Looking forward to September

Second year Adult Nursing student Jack explains how he spent his summer before starting studying at King's. 

Thinking back to the summer holiday before coming to King’s College London, I was personally worried about what to expect in university and how I should prepare myself for the exciting new year in London.

 For those who are eager to start their study before coming to university, I always wanted to know what I can do to prepare myself for the first year of Nursing Degree. From my experience, the best thing to do is to brush up on your anatomy and physiology knowledge before coming to university. The greater understanding of anatomy you have, the easier it will be to understand the rationale behind why your patient suffer from certain symptoms, and this will help you apply your biology concepts in practice. Furthermore, getting some relevant healthcare experience whether in a hospital or your local care home would be great, to help you orientate to the clinical environment.

 Personally, I spent my summer holiday in my local hospital. From that experience, I found that I particularly enjoyed the plaster room and the orthopaedic clinic. So, it is always useful to get some early experiences to find out in general what sort of field you’re interested in. 

Another aspect is to check your immunisation record, just making sure you have a mental note of what you have already had. But don’t worry if you are missing certain vaccinations, as King’s will inform you beforehand what are the essential ones to have. It is always important to remember that whilst you will be a student nurse looking after other people, you need to also protect yourself!