Healthcare Assistant Review

My role as a healthcare assistant is to chaperone Doctors & Nurses when a Patient is having a procedure. Setting up each clinic room for each clinic. ordering stock for the whole unit. monitoring daily temperatures. Phlebotomy if patient requires it. cleaning down at the end of clinic and updating paperwork as required.

As a Nurse Apprentice I have learnt new skills outside of my job role, particularly as I work in an outpatients setting and my last placement was in an in-patient rehabilitation ward. I have researched and written an academic essay and completed an online exam and participated in learning clinical skills

The programme is allowing me to further my career and to this end has been enjoyable to meet the new challenges that this brings to my life and also because I have so far been successful in my learning so this has given me a huge feeling of pride in my work.

The University programme is very well structured with clear guidance on dates throughout the year and each module is well structured. The knowledge on what we do as an apprentice compared to the UCAS students has not been as good and there is definitely gaps in knowledge from both the Trust and the University especially when it comes to answering questions about the off the job tracker and how it is filled in. The Trust has also not educated my work place line manager on how to support me as an apprentice Nurse as opposed to my usual job role when I am back at work.

I have received very little support from my employer and find I have to go to them with queries about the apprenticeship and often get told what a struggle it is back at my home base now that I am on the apprenticeship scheme. I think this is mostly due to the lack of education from the Trust down to the service line on how to support an apprentice and what it will mean for the workplace to have an apprentice and how that role can be backfilled with bank staff or contracters.

The training provider is excellent and I have a Personal Tutor that sees me regularly and lectures to attend every week. There is a real team spirit in my tutor group, who are all apprentices, and there is also an excellent online network support from the University. There are also excellent resources in the library and from the librarians to enable student to succeed.

Since I started i have learnt a lot about communication, clinical skills and evidence based practice but I was already good at this in my job role so whilst it is important knowledge to have and necessary I do feel that a lot of what I have learnt so far I was already suceeding at in my job role and this was not taken into consideration when I started this course. it does seem that the apprentices have to work longer than the UCAS students in achieving their Nurse qualification and as apprentices we are already more experienced as healthcare professionals than many of the UCAS students when we start and actually a shortened course would be more beneficial to the NHS than this current programme

It is hard to do this due to COVID but we have started to have more social events especially when someone retires or it is someone's birthday. Apart from that there has not been the opportunity to be involved in many extra-curricular events. There have been some online events organised for people such as yoga, fitness classes and cooking classes but I have not had the time to book myself onto any of these

Yes

The Trust is a very supportive employer to its employees at a corporate level. it takes infection control and procedures very seriously and this is what i like compared to some other trusts that i have worked in. My only concern is that it is very management heavy and we need more Nurses.

Always think about the job role that you are applying for, can you commit the time to the programme and what support will you get during your studies. Are your employers aware of their commitment to support you with off the job learning and what qualification will you get at the end of it.