Introducing: Jennifer

Jennifer

Learning Disability Nursing Student

Second year

Glasgow Caledonian University

1. What are you looking forward to?

I’m really looking forward to experiencing new things; I haven’t done much travelling at all so I think seeing the different way of life will be amazing. I’m looking forward to experiencing the difference in the nursing care of individuals with a learning disability between Malawi and Scotland and also the few days off which we will have off to go exploring! We have spoken about buying bikes when we are in Lilongwe which will allow us to get out and about. I can’t wait to see the different clothing, foods and all different things which we don’t have at home.

 

2. What will you miss most?

I’m not really sure what to expect yet and therefore I’m not 100% sure what I’m going to miss. From what I imagine Malawi to be like, I think I am going to miss the everyday things the most. For example: being able to take a hot shower every day, central heating (although I’m sure it will be air conditioning I am wishing for!) and being able to contact my friends and family whenever I want. I know that when I come home I am going to be so much more grateful for the everyday things in life!

3. What have you enjoyed most about the planning process?

I’ve definitely enjoyed the group meetings the most and the enthusiasm from other people in the group. It has at times been hard to stay motivated as it has been such a difficult thing for us to organise ourselves however meeting with the others in the group has always brought our excitement back and allowed us to focus on our goal.

4. What has been the hardest part of the preparation?

I am the most unorganised person ever and probably due to being the youngest in the group I am definitely not a ‘leader’. The planning process has definitely made me realise this and I hope that my time in Malawi will help me to build on these skills so I don’t have to rely so much on others!

5. What made you choose LD nursing?

Very cheesy, but for as long as I can remember I have wanted to work with individuals with a Learning Disability. After doing quite a lot of voluntary work, I found how rewarding working with individuals with a learning disability is and I realised that it is a strength for me and something which comes completely naturally. I didn’t actually realise that learning disability nursing existed until I started looking for a university course to apply to. I am so glad I have chosen LD nursing as my profession, it is an extremely positive line of work to go into and there are so many opportunities.

6. How do you think this placement will help you to be a better nurse?

I feel that in my past year and a half of nursing I have already had my eyes opened to a lot of different things and I know that experiencing life in Malawi will completely change the way I think of everything. I think that seeing the differences in the health care systems and the way that doctors and nurses work will be very interesting and help us to look at things in a different way. Nursing can be a very stressful profession and I think the experience of nursing in Malawi will allow me to challenge myself and develop my problem solving skills. I feel that my placement in Malalwi will be an amazing opportunity to learn from nurses who are used to working with entirely different resources, and who may have different approaches that we can learn from and use to shape our future practice. I also imagine that working in an environment where there may be limited resources will make us all appreciate how much we have in the UK, especially in the NHS.

Introducing: Rachael

Rachael

 

Learning Disability Nursing Student

Second year

Glasgow Caledonian University

1. What are you looking forward to?

I am definitely looking forward to helping people, or at least trying to. Nursing is all about patient centred care and if you do not care about people then you should choose a different profession. Experiencing a different culture and learning how nursing in Malawi compares to nursing in Scotland. Working in the sun will be pretty good too! I can’t pinpoint one thing I am looking forward to most but feel like this is a once in a lifetime chance and I can’t wait to go!

2. What will you miss most?

Will I be a typical Scot abroad and say Irn Bru and a piece and sausage? Haha! I will miss a lot of home comforts, I know that, but want to prove to myself and others that I will survive without fake tan and false lashes for a while! I will of course miss my friends, family and my boyfriend Joe but the person I will miss most is my nephew Luca. He will turn 2 while I am in Malawi and I do fear that he will forget who I am while I’m gone. It will be exciting to come home and see how much he grows up in 7 weeks! I will also miss my Mum a lot, she is a great listener and good at calming me down when I blow the smallest worry way out of proportion like having no money to get to Malawi!

3. What have you enjoyed most about the planning process?

Working with the group! Meeting up weekly to discuss what we need to do to make Malawi happen has been fun and stressful but it has really helped being able to bounce ideas off one another.

