sam.r

Just be yourself really, All I did was tell them about the stigma I thought still surrounded mental illness, not just for the clients/patients but also for their families and that for that reason I believed there was more to mental health nursing than just caring for the client and that I believed MH nurses had to play a big part in reassuring the familly. Something like that anyway. Good Luck for Your interview, I'm sure it will go well, as they're crying out for people to do mental health nursing especially with all the bad media coverage concerning mental illness and mental health services lately. If your sure its whats right for you that will shine through at interview despite any nerves, just don't end up like this :chair: (LOL)

Sorry I've taken so long to reply, my computer crashed and I've only just got it up and running again. My first year was a little boring as much of the theory work was more general nurse based and focused on anatomy and physiology. Placements during the first year included a 6 week stint on general community and a EU placement which was 2 wks General,2wks Child and 2 wks maternity. I'm a little more of mature than you at 38, but do find that this works in my favour, as I think life experience can count for a lot especially in mental health. Decided to do mental health as I've always been interested in psychology and trying to understand human nature. Having spent the best part of 18 yrs as a mother of 6 (the youngest of which started school 3yrs ago) decided it was time to concentrate a little on what I wanted out of life and thats when I began my Access Course, I had no previous experience of any nursing, but can honestly say that 2/3 of the way through my second year I'm loving every minute, even when the going gets tough with assignments. Good luck again, and hope its all you hope for. Sam

I am currently in my second year of a mental health degree course at Cardiff Uni, and the deploma students are required to do exactly the same work load as the degree students for the first two years. It is only in the third and final year that the two change and the degree students need to work at a higher level, so if you would need to do an extra year to upgrade to degree you may be as well to do degree to begin with. Good Luck and I hope you enjoy your training as much as I am. Sam

Hi, I just wanted to put my two penneth worth in, hope you don't mind. As a second year nursing student having now completed four placements in four very different envirouments, I can honestly say that there are more good nurses out there than bad (although I have been unfortunate enough to encounter a couple of the later). Most nurses do the job for the love of it and enjoy helping others to help themselves. Like yourself I am no spring chicken, infact I will be forty when I qualify, but I believe that the life experiences I have had make me more able to be non-judgemental ( a big plus in nursing) and also make me realise that there are people whose personalities just mean they dont work well as part of a team, and can therefore be seen as being bad at their jobs, I believe this really depends on the individual. Good luck with your training whenever you start, and stick at it, because at the end of the day it isn't about how anyone else see's or does the job it's about you. Sam

Realised my mistake and have amended it. :uhoh21: Not the best way to make a good first impression hey

Hi I've only just joined this site, I am currently a second year mental health student nurse, I am glad to see that this Forum picks up in pace because I will be asking for lots of advice over the next 18 months or so as the going gets tough :uhoh21: Cheers to you all and good luck with the birth of your fourth child uk nurse :balloons:

Cheers for this, some of the more commonly seen abbreviations are these LPN, NP, PRN, not sure what they are as in the UK we have RMHN (Registered Mental Health Nurse) RGN (Registered General Nurse) and NA (Nursing Assistants or health care assistants) PRN is used to describe medication which is prescribed to be used when required and/or necessary. These are just a few that I can think of off the top of my head but I'm quite sure theres loads more. Got to go now though as I'm supposed to be preparing a presentation for tomorrow. and will never get it done at this rate.

HI sorry for my ignorance but I am currently a second year mental health/psych student nurse in the UK and when reading these post do not understand the abbreviations used to describe job titles in the USA, can anyone help me out? :uhoh21:

HI sorry for my ignorance but I am currently a second year mental health/psych student nurse in the UK and when reading these post do not understand the abbreviations used to describe job titles in the USA, can anyone help me out? :uhoh21:

I am currently studying Alzheimers for my present assignment and find there is loads of research on the subject at the moment, so if I get the all clear off the Uni to carry it on for my dissertation I will probably look into something along those lines. Thanks for the tip and the luck I feel like I need all the luck I can get at the moment :uhoh21: Never mind I keep teeling myself only another 18 months and then the real learning begins

I am attending University of Wales Colege of Nursing in Cardiff. The course I am on is 3years full time, we do 8 weeks theory at the uni and six weeks placement on the wards practical per module and the overall course is nine modules. Course is real interesting and the practice is great, if sometimes a little demanding when trying to complete assignments while working on the wards 37 1/2 hours a week. But I am managing ok and still able to spend time with my six children which is what I feared would be affected at the start. Learning to be organised and in theory not to leave things to the last couple of days would help me though.

Not quite sure what it will count as, all I know is that for my final year I need to write a dissertation which will include previous research, both qualative and quantative, into evidence based practice and also analysis of this research. At the moment I am really panicking about it, but I am loving the course so much, especially the placement side of it, and know that this is what I want to do, so I am determined to complete it however tough it gets. :uhoh21:

Taking into account my experience to date I am thinking of looking at dual diagnosis in the elderly, concentrating on the possible connection between dementia and depression in the elderly.

Thanks for your help as I am glad of any suggestions. Although I am halfway through my second year I have drawn the short straw a few times and had EMI placements which have mainly dealt with late stage dementias. My interest is really in acute mental health so dual diagnosis will really be worth me looking into, and as you can see from this message I should have no problem making 10,000 words the way I waffle on. Cheers Sam.R

I am currently half way through my second year as a mental health/psychiatric student nurse, and am beginning to panic about the 10,000 word dissertation I have to complete next year in order to qualify, so any ideas from others who have been in this position would be great. Don't want the work you've done just some ideas to be able to help me with what type of subjects I should be looking at. Sorry had to edit this because my spelling is crap.