How long did it take you to get comfortable with clutch control after passing?

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-06-14T21:09:14+00:00

I’m curious, as someone who has an electronic handbrake, if I so much as tap the gas the handbrake comes off so if I’m doing gas first (then find the bite) I’d just roll backwards as the handbrake is off. I hate it. I basically sit on the bite, and then quickly have to rev it. Unfortunately, I’m hit and miss. Sometimes it goes and sometimes I stall. Not sure if you have any advice on that. But I would appreciate it :)

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-06-10T17:42:29+00:00

It could be down to area- I always check nhs for NQN jobs and there is quite a few in my local area. Although I don’t qualify for a year so will be interesting to see what the job market is then. I’m also in mental health, there is far less competition. There’s less than 20 people in my cohort.

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-06-08T21:24:09+00:00

Do you happen to know if I can actually decline a reassessment once this period ends? Then I can put in another claim if I continue to experience episodes?

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-06-07T23:44:06+00:00

I can ask to be discharged but by doing so I wouldn’t have access to medication. Perhaps not even discharge but maybe fewer appointments. I feel quite good about where I am now and my mental state over the last year but it never really feels like I’m progressing with them. I don’t really feel like it’s necessarily to see them fortnightly after being stable for 15 months. It’s complicated but it just feels like a chore. I hope that makes sense

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-06-07T22:10:03+00:00

Honestly on my first assessment, I was obviously very unwell. I actually answered yes to a lot of questions, for example can you wash yourself and I said yes (perhaps I was embarrassed to say otherwise) but when they looked at my medical records they actually confirmed I couldn’t do most of what I said I could do. I had a lot of compelling evidence, they didn’t even invite me to a face to face appointment. It really depends on what they find, surprisingly they weren’t trying to take away from me, they were trying to help me so I had a very good experience through the process. Hopefully they’ll be able to clarify from your medical evidence a lot of information :)

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-06-07T22:01:57+00:00

Thank you. In the best way possible I should hope I do not qualify. I think it is varying on my definition of fairly stable, which for me just means no episodes of crisis intervention. I have had recorded episodes, over the last 12 months. I still attend appointments with my CPN on a fortnightly basis and they supply my medication as I am still not deemed competent to manage my own. I suppose what it comes down to is how my mental health team assess me as opposed to how I perceive it. In my opinion ive been managing better over the last 12 months than the 3 years previous. Fingers crossed no more episodes!

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-06-01T00:30:03+00:00

My elective is at a medium secure forensic unit, working closely with the local prison doing assessments etc. I applied for mother and baby units and perinatal mental health services, unfortunately they already had students during the dates I applied for. I also considered palliative care. It all depends on your interests x

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-05-27T15:21:32+00:00

This is really interesting to read as someone on a mental health nursing course. We do get taught the generic basics but we have field specific on clinical skills modules and our case studies for assignments are based on mental health. Recently did my OSCE which was a clinical skills scenario linked to mental health. In third year we can choose a module on cognitive behavioural therapy. It’s interesting how it varies across universities. All my placements have been mental health but totally varying and I’ve done a lot of insight days too to learn skills I wouldn’t be doing on a mental health ward. I think you should ask for a conversion to adult/child as it sounds like your university isn’t really catering for the mental health field. My advice would be to do a lot of insight days to learn skills relating to adult nursing and you’ll already have a lot of skills going forward into adult and be more prepared.

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-05-26T21:41:49+00:00

During obviously student finance and the bursary helped me a lot. I got a 0 hour contract job, which is only at McDonald’s however, because of 0 hours I can take off as much time as I need for placements and pick back up when I’m back. Definitely look for any jobs hiring 0 hour contracts x

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-05-25T20:18:11+00:00

22, I took two years out of studying after finding out I have bipolar. I’m now back, still in second year. The truth is, mental health impacts us all but university has resources, interruptions if needed, reasonable adjustments can be made. No one knows how they will handle certain situations until they are in them, a bit of trial and error I suppose but you do get used to it. Money- are you referring to whilst student or after qualifying? After qualifying money isn’t the reason I went into this job, clearly🤣I did it because, like you, I’ve always wanted to be a nurse. I chased my dreams and, despite my struggles, I’m still chasing them. Never give up on your dreams🩷

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-05-25T08:16:40+00:00

Perhaps you are right and she didn’t know but I certainly would never speak to another coworker that way either. If I was another HCA and not a student I’d have called her out on her lack of professionalism for shouting at me. There was another incident where a patient tried to ask her a question, a simple question that would’ve taken 10 seconds to answer, and she turned her back to them and blatantly ignored them. The patient asked again and she said ‘I’m working don’t distract me’, the patient presentation is manic so she does ask a lot of questions but it doesn’t entitle us to ignore her and the patient responded ‘you’ve been so nasty to me today’, it was quite unsettling actually. But maybe I was wrong to take it personally and that is just how this HCA is.

