So I've done it, I've survived my first month as a qualified nurse (woohoo!). I've had 4 weeks of mostly mandatory training and a few shifts on the ward, but now I'm ready to be let loose on the ward full time.

So you've nearly made it... after 3 years of hard work, only your management (or sign off placement, whatever you want to call it), stands between you and qualifying.

Despite 3 years of training and thousands of hours spent on placement, nothing could prepare me for the sense of excitement and sheer terror that I experienced walking into my first shift on the neonatal unit as a qualified nurse. Ok, so I was obviously supernumerary (not counted in the numbers), but I was now in my brand new...

It's been a bit of a funny old time since I finished my nursing masters degree. I finished at the beginning of March but I'm not starting my first job until the beginning of May, so I've basically had 2 months in limbo, nervously waiting for reality to hit. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed my time off every...

It may not seem like it when you first start out, but those 3 years studying will fly and before you know it you're applying for jobs and reality hits!

So your 3 years are almost over and it's time to enter the real world!

I might have only just qualified, but that doesn't mean I can't start thinking about my plans for the future (plus I am a ridiculously organised person who likes to plan!).

What goes in a portfolio? What even is a portfolio?! I know for many students during my training that it was a source of stress, but it doesn't need to be!