Magpie Podcast from Adam Roxby

When you look around your lecture halls, have you noticed the number of student nurses shrinking? I remember my first day sitting in a giant sports hall surrounded by my fellow enthusiastic students. However over the months our numbers seemed to have grown fewer and fewer. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

When students start a course in nursing many believe that they should fear the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). It’s thought that at the slightest hint of indiscretion, the NMC could send out their agents to bundle you into the back of a car and begin their McCarthy-style hearings - “are you now or have you ever been a member of a social networking site?”. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

Most people would consider having a tube inserted into your nose and fed down to your stomach as something to generally avoid but when a member of staff needed a competency in this technique I volunteered. I had seen the procedure carried out on a number of patients. A nasogastric tube is a tube that is inserted through the nose to feed a patient who is unable to feed themselves. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

There is one aspect of training to be a nurse that never fails to instil me with fear - giving presentations.. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

This week Student Nursing Times will be publishing advice for students transitioning from education to employment however for a second year student who is exactly halfway through his training, the thought of qualifying only makes the ‘second-year blues’ even worse. www.AdamRoxby.co.uk --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

A while ago I spoke of the importance of a good relationship between you and your mentor but the relationship between you and your lecturers is just as important. Having to sit in lectures for most of the week, it soon becomes clear what makes a good lecturer. www.AdamRoxby.co.uk --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

Have you witnessed your first death? I have, as I spent a couple of years working as a healthcare assistant on a care of the elderly ward and unfortunately death was a natural part of the job. However for some students who have not been present at a death before, encountering the death of a patient can bring up some very personal and distressing emotions. It doesn’t matter whether that death was expected, or as a result of a sudden traumatic incident, the feelings involved can still be the same. www.AdamRoxby.co.uk --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

If notes get lost then a patient’s personal details could be revealed and the care that they receive might be hampered if their practitioner has to go on a treasure hunt for their records. www.AdamRoxby.co.uk --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

When I left college I decided to get a job rather than go straight into university. I didn’t feel there was anything that sufficiently interested me enough to dedicate a large portion of my time and money in pursuing. And I didn’t buy the argument from my friends that if you weren’t going to university you would miss out on the most exciting time of your life. However, during those years at work I began to experience a niggling feeling of anxiety that something exciting was happening just beyond my reach. I felt like I was missing out. www.AdamRoxby.co.uk --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

Undoubtedly one of the most common things you will see in a hospital is a cannula. Patients routinely have them because they are the quickest and easiest way to receive fluid and medication should something go wrong. AdamRoxby.co.uk --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

“We have an obligation to conduct ourselves in a professional manner“ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

“During my community placement that I had seen patience with avoid variety of different conditions and social situations, but one in particular presented quite a dilemma for me.” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

For the past couple of years I’ve been working for The Weave and it’s time to tell you a little bit about it. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

Students of nursing are in the lucky position to be able to arrange a negotiated placement. This period in the students training (in the third year) allows an almost unlimited possibility for students to experience something truly unique. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

Whether it be interacting with patients, taking a handover from your colleagues or attending meetings you will always be put in a situation where you have to interact with a diverse spectrum of people. AdamRoxby.uk --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

It is clear to everybody that being a student is a transient state. AdamRoxby.uk --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

Happy new year! Another article from the archives. I can handle writing long and considered essays. I relish being assessed in the heat of a practice environment. I am resigned to the fact that I will have to endure a three hour written examination on anatomy and physiology. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

If there is one thing people can say about me, it's that I don't need more gadgets. AdamRoxby.uk --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

Hi gang So today I wanted to share with you that I have recorded some chapters of a book for a project called LibriVox; they take books in the public domine breathe life into them by getting volunteers from around the world to lend their time and voices. Check it out if you find that sort of stuff interesting. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message

As a student nurse, issues surrounding mental health are never far away. Originally published 9th January, 2012 Even when studying adult nursing you are encouraged to have an awareness of concepts related to mental health and mental illness. But still, even though everyone studies it, there seems to be an element of uncertainty around caring for patients with mental health problems. In my own experience I can think of of a good example. Let’s call her Danni. Danni was admitted to hospital after taking an overdose of painkillers and excessive alcohol. It was felt that her vulnerable state of mental health was significantly worsened by the anniversary of the death of a close family relative. The trained nursing staff attended to her immediate medical needs and the health care assistants checked her observations and changed her bed in the morning. I wanted to be active in all aspects of her care but felt restricted by my anxiety and lack of experience with patients who had mental health problems. If Danni had been admitted with a physical illness you could expect to see a fairly logical series of events taking place. Give Drug A to cure disease B: it would be a set routine or pathway that you could follow to make that patient medically fit. But with mental health, you’re faced with a greater degree of uncertainty. You become more aware of what you’re saying and how you’re acting; conscious that even the slightest intonation or vocal inflection could have an undesirable effect. For me this is still one of the barriers that student nurses have to overcome when dealing with mental health. The perceived fear over what you should or should not be saying is ever present. It lurks in the background and can stifle a students’ ability to feel fully engaged and able to play a proactive role in a patient’s care. As students, we should try not to feel restricted when caring for mental health patients. We should feel a sense of empowerment in fulfilling an important caring role as part of the entire multi-disciplinary team. Students are in a privileged position, by engaging with patients we can make important contributions to mental well-being. No matter what branch of nursing you chose, you will encounter mental health patients so it is vital that you become fully involved with this essential aspect of modern nursing. Orignal Article at the Nursing Times --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adamroxby/message