My own experience as a nurse returning to practice in the UK .

In my own words I will put into context what I have learned during my practice hours as a nurse
returning to the job. I have thoroughly enjoyed my placement at the local Community Hospital as I
am quite familiar looking after and caring for the elderly .The hospital itself has a number of 20 beds
that allow patience from the local emergency hospital to find a place to stay while they find a
permanent home and it gives them a chance to work on their rehabilitation As most of the patients
require some kind of assistance .

During these practice hours I had the opportunity to refresh my general knowledge regarding
nursing but Because I wanted to please everyone and deliver the best care possible for my patience,
I felt a lot of pressure to deliver my tasks on time and without any mistakes.

During this time I have regained the confidence to perform crucial caring techniques and crucial
nursing techniques but I have to admit that being under so much pressure my general confidence
has been affected and I do realise I will need to work on this in the future .

It is very important to stay up to date with the latest nursing journals and the latest nursing
techniques in order to deliver the best possible care towards my patience and one way of doing this
would be too take part in every course or in every training that will be available for me that I feel
confident to take part in . I'm happy to learn new skills in my nursing career as it allows me to take
care of my patience not only with the best of my knowledge but also with the best intention of
caring for them physically and when possible mentally because I'd like to know I have made a
difference in my patients lives not only with their illness but also to see them ‘happy’ while they are
in my care .

I do realise in order to be a good nurse and a good leader I need to be confided In what I do as a
nurse and in what I say to my work colleagues at all times and also if the patient believes that you
are confident in your own clinical skills they will feel at ease and they can trust you and they can
believe that they will get better under your care .

In the future I will have to work on my own confidence as a nurse because I have learnt that you
need to push aside your own weakness in order to care four your patient Even even if you only care
for them for a day or for longer period of time. I believe that being confident Isn't always about
being proud about your job or being ‘cocky’ towards your patience, It’s also about listening the
patient and caring for them in the best possible way that will suit them not us. Just because we are
all nurses and we all learn from books it doesn't mean that we do not have to treat them as human
beings, and I also believe this we all have to put ourselves in the patient's shoes to be more humble
and caring .

Viorica Catargiu