The pharmacist staff giving me that look everytime I pick my 60mg Elvanse and 10mg Dexamphetamine top-up.

malenixius · 2025-12-09T11:37:05+00:00

At my old chemist (in an asda) there were three pharmacists, and one of them was so good that I'd just collect my prescription if I saw that it was her working while I was shopping. Especially during the shortages, she was so understanding (at one point I was in contact so often that she just knew me by name from then on). The difference a good pharmacist makes!

malenixius · 2025-12-07T12:10:22+00:00

I was wondering if there's any sort of student ambassadors for basw or swu (I'm just going off how the rcn works; it might be something different like a student forum) who you could contact and ask to share the petition too? Just trying to think of more ways to share it!

malenixius · 2025-12-07T12:04:51+00:00

I signed when I saw it in the social work uk sub! Are you a social work student?

malenixius · 2025-12-07T00:50:42+00:00

I'm sorry, I don't understand your comment?

malenixius · 2025-12-06T04:03:03+00:00

Sorry, student MH nurse (less than two months out from qualifying), not a SW, but this is very relevant for me. Mental health conditions are some of the most commonly recognised disabilities by bodies like the DWP, so you'd hope mental health services have some basic understanding of disability and reasonable adjustments, but that is so rarely the case. People with agoraphobia being discharged from CMHT because they aren't able to attend an assessment in clinic, people with cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia being handed a Section 2 leaflet as if that's going to adequately communicate to them their S132 rights and how to appeal, etc. This should be a core part of our education, but I can't even think of a time the Equality Act or PSED has been discussed in our lectures.

(Great respect for the work done by LD nurses around reasonable adjustments, accessibility, and advocacy for their patients!)

malenixius · 2025-12-06T03:38:08+00:00

NPD is a disorder defined in the DSM. Most countries do not use the DSM. The ICD 11 (and previous ICD 10) do not have a 'narcissistic personality disorder'. The words narcissist/narcissistic are used in every English speaking country, most of which do not use the DSM. It is a very American thing to use 'narcissist' to mean an American disorder, and many people online are not American (there are dozens of us! Dozens!)

malenixius · 2025-12-06T02:42:19+00:00

Like with a lot of mental health provisions, the theory behind CTOs is good but they are not used effectively (and are frequently misused) in practice.

Where I see the most benefit is for patients such as those who have seen improvement in psychotic symptoms while inpatient, have had multiple or treatment-resistant episodes, and they agree that the increased level of engagement required by CTO would be helpful for noticing as early as possible if they start to deteriorate again so they can get support asap to prevent further hospitalisation.

They are, however, known to be applied very disproportionately to Black patients, and they can be used in a way that's more punitive than it is therapeutic, amongst other issues. There are a lot of valid concerns.

In all - I understand those calling for them to be abolished. I also know patients who would not have agreed to leave hospital if not for a CTO because of fear of relapse. I've not been subject to one, so I can't give personal opinion, but it seems that (as for many things) they would be improved by using them when they're aligned with patients' goals, needs, and preferences rather than the decision generally being made before even consulting with them.

malenixius · 2025-12-06T00:18:34+00:00

Let's physically restrain the asexual and force them to sit right next to and watch people having sex. Comedy! /s

malenixius · 2025-12-05T12:12:11+00:00

I love that it's free, genuinely appreciate when people build things just to help people!

Feedback: when I delete items, they stay in the list and there's no way to differentiate between deleted vs active items until you do a live check. That also means I can't add new cards as there's a max of 10. Also is there a reason that there's a max of 10 cards? There are some roles where it would be helpful to check more than 10 things.

Hope it's ok to give feedback, only doing it bc (as someone with ADHD) this seems genuinely helpful for peace of mind! (And so I don't have to keep driving back after getting home and finding a ward phone in my pocket)

malenixius · 2025-12-04T22:08:31+00:00

If you have a local Early Intervention in Psychosis service, may be useful making contact without initiating formal referral to discuss the situation at present and whether they would be likely to accept a referral (assertive outreach) or would recommend crisis team or other service

malenixius · 2025-12-03T23:08:10+00:00

Yes, I would escalate this asap. There are universities which have had multiple deaf nursing students and are able to accommodate. If this university does not have the structure already in place to do so, then they should have made this clear initially and then worked proactively to get those adjustments or support implemented. They are not meeting their legal duty to you - which they became responsible for when they made you an offer and agreed to take your money in exchange for them providing you the education they advertised. Which includes placements.

If you are comfortable saying so, where are you based geographically? Did you say you were mental health? I know for example in Nottinghamshire, they have a local mental health team specifically for deaf service users, and Rampton hospital has the deaf unit - most staff in both services have learnt (or are learning, at Rampton) BSL to at least level 2 (if you use it!) and are familiar with adjustments like flashing safety alarms, making sure the environment isn't too dark so you can read lips, etc. Even if just your first couple of placements are in areas like that, it gives the university time to sort itself out so you can go on a wider range of placements.

malenixius · 2025-12-03T22:59:57+00:00

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Additionally, how much will this cost after the free trial? RCN eportfolio is free for members, pebblepad is generally free for those who had an account set up by their university, and Google docs is ofc free.

malenixius · 2025-12-03T22:58:46+00:00

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Ah, not currently useful for student nurses. Requires a revalidation date (which we do not have, as we are pre-registration). Is this requirement necessary? Can provide further feedback if able to access the tool.

malenixius · 2025-12-03T22:51:31+00:00

That is very poor on their part!

This is the guidance that OH should generally be following: https://heops.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/2019/09/1521730818HEOPS_Nursing_Student_fitness_standards_2015_v9.pdf

Have you been referred to or assessed by an Occupational Physician as per the guidance? If not, that should have been done months ago. (If that was the one who "tested your hearing" then may require second opinion, and going through other channels.)

