Emily - Adult Nursing Student
Student Name: Emily
Course: Adult Nursing
Placement Setting: Sexual Health setting
Patient group: Patients of all ages, as young as 13
Responsibilities of the placement
This placement consisted of many different roles such as, testing, diagnosing – looking at swab samples through the microscope, and treating different sexually transmitted infections, smear testing, carrying out consultations and administering contraception, HIV clinic, PrEP Clinic, assessing and administering PEPSI medication. Completing venepuncture for patients, taking swabs or teaching patients how to take their own swabs. There is also opportunity to see safeguarding issues, this may be patients who express safeguarding concerns or have been through sexual assault and need testing to check for any sexually transmitted infections.
The wider healthcare team
As well as working with the nurses, I had the opportunity to work with health cares within the setting, they run the no talk tests, this including venipuncture, urine samples and teaching patients how to take swabs, they also assist other nurses and doctors when they are carrying out procedures such as, placing or removing a coil, placing or removing an implant, or they are there for a chaperone. I had the opportunity to work with consultants, doctors and health visitors.
The most challenging parts
The most challenging part I found was when patients would overshare information about how they came to have a sexually transmitted infection, obviously we work in a non-judgmental environment and it is a safe space for people to talk freely about what they feel is necessary, and what they do in their own time, however, this is something I had to work on leaving at the door, and forgetting about once the patient had gone. It was information that was not important to the treatment for the patient and therefore, not something to dwell upon. I spoke about this with my mentor and assessor, and they supported me throughout my placement, and each week I got better at concentrating on the important information we needed to complete the consultation and help treat the patient.
The most rewarding parts
Many patients felt frightened, upset, angry and hurt when finding out they may or have got a sexually transmitted infection, there is still a huge stigma around sexually transmitted infections and the staff were very good at addressing these concerns and explaining to patients, there are treatments for sexually transmitted infections, and everything will be fine. It was rewarding knowing that when a patient left the room, they felt so much better and more relaxed than when they originally came in. We provided them with the correct information – as a lot of them had been googling, we gave them government NHS approved online leaflets to read providing them with further information and frequently asked questions. The placement itself was very rewarding, finishing the day knowing you have helped make people feel better.
Why this placement stood out
This placement stood out for me because of the staff. The team they have is incredible, they made me feel part of the team from day one and were all very supportive in making sure I was getting the most out of my time during this placement. They ensured I felt supported when dealing with challenges such as safguarding concerns, offering support and signposting to who I could speak to if needed. It was lovely to know how much they looked about for me and kept checking in to see if I was ok.