Where can I do my Nursing placement?

Nursing as a profession is very varied; it's not just about working in wards in NHS hospitals. Our nursing graduates go on to careers in a huge variety of specialties and settings, including residential homes, hospices, community settings and charities. Student nurses get value from experience in different sectors and can also bring a lot to an organisation as well. 

What types of placements can Nursing students do outside of the NHS?

You can work in a nursing home, helping those with chronic, long-term health conditions such as dementia. As well as nursing homes, you can work in private institutions that provide palliative and end-of-life care, as well as respite placements.

How do placements support students’ development?

Placement providers get to provide more person-centred care, getting to know you and spending time communicating and helping you on a more individual basis. On your placement, you can work alongside social workers, physios and more. Student nurses get a lot of involvement.

You will also get exposure to unique environments. When people think of nursing homes, for example, they think about elderly care or somewhere to die. But some homes are registered for younger adults as well, meaning people from 18 and up with different conditions can be living there. Nurses need to be exposed more to a bigger scope of what nursing actually means.

How does a placement with a private, independent or voluntary organisation differ from the NHS?

Unlike a hospital ward where you may only deal with a specialist department such as cardiac, these organisations can deal with several health issues. It’s really broad and they can deal with issues from mobility and cardiac to end of life care.

There’s a lot of excitement in care homes as well. Yes, there's a lot of responsibility, but you really make a difference to peoples’ lives. Some people live many years in a care home, so you're practically ending up as their extended family there too.

What do organisations gain from working with BCU students?

Organisations really enjoy having students. It helps to up-skill their businesses and they can re-evaluate what they do and question what they do as well. Students often teach organisations the latest practices, so you can learn from each other.

It also helps organisations to share their knowledge and be able to nurture and mentor junior students, because the staff are nurses themselves, so they will know that feeling of coming into the big world of nursing.