Kia St.John-Morne

Where are you now?

I am at UCLAN, studying a in Bsc (Hons) in Child Pre-Registration Nursing.

What do you do on a daily basis? Has your practice been affected by the COVID-19 virus?

I am currently working in a Children’s ward, classified as a ‘clinical support’ student nurse, due to the pandemic. This means I am now doing what a newly qualified nurse would do.

A typical day for me would be to handover from the previous shift, read through patient notes and introduce myself to the family. I will have at least two patients to care for and need to manage my own work load, this can be very different from adult nurses, as we need to consider the needs of the whole family, not just the patient.

I could have a 3 month old patient who has meningitis, with a mum who is struggling to breastfeed, with a Dad at home that is struggling to look after the other children, all of that is my duty of care. I will do emergency checks in the room, plan the care the child needs that day, such as preparation for theatre and continue to check the patient each hour completing observations. When the doctors do their ‘ward round’ and I try my best to listen because doctors can change the plan of care and it’s really important to be aware of any changes. The 13 hours soon go by and it’s time for shift handover.

What is the best part of your job?

I LOVE being a Nurse for children and their families. I love wearing my uniform and being able to say have the word nurse in my title. I’m so proud of the profession. From a clinical perspective, my favourite thing in the world is when I see an improvement in the child I have been caring for, mainly because their parents are relieved and you can really feel that, but also, because I’ve contributed to that improvement in health.

What is the worst part?

The worst thing I would say is when I experience a patient’s death, it’s so hard and very sad. I have been involved in planned end of life care and I have also experienced unexpected deaths, I am still learning to cope with this.

What advice would you give to Health and Social Care Students at Newman College?

By reputation, Nursing is one of the most challenging areas to be involved in, but I promise you, it is the most rewarding.