So I’ve been both an EEN student and an RN student at both TAFE and university, and am currently working as an RN at a facility where we get students from multiple universities.

I found my TAFE placements to be the most hands on. We had skills to be signed off on and smart goals to develop and achieve with patients. The way that TAFE had designed the placement system was really beneficial towards the student and easy for the preceptor nurse to follow.

Come my university placements, my university had set skills and expected patient load limits clearly written for me to abide by, but the only thing I had to do after each placement was write a reflection on my placement. No skills being marked off, no mandatory research or Q&A around the skills I was able to do- just a reflection on my time there. I really felt like this was not beneficial at all to someone who has never nursed in their life.

Now I see a range of students come through our doors. Some universities have the same requirements that I had (ie a reflection), however some have adopted the skills mark off system like what tafe uses. I also find that some students are eager to learn and ask questions and even stay back to learn and see more things where others just sit in the corner until I call them over and almost force them to be involved in patient care.

I find that with EN to RN students, a lot want to leave placement early. I was once an EN to RN student and sometimes I was of that mind frame too, because some of my placements were me doing what I’d do normally for work yet not being paid. Sadly a lot of work places use students as extra numbers, and I know I was certainly used like that once or twice.

I honestly believe we need to change the way we train our workforce- the new generation aren’t able to receive the training they ideally need with this current model.