Supporting student nurses on placement in general practice

Clinical general practice nurse manager Naomi Smith shares advice for student nurses to gain the most out of a placement in general practice

Some students say that they have had a negative experience with a placement. Some say they found their experience hindered by the expectations of the placement setting.

It is so important that we address this as an issue. There is an ageing nursing population, and we do need to ensure we are nurturing our young nurses. We particularly need more nurses to work in primary care.

For me, it is about ensuring student nurses have a positive experience while on placement and ensuring they continue to learn and develop their skills.

There are many benefits to ensuring a positive placement experience.

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Earlier this year, the UK saw 23,730 nursing applications, compared to 36,410 in 2021. Although this was a decline in applications, we have still needed to find placement experiences for nearly 24,000 student nurses — a difficult task given the strain currently on the NHS.

How to we help nurses to feel supported during their placement?

As a supervisor and past supervisee with many years working within a primary care setting, there is some advice that I would like to offer to supervisees and supervisors.

It starts from the first day of the placement.

When a student nurse is due to start a placement, it is a good idea for them to contact the placement setting beforehand, to ask for the times their mentor would like them to attend on their first day and who to ask for. This is important, as primary care settings vary in their clinical times and shift patterns.

A good start can help to reduce anxiety for both parties for the duration of the placement.

Researching what a general practice nurse may be completing throughout their day and why the nursing role in primary care is essential is also important preparation.

In primary care we are working to prevent admissions and to support patients to manage their own long-term conditions. This is something we expect student nurses to have researched prior to their placement, and to look at the quality outcomes framework guidelines that ensures patients are able to access the same care of others.

During the placement, we also look to make sure they spend time with different professionals. They are able to see how the team works together to ensure we maintain a high standard of care from the moment the patient attends the surgery.

We usually ensure student nurses spend time initially with the administration team, before moving on to spending time with the clinical team.

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It is also useful for the placement to look at other services within the area and see what spoke placements they can access to make sure they have the opportunity to see what other areas of care are provided within the community settings.

I like to ensure a student nurse feels able to ask questions; not have to worry that they cannot approach their supervisor about university struggles or placement struggles. We have all been a student nurse once and will remember struggling during the early morning shifts or perhaps trying to juggle being a parent and a student nurse.

Another very important thing is for student nurses to ensure is that this is their learning experience. It is not up to their mentor to decide everything they need to learn during the placement.

From the start, they should speak with their mentor; explain what they are expecting during their time there.

Of course, the arrival of a new nursing student may also create anxiety for the supervisor, as we are also meant to be the person a student nurse is looking up to during their time.

Will we have answers to any questions they may have? And of course, we don’t know everything. It is fine to say that we are unsure sometimes, and that we will research the answer required.

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A positive learning environment can even encourage someone to return to the placement environment as a qualified nurse.

Student nurses will also see how supervisors treat them and others. This might even encourage their own thoughts on what makes a good supervisor, which will be useful in turn for later on in their careers.

Naomi Smith is clinical general practice nurse manager at New Otley Road Medical Practice, Bradford