All you need to know about the first year Nursing placement
Date 29 August 2025
29.08.2025Prince write about his experiences of his first placement as a first year Adult Nursing student.
Nursing placements at UON
Your first placement can be a time of uncertainty for student nurses, there are lot of things to think about which include transportation, how you will fit into your placement area, what you can learn, how you are going to be accepted into the team, what you need to be careful about, and how to meet your assessment and many other things. In this blog, I will share my experience and talk about what you can do to have an amazing placement experience.
My placement experience
My placement was in a community hospital which was mainly a rehabilitation centre for patients who are recovering, to help them get ready to move back to their homes. It involved holistic patient care from personal care to clinical assessment and treatment, and lot of physiotherapy. I will say my placement was a bit tough, this was because it was located far from my student accommodation. For a person who doesn’t drive, it could be stressful as I had to get up early and often got back to my accommodation late. However, to me the stress was worth it because it made me realise how passionate I am about this profession and gave me an idea of what to expect on the job. I had the opportunity to learn and practice a lot, developing my career skills, including drug administration, documentation, patient assessments, and many more clinical skills.
Planning for your placement
My placement was very successful, however, there are few things I wished I knew before placement, including doing some research into transport in the area (especially bus timetables on weekends and holidays).
Placement Advice
My advice for students when going for placement is that, firstly learn about your placement area, and if possible, visit there once or twice before your placement starts. More importantly, be open to learn different things, ask lots of questions to get a better understanding, and try to communicate clearly and be part of the team. Taking simple initiatives that will help you to learn and get the best out of placement.
Find out more about the Adult Nursing course and the opportunities it can bring by visiting an Open Day.
Prince is an Adult Nursing student in his first year. One thing he loves about his course is that it involves a placement where you can get actual practice experience for the industry. He love music and dancing, and spends most of his free time watching movies.