What to Expect in Your First Week at University as A Student Nurse

My name is Freya, and I am a second year children’s nursing student. A year ago, I was filled with excitement and an awful lot of nerves as I was fast approaching my first day of uni – I knew no one and was 300 miles away from home. I knew I wanted to be a children’s nurse, but equally I was completely unaware of what was ahead of me and what I was in store for. I wish I knew what to expect going into the first month so that I could prepare a bit better.

What I was most apprehensive about:

For me – the most anxiety provoking aspect was meeting so many new people, at the beginning this can be very overwhelming, but as the course goes on everyone will slot into the groups of people that they connect with the most. 

 Remember:

Before I give an overview of what to expect in your first month, I just want to add a disclaimer that every university is going to be slightly different, and everyone’s experiences will be unique to them – however this a rough overview of what you can expect academically and socially over your first month on a nursing degree.

The first week:

Typically, during the first week you won’t be doing any academic work or module related content. This week will be about introducing you to your academic staff, the faculty of health, and placement liaison team, setting up email accounts and getting used to the online platform (Moodle, Canvas etc). You will likely receive an introduction talk about the course itself and the layout of the degree within the first few days along with the code of conduct that you will adhere to during your time as a student. This doesn’t only apply to the NMC code, there may also be additional rules that your uni may expect of you, and these will be discussed at the beginning of the course. Examples of these rules may be not disclosing the name of your uni or placement hospital online, sharing photos in your uniform, and acting in an unprofessional way both inside of uni and outside of uni when you are in civilian clothes and not necessarily tied to the university. Often universities will hold you to a high standard because as students you are the future of the NHS, and it is important to adhere to certain rules. As many strict rules such as tattoos and hair colours are being faded out – many other rules relating to professionalism still apply and it is important to familiarise yourself with the rules of your institution from the start of the course. 

This is also when you will be meeting your course mates in person for the first time, the university will arrange some team building or introductory exercises to help students mingle with one another and break the ice. Whilst I am sure there have been eye rolls upon reading ‘team building exercises’, and believe me I felt it too, it was actually really helpful when forcing us to interact with each other and breaking down the barrier of anxiety that we all felt on that first day. So go in with an open friend, some of these people may be friends for life! 

There should be plenty of opportunities within the week to ask questions about things you are unclear on or would like further information on, as well as talks from Practice Education Facilitators (PEFs), Student Unions, and Nursing Societies.

You may also have occupational health appointments throughout this week – as a student nurse you will have to have vaccinations for diseases such as hepatitis and tuberculosis – these will be done via your university’s occupational health unit. Occupational health appointments are also where you will need to discuss any health conditions or concerns that you have going into the course.

Of course, typically the first week will also be the infamous freshers week (unless like at my uni, nurses start 4 weeks before the rest of uni and you will have to wait a month for your fresher’s experience). I urge you to go to your university’s freshers fair, if for nothing else but to pick up a few freebies! This is where you can find out about clubs and societies that you can join; I find it is very important to have a hobby or passion outside of nursing where you can decompress – whether this is through a uni club or not – freshers is a great place to explore your other interests. I can’t avoid mentioning the inevitable parties and club nights that will be taking place throughout the week, these events are not to everyone’s taste but if it is your thing go and let your hair down! If going to a freshers event, make sure you drink and behave responsibly, familiarise yourself with the area, and that you go with other people. Okay mum moment over – lets carry on with the blog post!

Weeks two – four:

Throughout the rest of the month, you will be easing into university life and the module content for semester one. You will also get to meet your lecturers who may not have been present for week one. Typically, this is when you will be submitting your sizes for uniform and completely mandatory e-learning that you must complete every year. The main focus of this month is getting everyone into a similar level of baseline knowledge so that the module content makes sense and fills in any gaps from people who have come from different backgrounds and entered uni via different routes. You will be surprised how quickly you are able to get into a groove of uni life and settle into friendship groups.

 I hope you enjoy your first month of Nursing School,

You’re going to make an awesome nurse x