Hi,
My name is Leah Carpenter and I am a first-year student studying Mental Health Nursing and The University of Derby. This year I have had the absolute pleasure of sharing programme representative with another student on our course. This year we have been able to discuss with members of our programme how they have found first-year, what could be done to improve this for the rest of our academic year and the years following us and any more sessions they feel would benefit them through the programme. I would love to be able to offer more support to nursing students as your new part time officer for nursing and professional practice to benefit them within their studies and years which follow us throughout the programme.
I am passionate about making changes for students, this is why I want to be the part officer for nursing and professional practice. If elected my aims are…
More face-to-face teaching
If elected, my main focus will be more face-to-face teaching for nursing students. This year due to Covid-19 university life has been hard to say the least. After feedback from other students on the course, this is the main priority and something which we all wish to see. This year as nursing students and changing guidance from the NMC many of us have missed out on training which we wanted to be delivered face to face. This is no fault of anyone’s due to the current situation, however, many of the students on this programme would like training to be interactive. We spent a large portion of hours watching moving and handling training, which was helpful for theory. However, we were not able to practice this.
More learning – field specific in first year
Luckily, our first-year studies are generalised for us all to understand the fundamentals of nursing before the academics become field specific. However, from feedback we have collectively discussed that we would also like field specific lectures and seminars based around each field. These are looking at conditions and medications which are generally found in field specific groups. These are Adult, Child, Mental Health and Learning Disability. I would like to help tailor the programme to help every student have their say on topic they would like to learn and different ways we can incorporate them to be specific to each student’s learning needs.
Create a safe space for nursing students
If elected, I would like to create a safe space for all nursing students on all campuses. This space would be a comfortable space for students to talk to others about any concerns they may have on placement, or indeed any concerns they may have inside the university. This can regard assignment help right up to concerns on placement. I’d like this space to be a ‘drop in’ space for anyone who wishes to discuss any matters which they feel important to do so. With the rise of mental health, I believe that student nurses struggle, particularly on placement to discuss such things with other individuals. With this space they will be able to talk to a friendly face. I would also like a small box for people to drop their concerns in and details in so that an appointment may be arranged for them to discuss this.
These are just a few changes which I would like to put in place from discussions with other students. I really hope I will be able to implement this and so much more to help all nursing student! I believe I can achieve this and I hope you believe in me too.
Vote for Leah Carpenter for Part-Time Officer for Nursing and Professional Practice