On 16 January 2023, Combined ran a careers day, which approximately 65 student nurses attended and were able to find out more about the opportunities for working at North Staffordshire Combined NHS Trust as part of our preceptorship process. The days itself was all about “celebrating their journey to date and showcasing what we have on offer at Combined” in the words of Zoe Grant, our Deputy Director of Nursing.
Combined works in partnership with the University of Keele Staffordshire and also Derby University, we have been able to offer a large amounts of placements to support student nurses as part of their studies. One student nurse, Joseph William Owusu Bempah who is a final year Mental Health Student Nurse describes the joint working between Combined and Staffordshire University where he is studying:
“As a final year student, Staffordshire University have led us through the theory part of nursing and at Combined, they have supported us in the practical aspect across the three year course. Combined has been brilliant because they don’t ignore issues, they deal with them, whilst supporting us.”
The number of nurses that are being taken on by Combined is, once again, a record amount due to a continuous drive to recruit and retain student nurses. The Practice Education Team at Combined have been working hard to support students through the preceptorship process and ensure students are undertaking placements in areas of interest to them.
Beckie Owen, another student nurse, has expressed how she feels about the range of opportunities:
“It has been a really useful and insightful day, and I am looking forward to the sessions this afternoon which will allow me to look further into the specific area I’m wanting to work in. I feel I’ll get a lot of support to make sure I am the nurse I need to be before starting in my new role in PICU.”
The future for nursing at Combined is definitely looking bright!
To see some feedback of the day from our student nurses, see the gallery below:
