Student electives and exchanges in the Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care

Types of electives

• National electives: electives undertaken in organisations providing maternity care, health care or related services in other parts of the United Kingdom (including within London).
• Research electives: students will work alongside and learn from an experienced King’s researcher or from the Midwifery & Maternal Health Research Group. This type of elective is suitable for students who are considering a clinical academic career in Nursing or Midwifery as it will provide them with a broad exposure to skills, procedures and processes involved in research.
• International elective: electives undertaken in organisations providing maternity care or health care or related services in another country. This may be arranged through a recognised organisation or directly with strong support from their host organisation within the country or region of choice.

Nursing electives

King’s-Jikei Student Exchange

This is offered to two Child and Adult Nursing students. The exchange is an opportunity for King's nursing students to gain an international perspective of nursing through experiencing clinical placements in Japan to broadening their academic and professional horizons. Students will undertake 150 hours of unassessed clinical practice supported by a mentor in Jikei, Tokyo.

Senuri Tittagala (BSc Adult Nursing student)

I was fortunate enough to be one of the recipients of the King's-Jikei Exchange as part of my second year elective placement. This experience has had an immense impact on my view of nursing practice.

Observing nursing in a completely different cultural setting was extremely eye opening. Witnessing the hard work, compassion and unwavering commitment of the nurses during our time in Japan was inspiring. It reinforced my belief that regardless of where we practice, the core values of nursing remain central to our profession.

I am grateful for this opportunity as it allowed me to undertake my elective without financial constraints and immerse myself in a completely different culture outside of the wards. Overall, I strongly encourage prospective students to undertake international electives where possible. Whether in Japan or elsewhere, these experiences enhance our cultural competence and serve as inspiration for our nursing career.

Mavis McNeelance International Travel Scholarship

Each year, the Faculty offers six scholarships of £750 each to assist with costs for an international elective to nursing students.

Ethel Kusi (BSc Mental Health Nursing student)

I recently completed an international elective in Ghana. I was very fortunate to have been awarded the Mavis McNeelance Travel Scholarship after applying. During my time on placement, I had the opportunity to work on different wards, interact with patients, complete mental state examinations, engage in therapeutic activites and assist with personal care. I had a positive experience because the staff were very knowledgeable about the services offered to people with mental health problems. The scholarship was extremely beneficial as it allowed me to obtain necessary materials for the elective. I also made a small donation to one of the wards and brought some snacks for the patients with the scholarship. I would recommend an international elective to prospective students as it enables them to gain insight into how mental health is perceived in another country. It was a very rewarding and enlightening experience. 

Ellie Muzzlewhite (BSc Children's Nursing)

I completed a national elective in my second year in a UK school nursing team. As a student children’s nurse, this was a pathway I was interested in perusing, however my host trust didn’t offer it – so what better way to get the experience than in a four-week elective!

I found the process of applying for an elective straight-forwards and very well organised. I would absolutely recommend completing an elective placement to every nursing and midwifery student. I completed a community placement which was completely non-clinical, and I still learnt loads, which has proven very useful in my most recent simulation block at university. School nursing is a diverse role, covering safeguarding to health promotion.

I had a range of experiences with numerous different members of staff, ranging from band 2/3’s to band 7/8’s. Each staff member provided a different perspective on child health and helped my knowledge of social services and safeguarding school-aged children grow. Overall, I had an excellent experience in school nursing and would urge any first-year student considering completing an elective to go for it!

Jen Lomax (BSc Mental Health Nursing)

I used to have a real dislike for research until I joined King's. After reading many studies for coursework and learning about the changes that research makes in the nursing world, I quickly realised that it's the bread and butter of nursing care and policies. I wanted to be part of that in order to assist in positive change-making.

I found out about the research elective as an option after attending an online meting. I had already begun some research with Professor David Veale after approaching him on a placement and asking if I could assist him. We began the study 'The experiences of people with OCD who have undergone therapy from unqualified coaches' in January 2023. The elective was extremely beneficial to my future as a nurse and researcher. I learnt how to conduct an entire study, how to ethically find and interview participants and how to write up research. The whole experience really cemented the fact that I would like to have a career in research.

I'd recommend taking a research elective as it's an experience you can't really go wrong with. It's a great learning experience and will undoubtedly help with coursework and dissertation while giving you first-hand experience of what work goes into the care we deliver on the wards. 

Turing Scheme

The Turing Scheme is the UK government’s new scheme to provide funding for international opportunities in education and training across the world.

The scheme provides opportunities for UK institutions to offer their students, learners and pupils life-changing experiences to study or work abroad.  A key aim of the scheme is to increase opportunities for students from a widening participation background (those from low-income households, as means-tested by Student Finance England/Northern Ireland/Wales/SAAS; those on income-related benefits; those who are care-experienced; those who have caring responsibilities; estranged students; refugees and asylum seekers) and those with a disability, who are less likely to spend a period of their degree abroad.

You can find out more about how the Turing Scheme works at King's here.

Midwifery electives

Kelly Whiting (BSc Midwifery student)

'During the second year of my midwifery program, I participated in an international placement at the Matsugaoka Birth Centre in Tokyo, Japan. It was an incredible experience that reignited my passion for midwifery and has left a lasting impact on how I will practice as a midwife.

The kind and generous midwives shared their incredible knowledge and experience supporting physiological childbirth in a traditional Japanese setting. I learned about many different holistic practices and saw the numerous benefits of their approach to the women they care for. I was inspired by the community they have built around the birth centre and it has inspired me to implement aspects of this style of care into my own professional practice.

The international elective is an incredible opportunity that will help to broaden your understanding of how midwifery, and care more generally, is shaped by the cultural context in which it’s delivered. It can expand your knowledge and understanding that there are more ways to deliver care than just what we practice in the UK, for the benefit of birthing people. I can’t recommend an international elective enough; it was truly life changing and will stay with me for the rest of my life.'

Anika Badiani (BSc Midwifery student)

I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the research elective. It gave me a great opportunity to see what midwifery research can look like. We spent our time meeting members of the Faculty who shared their story of how they got into the world of research, explained their area of research to us, discussed applying for funding as well as giving us advice and top tips for becoming a researcher. It was lovely to have an insight into the field and see the different stages of a research project. We were also given the opportunity to attend specialist clinics at Guy's and St Thomas' including a diabetes clinic and a premature birth clinic. I also attended the King's Clinical Academic Training Office roadshow which included listening to a panel of researchers at different stages of their career who spoke about what they have learnt and what they would advise others. Overall, I am so grateful to have done this elective and it was very well run and organised. I would definitely recommend this if you would like to learn more about maternity research!