Emma Tracey
Practice placements are an integral part of our Health Sciences degrees. Our Nursing, Midwifery, Operating Department Practice and Paramedic Practice programmes include multiple placements throughout to ensure students gain a wide range of experience in a variety of settings.
Course
Nursing Studies (Registered Nurse Children's Nursing)"For my practice experience, I’ve been based around Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey. I’ve worked on the children’s ward, in the neonatal unit and in the outpatients department; I’ve also been health visiting and had placements at a special needs school and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. I’m going to spend my final 12-week placement in paediatric A&E, where I’ll really put my knowledge to the test.
During the summer holidays, I went on an elective placement to a hospital in Kandy, Sri Lanka, where I worked mainly in a paediatric surgical unit and in neonatal intensive care.
It was an amazing chance to observe another culture and to meet students from different healthcare courses around the world. The experience greatly increased my confidence and highlighted the importance of the basic nursing skills and resources that we take for granted over here.
The staff at Surrey are incredibly supportive. Every teacher is passionate about giving you the best learning experience possible, and I’ve been lucky to have worked with inspiring and enthusiastic mentors.
I have always wanted a job that makes a difference. All of the studying, essays and exams have meaning when you’re face-to-face with patients and their families, trying to make what is sometimes the worst day of their lives a little bit easier. Every time I can make a child smile or a family says a truly heartfelt ‘thank you’, I know I made the right decision to come to Surrey and study to become a nurse."
Discover more about our health sciences, nursing and midwifery programmes, including our BSc Nursing Studies (Registered Nurse Children's Nursing).
