Study Tips for Training and Placement Success

How I fell (and stumbled) Into Healthcare

Let me start with this: I did not always know I was destined for my chosen profession. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

At 16, I left school and picked my A levels like I was choosing sweets — no plan, no vision, no real interest. Unsurprisingly, I spent more time in the social areas than in the library.

After a few “what are you doing with your life?” chats with my parents (and the bathroom mirror), I hit pause, worked, saved, and went traveling at 19 to “find myself.” Lots of fun, yes — but the only thing I actually found was happy hours and hostels.

Next attempt? Accountancy. Within six hours — yes, six — I knew it wasn’t for me. Absolutely not. So I jumped ship again, this time onto an Access to Higher Education course. By 22, I was packing up, moving to a new city, and finally starting university.

To study nursing, you might think? Not quite. Forensic psychology. And if you’re spotting a theme here, yes — another mismatch. A year later, £20,000 of student debt (still mourning this), and I stumbled across mental health nursing. I made a last-minute application, got accepted, and this time… it stuck.

Of course, “stuck” doesn’t mean easy. Those first training weeks? I walked in with wide-eyed optimism — like a rabbit who hasn’t yet noticed the headlights. Yet.

When the headlights came. Boy did they come. Keep reading for an introduction to placements and academic studies during your training.

First Placements: Sink or swim

First year, first placement. Because I had a car, I’d ticked the “happy to travel” box, which landed me in a dementia care home an hour’s drive away. So three days a week it was: one-hour commute, 12-hour unpaid shift, one-hour crawl home. Not ideal. (yes I promptly unticked that travel box before my next placement.)

Now, I wasn’t a stranger to dementia care. Back in my (failed) college days, I’d done a short stint in a local care home. So I thought I knew what I was walking into. However, nothing prepares you for that uniquely unpleasant experience of mixing keen-to-learn energy with I’m a useless spare part. This was my first exposure to feeling like you’re an added responsibility to already overworked and under resourced staff.

Important disclaimer: that was just how I felt at the time. Students are not a burden or “in the way.” But as a newbie, it can feel like that.

The saints and sinners of healthcare

And then there were the mentors. Oh, the mentors. Some were brilliant — inspiring, patient, unforgettable. And then… some were the stuff of nightmares. I’m talking monster-under-your childhood-bed terrifying. Looking back, I realise that many of them were simply burnt out, running on fumes, and had nothing left to give. It wasn’t personal. (At least, I hope it wasn’t.)

I remember one mentor straight up telling me: “Don’t do this. Nursing is awful. Get out now.” At the time I was outraged — silent. But outraged. Looking back, I see a man (who was wonderful with patients) who was clearly burnt out and barely hanging on. I wish I’d had the perspective then that I do now.

But let’s balance the books here: I also met some of the most inspiring, supportive nurses during training — people who shaped me, taught me, and gave me hope when I needed it. Cheesy I know. But sometimes cheese is all I’ve got. And the best part? I still get to work with some of those people today. (Hi friends, you know who you are!)

Lessons From the Chaos

The awkward “new starter” feeling never really goes away. It’s like a permanent badge you didn’t ask for. Placements are basically a game of “sink or swim,” except no one mentioned there’d be sharks, paperwork, and people who expect you to know everything already. Not to mention fit into established teams who’ve been running like clockwork since forever.

The good news? It does get easier. Over time, you build a tolerance for discomfort—and the tolerance lets you make mistakes, ask “stupid” questions (something I do on the regular), and still somehow survive. With that, your confidence and skills start growing without you even noticing.

My non-negotiables for surviving the chaos:

Ask the questions. Even the ones the “stupid” ones. Spoiler: everyone has been there.
Keep a sense of humor. If you can’t laugh at yourself when you mess up, you’ll cry instead. And trust me, tears are messy.
Document EVERYTHING. Notes, guides, instructions—future you will be eternally grateful when you can’t remember how you survived week two.
Celebrate the small wins. Even if it’s just remembering everyone’s names or not spilling coffee on a patient. Tiny victories count and should be acknowledged.
Have a reality check – it’s okay to go home and rant, to cry about how hard it is, how exhausted you are, how unfair it feels to work long, hard, unpaid hours with barely any recognition. It’s okay to feel like quitting—everyone has been there. Me? Most weeks. I mean, just look at my study record so far—it’s a miracle I didn’t throw in the towel entirely. Seriously, you’re not failing—you’re human.

