Knowing My Limits - A Tricky Situation

Placement has been the most interesting part of the course for me, with real life experience and the ability to look back and reflect on how far you’ve come.

When you think you aren’t getting anywhere, just remember to look back on that very first lecture where you’re told you will need to know an entire anatomy textbook, learn to communicate to a high standard, know about guidelines and remember to smile!

You got through all of that so you can definitely get through your placement.

One of the most challenging situations I have had on placement is one that appears to be relatively common- a ward that is short staffed.

To give you the context of my experience of this; I was in a large ward with mostly oncology patients, often presenting with non-routine and complex issues. I was quite daunted by all of this but I had found on my previous placements that my educators had been so supportive and always there for me, so I thought I had nothing to worry about.

However on the first day I was told my educator only worked 2 days a week and was leaving halfway through my placement. Panic!!

The first thing that sprang to mind is something I’m sure most students would worry about - how are they going to give me a placement mark?! I won’t have any continuity!

For the first week a junior member of staff on the same floor covered their ward and the one I was on, this was to support me on the days that my educator was not in. However, as winter pressures increased as did the demands on the staff member. Luckily my my confidence and competence was growing and when the support became less, it was okay.

In week two of my placement I realised I had worked the whole day without speaking to another member of staff within my profession. At this point I realised I was out of my scope of practice and potentially unsafe to others. I knew I needed to bring this up with my educator for future days that she did not work.

Having the confidence to know that I could approach this with my educator is something I would certainly have struggled with on my first placement due to not wanting to appear as though I was complaining or incompetent. Firstly, I spoke to the junior member of staff who I was most comfortable with and then both they and I spoke to my educator and her senior to see what could be done.

They reassured me that they had a new experienced staff member starting in week 3 who could support me on the days they were short staffed. Looking back, bringing up this issue was the best thing I could have done. When the new staff member started, they were immediately placed with me and I ended up showing them around the ward!!

Having the confidence to approach the subject meant that during the remainder of my placement, the amount of development I gained from my new mentor was more than I could have ever imagined. It also meant that by when they started, I had become autonomous with many different patients on the ward and could lead while they observed me.

This has been my favourite placement so far! - the amount of learning I took from it was amazing and my confidence both with patients and with colleagues increased so much.

In my final feedback they stated how impressed they were at how confident I was in showing the new starter how the ward works and how I had appeared part of the team.

My advice to anyone in a similar situation is to stick to your gut feelings. If you think you’re acting out of your scope never be afraid to speak up. They respected me far more for saying I needed more support than continuing without and ending up being unsafe or making mistakes whilst alone. Even as a student you need to ensure you are doing the best for you, the team and your patient.

Doing no harm is the most important, but also being effective and helpful is even better!