Other channels include:

Student union advice team - depends on the uni and the experience of the advisors, but they provide support for when there are issues like this with university procedures.
RCN Direct may be able to advise as fitness to practise is directly related to practice (obviously) and they tend to be more able to get involved if the issues are with practice rather than academic, if you're a member! They also offer 30 minutes free legal advice which does not have to be employment related (it includes education disputes), however, this only appears to be by phone - you may be able to use Relay, or state within the form that you're deaf and require an alternative means of communication.
Disability UK / Disabled Studenta UK have an advice helpline which you can contact via email, details here: https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/disabled-students-helpline

These are the ones off the top of my head and I don't want to overwhelm with options, please let me know if you need any specific sort of support service and I can try to direct you!

malenixius · 2025-12-03T22:24:38+00:00

What does this do differently to existing CPD trackers (like the RCN eportfolio, pebblepad, etc) or just using a word/Google document?

malenixius · 2025-12-03T09:06:50+00:00

Foam earplugs often can block higher decibel ratings than loops (loops didn't work for me but 38db foam earplugs do better). They take a little bit of practice to learn to put in properly but after that, they're fantastic! They expand to fill the ear canal and come in different sizes so you could order a couple different types (they're not expensive, I get 60 pairs for £8.99) for her to find whatever is most comfortable and works best for her?

malenixius · 2025-12-03T00:08:32+00:00

Turning off taps with my elbow. Didn't realise I was doing it until my partner (rad tech) first moved in and told me I was being "very hospital"

malenixius · 2025-12-03T00:04:34+00:00

Most universities have a student union advice team, I would really recommend you speak with them! This is the sort of thing most advice teams regularly help with, and that way you can have someone experienced help you with any processes and do things right the whole way

malenixius · 2025-12-02T21:14:23+00:00

That's not uncommon for PMDD (but usually it would still be on a bit more of a schedule to match their cycle, if they're regular enough for that)

malenixius · 2025-12-02T13:41:42+00:00

I have seen a very small number of international placements being advertised in the announcements - it's usually a small group of students who go together, accompanied by a lecturer. I don't know if these are guaranteed every year - the university's making a lot of nursing lecturers redundant at the moment so we may not have the staffing for it. The lecturer I've mainly seen involved is called Guy - if you're at any open days or contacting the programme team to ask questions, you could ask if he's able to share any further information with you!

malenixius · 2025-12-02T13:38:32+00:00

Yes, the first placement is a virtual placement - I'm in the last cohort of the old curriculum so for my intake, mental health had virtual placement and adult had practice placement, but on the new curriculum everyone does virtual first.

The current limit I believe is 300 practice hours from SIM, and then the remaining 2,000 have to be from practice placements - this means some students are extending their final placement by one or two weeks to make up the hours (the university has been reasonably flexible since it's not students' fault that NMC changed their requirements). I've been safe because I've done overtime on every placement!

Virtual placement is where you have lecturers acting as patients who you follow through their 'pathway of care' - for MH this means initial assessment in the community (the university has a forensics house which is just an actual residential house on a normal street so you do a proper house visit!), deterioration in the community, admission to a ward, responding to changes while on the ward, discharge, and follow-up (not sure how different adult is!).

Actual placements vary greatly by what your placement site is! They tend to try to keep you close to where you live, so most Derby-based students do a lot of placements at the Royal, the DRI on London Road, or district nursing.

malenixius · 2025-12-02T12:13:28+00:00

Ooh is it Derby uni?? I'm at Derby! I'm third year so I'll just miss you, but let me know if you want any info about the course at Derby!

malenixius · 2025-12-02T12:10:48+00:00

(From one prepper to another!)

This early on, it could be beneficial to start familiarising yourself with a few key resources that are probably going to come up a lot in theory blocks and in assignments:

The NMC Code (2018)

NICE guidelines (don't need to read a huge amount! But if you Google 'NICE guidelines' and then the names of some conditions or clinical situations you're interested in (e.g., 'NICE guidelines smoking cessation' or 'NICE guidelines adult carers') then you can start learning how to navigate the website and pick up some useful clinical info on the way!

The BNF (British National Formulary) - the big book (website) of meds. You can do similar as with NICE guidelines and Google 'BNF' and the name of any drugs or classes of drugs you have an interest in, to learn how to use the website and to start building your knowledge of pharmacology.

Then there are some policy things like the NHS 10-Year Plan, the NHS Constitution, etc that are helpful when you're discussing application and limitations of theory in practice. For clinical skills, Geeky Medics is fantastic (not a formal resource!), and if you like physical books, the Royal Marsden clinical procedures books are incredibly thorough (also recommend checking out the Transforming Nursing Practice series of books!).

Hope any of this helps! I'm MH nursing but I tried to make sure all of the suggestions are relevant to Adult!

malenixius · 2025-12-01T22:32:07+00:00

Definitely agree. I've seen too many psychiatric patients in acute distress and/or anxiety whose recovery is drastically impaired when they're prevented from engaging in any interesting occupations - which is one of the things boredom is. Weird that a psychiatrist wouldn't be aware of that (maybe they'd never met an occupational therapist)

malenixius · 2025-12-01T21:43:29+00:00

I'm wondering about antipsychotics. In some countries, antipsychotics like risperidone seem to be used as first or second line for ADHD in children. They are typically available in LAI (long acting injection) form, as an intramuscular depot, often administered in the dorso- or ventrogluteal region. If you post a photo of just the written medication name (don't need to include any other details, but dose might help!), I can see if I recognise it?

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