When I felt overwhelmed or thrown in at the deep end, I try to remind myself: these are opportunities—opportunities to grow, learn, and prove to myself that I can handle more than I thought. Plus, if you survive this, you can survive pretty much anything.

Academics: The Other Battle

If your course is anything like mine, deadlines will be flying at you while you’re also racking up placement hours. This, my friends, is not for the faint-hearted.

Nonetheless, the stress of juggling this during undergrad gave me the baptism of fire I needed to survive during my master’s while working. Yep, shameless self-brag, but how else are we supposed to give ourselves a well-deserved pat on the back? But my point being, it sets you up for the future.

Honestly, my cortisol levels were through the roof. Sleep? A joke. Skin? Also a joke. On weekends, I was working in a bar/restaurant—but, believe it or not, this was actually fun. The ritual of Saturday night after-work drinks followed by a Sunday hangover… maybe didn’t do wonders for my health.

But having this completely separate part of my life? Absolute lifesaver. It gave me the detachment and mental switch off I desperately needed. As my studies continued, I realised that this wasn’t the only thing that saved my grades, and my sanity.

Here’s how to study smart – not just hard.

Study Hurdles –

Deadlines coming out of your ears – essays, reflections, projects, all somehow due the same week.
Placement learning overload – expected to absorb everything in practice while also retaining the theory from lectures. Sure, no problem…
Academic writing brain – switching from “placement chat” to referencing and essay structure (spoiler: they do not sound the same).
Tutor roulette – every tutor wants something slightly different, and somehow you’re meant to figure it out.
Exam and deadline stress – because nothing says “fun” like cramming at 2am.
Attendance requirements – you can’t just ghost lectures, no matter how tired you are.
Independent study guilt – dragging yourself to the library because apparently, degrees don’t finish themselves.

Study Tips for survival

Plan, but be realistic. Colour-coded timetables look great until week three when it’s all on fire. Build in buffers for the unexpected and expect chaos.
Batch your brain. Placement brain for placement hours, study brain for library hours. Don’t try to do both at once—you’ll fry your circuits.
Use feedback like gold. Each tutor has quirks; don’t fight it, adapt. Keep notes on what each one prefers. Consider this academic shapeshifting.
Break tasks into micro-wins. “Write 200 words” feels less soul-crushing than “Finish essay.” Celebrate tiny victories to help stumble into the big ones.
Find your de-stress ritual. Gym, Netflix, Student Union, ranting to your housemate—whatever keeps you sane.
Library = focused hours, not a prison. Go in with a plan, leave when you’re done. Quality over time-served.
Lean on your people. Course mates, housemates, placement pals, or that one friend who doesn’t mind hearing you complain for the 47th time.
Remind yourself: it’s temporary. Stress (and eye-bags) are seasonal. The skills (and resilience) you’re building will last.

Key Takeaways

Nursing placements are tough, and it’s normal to feel like you’re drowning. But those moments are where the biggest growth happens.
Academic life + placements is basically a balancing act on fire. You will get stressed — and that’s okay.
Celebrate the small wins, laugh at the chaos, and lean on the people who get it.
Remember, it’s not about being perfect. It’s about surviving, learning, and coming out stronger (with a few extra wrinkles).

Let’s Wrap It Up

So that’s my whistle-stop tour through placements, deadlines, mentors-from-heaven (and hell), and the academic circus.

If you’re going through this right now — rant, cry, laugh, survive. You’re not failing. You’re human.

✨ I’d love to hear your thoughts! Drop a comment or get in touch if you want to chat, swap survival tips, or just vent — my inbox is always open.

And stay tuned: I’ll be posting more in-depth breakdowns of these topics soon — from handling tough mentors to tackling deadline week without combusting.

See below placement and study tips:

Top 10 Tips for Surviving Placement:

Scrubs And Sanity

RECENT POSTS