While training to be a nurse, students are expected to complete 2,300 practice hours in order to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), while some of these hours can be accrued in simulated practice and reflective time, the majority of them are made up by time spent on placement.
The benefits of placements to students is obvious, it helps to build their confidence in the work place and develop their clinical skills through hands-on experience as well as learning from those already working in the sector. However, there are also a host of benefits that placements can provide healthcare organisations including investing in their future workforce, fostering innovation in their workplace and encouraging students to pursue different career paths across the healthcare sector, for example nursing within residential care homes.
Mariposa Care Group encompasses eight elderly care homes and two specialist mental health care homes, with sites currently in Carlisle, Leeds, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Middlesborough, County Durham and Oxfordshire. This includes five nursing homes: Briardene in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Riverwell Beck and Kingston Court in Carlisle, The Old Prebendal House in Oxfordshire, and St Lukes in Leeds.
We have worked with Mariposa Care Group for a number of years to provide placements and opportunities for our students.
Most recently, Briardene Care Home, within the Mariposa Group, welcomed two student placements from the Department of Nursing, Midwifery and Healthcare at Northumbria University.
The placements were hugely successful and a positive experience for both the students and the Mariposa staff, residents and visitors.
“Here at Mariposa, we’re proud to work in partnership with several organisations to support the next generation of healthcare professionals.
“We’re committed to promoting a culture of learning, improvement and innovation and supporting our workforce in the development of skills and knowledge and this aligns very well with our experience of Northumbria University. Our partnership with them has been a really positive example of how nursing placements can be beneficial to both students and the business they’re working in.
“These placements are absolutely key to demonstrating to the next generation the breadth of opportunities across the healthcare sector. There is a misconception that working in care homes will give you less opportunities to gain and develop clinical skills but that’s not true. Working in a nursing home is very different to working on a hospital ward but nurses are held to the same professional skills standards and are often responsible for managing some of the most complex combinations of health needs.
“Many of our nurses report enjoying the autonomy that comes with the role, being able to take pride in your work and support others – including care colleagues in their professional development – as well as being able to build relationships with the residents they care for over weeks, months and years. There are so many opportunities for nurses outside of the hospital environment and these placements are a really key way of getting students to consider working within your business, or businesses like it in the future.”
“Throughout my placement within the nursing home my nurse mentor provided me with a great number of learning opportunities with great compassion. An amazing example of an excellent and compassionate Nurse helped and influenced my knowledge and confidence, which I will embed throughout my nursing career.” – Briardene Nursing Student
“Supporting placements has been a really positive experience for our clinical and care teams, and we’ve had great feedback about the students from our residents, family and friends and other colleagues. We hope that it gives students an opportunity to develop their skills in a supportive and friendly environment and we wish them all the very best for the future.” – Briardene nurse mentor Rachael
Back to top
