Susana Ohue

I decided to study at the University of Northampton largely due to advice I received from the college where I completed my access course, as well as information from senior fellow colleagues, and my personal research regarding the University.

My career goal is to become a mental health nurse so I can help and support people experiencing different mental health conditions. My studies will help my career when I graduate as they will enable me to develop the knowledge and skills needed to become a mental health nurse.

The skills I’m gaining on my degree that I feel will be most useful in my future career are resiliency, time management, the ability to prioritise tasks, hard work, and the overall learning experience. Professional values and behaviours, ethical conduct, putting patients’ needs first, caring with compassion, and being able to work effectively and collaboratively within a team, will also be essential.

As part of my course, I’ve undertaken several work placements. The first of these was a community placement, which was arranged and organised for students to work together. I’ve also completed three further placements at Waterhall Nursing Care Home in Milton Keynes, a Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Service in Northamptonshire, and Romansfield Primary School in Milton Keynes – all as a student nurse.

These placements gave me valuable practice experience, as I was privileged to learn, participate in, or get involved in, some new nursing procedures, allowing me to practice what I’ve been taught in class sessions during my studies.

I was also able to develop employability skills including teamwork, a work ethic, self-management, and the ability to prioritise tasks. This will help me gain employment after graduating, particularly my last placement in Year Three, and I hope to have a smooth transition from student to registered mental health nurse.

Some tips that helped me to get the most benefit from my placement include presenting myself as being ready to learn, not sitting back, and being proactive. If you’re about to begin a placement, prepare yourself mentally and physically, identify your learning objectives for the placement area, take charge of your learning, and get involved in every available learning opportunity.

The advice I would give to undergraduates interested in this career path would be to use any available support to help you with your learning, such as learning development support, and help with searching for literature or sources for your writing and assessments.

My experience at UON has been excellent. Even though it wasn’t always easy for me at the start of my course, the support I get from the teaching team, financial support, placement support from my academy assessor, and most especially the support I get from my personal tutor, have all helped me immensely throughout my study journey.