4. What has been the hardest part of the preparation?

Having an 8 week placement before Christmas meant we had no scheduled days in University so it made it very difficult to meet and plan with the group. It felt at times that we had to put planning on hold as we were all on placement in different areas and also had exam and essay stress to deal with. This term it is much easier as we are in Uni 3 days a week, although we still have essay and exam stress!

5. Have you ever lived abroad before?

Not yet…but seeing my friends travel and plan to move abroad to work has made me very jealous so maybe one day!

6. What made you choose LD nursing?

I have to be honest with this answer and say that I found Learning Disability nursing completely by chance. It is extremely different from anything I have ever done before. I knew I wanted to study nursing when I started my 2nd year at college studying HND beauty therapy, I had thoughts of dropping out, however, I felt I would have wasted a year already at college and decided to continue and complete my HND qualification. After finishing college I began working in an office as an admin assistant as I had missed the deadline to apply for a nursing course that year. Luckily my mum encouraged me to apply through clearance on UCAS – and from there I found Learning Disability nursing at GCU. I was still very naïve when beginning the course and thought that all nurses worked in hospitals and wore a uniform. I have since then had my eyes opened to the different branches of nursing. I now work part time as a support worker for adults with learning disabilities and feel this strengthens my work on placement and at university.

7. How do you think this placement will help you to be a better nurse?

I feel that growing up in Scotland and always having the NHS, I have forgotten that this is a luxury that most countries do not have. I feel that my experience in Malawi will make me a
more resourceful nurse and make me appreciate the tools and equipment available to me in Scotland. I hope that the experience will not only improve my skills professionally but also help me develop personally. 

Introducing: Michael

Michael

 

Learning Disability Nursing Student

Second year

Glasgow Caledonian University

 

1. What are you looking forward to?

Living on a different continent where almost everything is different in some way - I love the variety in day-to-day things that you take for granted - radio stations, breakfast, vegetation and architecture, even the birdsong!  I'm particularly looking forward to some dark skies - night sky free from light pollution never ceases to blow me away.  I'm going to take a cheap set of binoculars and star map for the southern hemisphere (even the constellations in the sky are different!).

 

I love music as well and I look forward to hearing what's popular (I hope it's not all Western pop music) and what their folk music sounds like.  I'm also interested to see what a Saturday night in Lilongwe is like - I imagine it involves a lot of dancing!

2. What will you miss most?

Parents, family and friends.  My musical instruments; I'm sure I'll have room for a uke though!  There will surely be points where I'll miss all the familiar things of home - when I'll just wish I could nip to Gregg's or have a bottle of IPA of an evening - but I suppose that's part and parcel of living abroad.

3. What's been the hardest part of the preparation?

Taking on more commitments whilst having to keep on top of everything else.  Sometimes even little things like getting in touch with people to do things like start up a LD Nursing Society can take me out of my comfort zone.  Also being out of my flat for so long, it looks like I'll have to make decisions and plan about where I'll be living next year.  It's a lot to take on but I'm certain it'll be worth it. 

4. Have you ever lived abroad before?

No, the closest I got were 3 week holidays in Japan and also Colombia, however both times I returned resolving to go live 'over there'!

5. What made you choose to study LD nursing?

I've supported individuals with learning disabilities of all ages and in most situations since 2005 and wanted to consolidate what I'd learned, professionalise my practice, develop my skills and gain new experiences.  This trip to Malawi meets all of these criteria and is definitely something I never thought I'd ever be doing and goes far beyond any expectations I thought I'd have!

6. How do you think this placement will help you to be a better nurse?

I could hazard a guess but I suspect come September the outcome may be completely different from my viewpoint now.  It could be a baptism of fire and there's an element of nerves present, however this should give me a depth of knowledge and experience I'd struggle to get in any other situation.

 

 

Introducing: Eve

Eve
 
Learning Disability Nursing Student
Second year
Glasgow Caledonian University 


1. What are you looking forward to?
I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the sun! I’ve always enjoyed working with people and love that with this placement we get to do that, but in a pretty much polar opposite environment. The phrase “a life lived for others is a life worth living” kind of sums it up for me, and meeting new people and travelling can only benefit me personally and professionally. I want to take the skills I have and adapt and improve them with this experience!

