsychosocial care.
Many student nurses envision a future of becoming a nurse for the national health service but for me I found myself loving social care nursing, I felt like I belonged in this path of nursing. I was inspired by the nurses and care workers in these settings, inspired by the ethos’s and values of emotionally led care and person-centred care. The care I was observing felt special and to be a part of the drive towards compassionate and holistic care was inspiring. It felt so unique I wanted to be a part of it.
I’ll be going into my first qualified role in social care and without these social care placements, I would have definitely felt lost with my career prospects and that’s why I advocate and stress the importance for having social care placements for future students.For the future, I want to be a nurse in social care and envision making a small but large difference in my community and social care nursing job. Future aspirations involve completing a master’s degree in public health.
What brings me joy
Whilst being on placements I felt inspired to make a difference for my community and individual at the social care setting. This included making an individual feel happy, comfortable and safe. I felt joy in making individual small difference to an persons day and as a collective workforce we make a huge difference to individuals life’s.
As a learning disability nurse, person centred care defines my field of nursing and to able to deliver that in practice and in social care brings me huge joy. Through the application of person-centred care, it enables the process of relationships, empowerment and genuine respect between the individuals and the setting. It enables the process of co-production and partnership so the care I deliver in tailored to the individuals life, which brings me joy and hopefully joy in the individuals life. Being able to drive a positive difference towards social inclusion and reducing health inequalities of those will always be a driving passion of mine and I hope I can influence others into this profession of nursing.
Qualifications and education
- BSc in learning disability nursing
I was accepted on the NHS apprenticeship scheme for learning disability nurses.
The apprenticeship provides the opportunity to develop both professionally and academically in order to gain a BSc in learning disability nursing and register with the NMC as a qualified nurse.
Without the apprenticeship programme I don’t think I would be a nurse today, so I’m massively grateful for the scheme. I’m a firm believer in the apprenticeship schemes as it has provided me with a platform to grow and develop as person but develop passions along the way.
Training, knowledge and skills
- patience
- organisation
- creativity
- team worker
- leadership qualities
- person-centred approach to care
- working under pressure in high-stress situations
- adaptable and flexible.