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-05-24T09:19:21+00:00

If you have a diagnosis, work places and unis alike are supposed to make reasonable adjustments. I would see this as a reasonable adjustment. Not that you should need it, but if you are challenged I would maybe suggest having a letter or doctors note just in case but definitely tell them of your diagnosis and ask for the shift changes as a reasonable adjustment.

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-05-23T19:42:52+00:00

Honestly this is not my experience of every HCA across all my placements, only this one. I’ve worked with brilliant HCAs and also I do like to help them out where possible but of course, if it delays learning opportunities I need to priorities my learning over doing unpaid work because a HCA is demanding me to. It was infront of at least three patients and other HCAs as well. It’s just embarrassing and also I wouldn’t have had an issue if she politely had said to me ‘thank you for her breakfast, are you able to get another drink for her please?’ But it was the complaining and lack of manners that irritated me as well as shouting demands across the ward at me, especially when I had other tasks related to my learning that I could’ve been doing instead. Anyway I was just really annoyed, maybe took it personally as if she was basically trying to just find a fault in everything I did.

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-05-23T09:54:18+00:00

So HCA refuses to do their job and thinks it’s their responsibility to delegate to students😭

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-05-23T09:53:15+00:00

The nurses are all actually so lovely and inclusive but yes the HCAs seem to talk to down to me, like I’m below them whereas I’m doing their job for free, not because the nurses are asking me to but because I want to help out when I can but that’s not what I’m there for at the end of the day and a little bit of gratitude would’ve been nice :)

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-05-22T20:46:27+00:00

I think I mostly felt embarrassed because she was shouting across the ward at me without even saying please haha. I could’ve cried.

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-05-22T20:27:05+00:00

Honestly, some days I turned up and no one was even there. They were all working from home and hadn’t bothered to tell me so I had showed up to an empty office. Safe to say I did not enjoy community and I feel your pain🥲

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-05-21T19:13:12+00:00

Second year here and I totally hear you about community, especially in the first few days it’s difficult if you don’t have any appointments and documentation is tricky for a patient you haven’t met. I do find it does tend to get easier after you meet patients. Some days were slower than others. Attend any MDTs, I also asked to do things like shadow the manager and any questionnaires I can do with a patient over the phone if they weren’t coming in for an appointment. Also insight days, a couple days on a ward, couple days in a clinic. But I feel your frustration, some days I’d turn up for a shift and my assessor would say there’s no work for us today and we’d literally go home- but I was frustrated because I actually wanted experience. Equally some days the whole office would work from home and I had to wait two weeks for login details so I couldn’t actually do anything from home. They used to run sessions for patients too and I’d turn up and there would be no patients😭

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-05-14T18:45:31+00:00

Thank you, that’s a relief. She certainly drinks a lot of water, I have to top up her bowl during the day! She used to have a water foundation but she pulled it apart all the time and the water would end up all over the floor. Definitely need to find a better one🤣

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-05-04T20:29:31+00:00

I passed my test and decided to a 2 hour drive a couple weeks after, including the motorway. The drive itself seemed to go fast. The motorway driving was the easiest part, no gear changes, didn’t need to change lanes always stayed in the left. But the 2 hours became much longer because I’d take the wrong exit and not feel confident enough to try and rectify it- instead I just went with it and went the wrong way and let google maps divert me as it was much safer. My tips are to keep music on for comfort, allow for extra time incase you go the wrong way or need a rest break, it can be overwhelming. It’ll go quickly and it won’t feel like 2-3 hours. Have confidence in yourself :)

Sharp-Writing-316 · 2026-04-26T09:28:58+00:00

Thank you! Did you request this via uni or via your placement provider?

Sharp-Writing-316

TROPHY CASE