2. What will you miss most?
Going to be brutally honest and say food! Definitely don’t think I can afford the air fare for my local Chinese to deliver to us in Lilongwe! I’ll definitely miss my family and my cat as well. I won’t be that bothered leaving but I’m sure there will be some tears when I’m there and on my return! I’ll miss my work too – I’ve worked in Costa coffee a couple days a week for 3 years now- they’re practically family!

3. What have you enjoyed most about the planning process so far?
It has forced me to become a more organised student! Something that definitely does not come naturally to me! It’s actually been helpful in terms of team building- every week we get to brainstorm and come up with ideas, sometimes opposing. It’s been good to learn to compromise and encourage each other towards our common goal – to get to Malawi!!

4. What's been the hardest part of the preparation?
Being on placement while trying to organise ourselves! Definitely hindered communication between the group and was an extra stress- but we got through it through sheer determination and we are back on track now!

5. Have you ever lived abroad before?
No – My Dad grew up in the Middle East and I’ve always been jealous of the experience he must have had! When I was 14 he applied for a job out there, and I cried because I’d miss Scotland. I’d jump at the chance to give living abroad a shot now!

6. What made you choose to study LD nursing? 
Always enjoyed working with people and only when I started working full time did I explore the different ways I could do that through higher education. I’m keen to stay on past third year and become dually qualified as a learning disability and adult nurse.

7. How do you think this placement will help you to be a better nurse? 
It’s interesting to see how cultural differences affect work – and we will be right at the heart of that with our project. It will definitely teach us to work in the most practical way possible with the resources available. I expect to face emotional and physical challenges while I’m there – and any challenge that I am able to surpass can only benefit me in the future.

Introducing: Corrinne

Corrinne

Learning Disability Nursing Student

Second year

Glasgow Caledonian University

1. What are you looking forward to?
Meeting people and learning in a totally new environment. I've been told Malawians are very friendly and welcoming, so fingers crossed that's true. Oh, and I'm looking forward to making the most of our occasional days off, with sun, markets and various adventures.

2. What will you miss most?

My dog Eddie. He's staying with my friends (who love him) so I know he'll be utterly spoiled while I'm away and probably won't even notice I'm gone. But he's my sidekick and I've never been away from him for this long since I adopted him in Arkansas in 2007.

3. What have you enjoyed most about the planning process so far?

Our lecturers have been massively supportive, and I suspect they're almost as excited about this project as we are. I like seeing how close knit our little team of 6 has become too. Having an excuse to read about Malawi is also great. I read "The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind" by William Kamkwamba over the Christmas break and really enjoyed it.

4. What's been the hardest part of the preparation?

Coordination and time commitment. There's been lots of paperwork and we've held weekly planning meetings, in addition to doing as much reading as possible to prepare for this placement. Juggling that with other placements, assignments and work (and very occasionally a social life) has been a challenge. I've also had to work on having patience. I knew I wanted to go to Malawi when we started first year, but it's only just started to feel like we might actually manage to make it happen. At times it felt like a bit of a gamble to invest all this effort in something we might not get to do. We still have a lot of work to do between now and May, but things are gradually falling into place.

4. Have you ever lived abroad before?

A long time ago, I did a languages degree so I studied abroad for a year. I spent 6 months in Mons, Belgium, and 6 months in St Petersburg, Russia. After that I also lived in Arkansas, USA for nearly 5 years before I moved back to Glasgow in 2011.

5. What made you choose to study LD nursing?

When I lived in Little Rock, I worked for Easter Seals Arkansas, a non profit supporting children and adults with disabilities. I originally volunteered at the Adult Work Center, where I set up an accessible art programme for adults with disabilities. Then I became the Recreation Coordinator for the Children's Rehabilitation Center. I loved my job, and missed it when I moved back to the UK. I wanted to find something similar, but with scope to do even more, and take on bigger challenges. Working with the children and young adults I saw how health had a huge impact on every aspect of their lives. So when I found out about the LD nursing course at GCU, it was exactly what I'd been looking for.

6. How do you think this placement will help you to be a better nurse?

I hope that it will help us to develop resilience, to allow us to handle difficult situations with grace. It will also encourage us to be resourceful, work together as a team, and appreciate things we might currently take for granted.