Five skills I've learnt at university

Going to university has enabled me to gain the experience and knowledge I will need in order to be a children’s nurse; however it has also taught me some very valuable life skills that I will be able to use for the rest of my career. These skills in particular are ones I feel I have particularly developed due to choosing to go to university:

Time management - being a student nurse can be tough, however very rewarding. There is lots of work and revision as part of the course, but as well as this some students work alongside their course, in order to pay for their bills. I have been working two jobs whilst being at university, therefore I feel I have developed my time management skills, as I have ensured that my university work has not been affected by my jobs. University has always come first.

Cooking/cleaning - before coming to university, my parents did a lot of the ‘usual household’ jobs including cooking and cleaning. However when I moved into university accommodation during my first year, I had to learn how to do all these tasks very quickly as my parents were not going to be there to do them for me. This also further strengthened my time management skills as these tasks needed to be completed in between working, going to university and doing my revisions.

Communication - I have had lots of different opportunities to get involved at university, including my placements, working for the employment bureau part time and running the child nursing society. I therefore feel I have been communicating with a wide range of people, which has made me feel more confident starting conversations and talking to groups of people. I also feel my placements and assessments at university have strengthened my written communication which is a very important skill I will need for my career.

Teamwork - The opportunities I have been involved have also enabled me to work with different people and teams including fellow students at the university, healthcare professionals within my placement areas and patients and their families too. I have enjoyed getting to know different people and I feel I have also developed some leadership skills through working within teams.

Diffusing difficult situations - During my placement, I have been exposed to some very difficult situations, however I feel my mentors have taught me to diffuse difficult situations, in a calm way. For families being in hospital can be very stressful, therefore sometimes parents can get stressed; however knowing how to diffuse situations calmly will be a very useful skill for me to have.