A Day in the Life of a Mental Health Nursing Student

Tayler tells us all about what it is like to be on placement as a Mental Health Nursing student…

6:15am – Just finished breakfast and its time to leave the house, mornings start early on a ward!

7:30am – Arrived at the ward in time to get a handover of what’s been happening for each of our service users. Nurse in charge (NIC) allocates everyone’s role for first hour.

8:35am – Time for a quick cup of tea while the NIC helps me coordinate todays shift. We have a board that’s shows what members of staff are doing each hour such as special observations. Some service users need one to one time with staff for support if they are vulnerable or a self-harm risk.

9:25am – Going into Ward Round. The Multidisciplinary team (doctors, nurses, other professionals involved eg Social workers) and the service user and their family discuss their care and progress. We see 5 people a day.

12:40pm – Ward round has ended, all the notes are typed up during so it’s time for lunch!

14:40pm – Completing a Mental State Examination with a
service user.This assessment completed one to one and allows them to discuss their thoughts, feelings and mood etc.

17:30pm – Assisting the nurses with medication rounds. A qualified nurse observes me dispense and administer medication to people attending the clinic.

18:20pm – Going through my Practice Assessment Document (PAD) with my mentor. We have time to discuss what is going well, any concerns and devise a plan of action so I can meet the set nursing outcomes.

19:30pm – Each day we are allocated service user to work with. In this time, I write a nursing daily note about what the service user had been up to throughout the day and ensure their physical observations e.g. Blood pressure is taken and recorded.

20:30pm – End of shift arrives, its been a long day! A staff nurse signs off the hours for the day in my PAD. My friend has offered to drive me home and is waiting outside.

21:00pm – Arrive home in time to have supper, shower and get some sleep before tomorrow’s shift.