Ping Tan

Ping Tan
Employer : University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Subject : Diploma in nursing studies
University : London South Bank University
Graduated : 2005

I had the usual concerns about my first day at work and worried whether I would be able to cope with the high turnover of patients in an acute care ward. My training prepared me well but there is a big difference between being a student and a newly qualified nurse. I had my own caseload of patients to deal with and I was accountable for their care – a big responsibility. I soon found that I had a knowledge gap but I picked things up quickly and read as much as possible about coronary care to fill in the spaces.

I had a lot of support from my employer when I joined and it was great to get to the end of my first week and realise that everything had gone well. I was finally handling my own patients and really beginning to understand how the ward worked.

Easing the transition into work

To make your first day as easy as possible it helps to find out as much as you can before you enter the ward. Focusing on patient care can be difficult when you have never worked on the ward before so I familiarised myself with the hospital and its practices and met my manager beforehand to make sure I was well prepared. I also had a period of preceptorship, which lasted for about a year. I worked together with a nurse facilitator who helped me through my first day and continued to offer me guidance and support throughout my first year at work. She identified my strengths and weaknesses and worked with me to improve my knowledge and skills.

Settling into working life

Once you have been at work for a while people have higher expectations. I remember feeling that could not give the same standard of care as the more experienced staff but I tried my best and made the most of every opportunity to learn new skills. I have had to deal with cardiac arrests many times and the most important thing to do is to stay calm. Patients and their families need a lot of reassurance and support, so to make sure they receive the best possible care, you need to be able to take control of the situation. Don’t forget, however, that there should always be someone else there to help.

Top tips for nurses

• Brush up on your basic skills to make sure you have a good foundation to build on.
• Approach someone who is already working on the ward and ask about what they do. Find out what specialist procedures are used on the ward so that you can read about them in advance.
• Keep your documentation up to date.
• If you don’t understand something, ask!