Monday 18 September 2017


Good evening, 

Welcome to another installment of my elective to Tanzania - pull up a chair as this is a long post. If you are anything like me you may wish to get a coffee☕...just a suggestion.

Now, a little bit of context to this letter below. I applied for a grant from my University Alumni Panel. I gave a presentation to them and they very kindly decided to award me a sum of money. 

In doing so, I agreed to write to them about my trip and how it will benefit my future career. 

So, I thought that you may wish to read what I put. 

Anyways, enjoy your coffee, sit comfortably and read on ....

ttfn
K xx
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Donors of the Alumni Fund,

Re: Award for my three-week nursing elective to Tanzania in August 2017

My sincerest thanks for the very kind and generous award.

I was able to use this money to facilitate a visit to a Masai tribe/family. This was an extension to my planned safari trip and allowed me to appreciate more fully, the culture of the Masai.

Some funds were used to allow me to call home more frequently using only mobile data. This also meant that equally, I could share information with my Tanzanian colleagues, about some of the theory and practices that we use in the UK within mental health.

Naturally, it also helped towards the general cost of the overall elective.

For the time that I spent in Tanzania, at Muhimbili National Hospital, I experienced various areas of mental health provision.

This included spending time in the child & adolescent outpatients’ clinics, where I was able to join the psychiatric team and meet with young children with ADHD and autism. I was made to feel a part of the team and was asked for my opinion on some of the cases. 

I spent time in the general psychiatric wards too and was able to assist the staff in caring for the patients residing there. I felt extremely comfortable in spending time with all of the patients and enjoyed some fun times which included singing and dancing. I had feedback from staff to say that the patients had enjoyed this time very much.

There is just one female and one male ward I was given access to patient files and readily discussed the presentations and delivery of treatment to patients. 

On the acute ward, staff were able to help me understand the process of admission and the pathway that a patient takes through the department. Normally there would be two wards; one female and one male. However, currently, due to high admission rates of males, the two wards are used for males only. Female patients are placed either in the female psychiatric ward or, if in dire need, patients are placed on the general female wards elsewhere in the hospital. The patients enjoyed teaching me aspects of speaking Swahili and I too was able to help them with their English.

For a number of days, I spent time in the methadone clinic. Here, I was able to give out medications for HIV and TB to the patients that attended every day. On occasions, I was trusted to do this on my own with minimal assistance from other nursing staff.

I was given information on the health authority’s/hospital’s thinking around treatment for addiction. In this clinic I was able to share a theory that we use in the UK, around change and the process of change. Staff found this very useful, and thanks to the data that I had added to my mobile phone, I was able to do this at the time, without having to wait until another day.

Throughout my time within the mental health department at Muhimbili National Hospital. I was given full respect and was supported throughout to observe and take part in patient care. I was given endless help with speaking Swahili, both by staff and patients. I was complimented on my ability to learn the language adequately, so that I could start to tackle the language barrier between us. In doing this I felt that I was able to gain a little trust from patients and staff alike.  

My Tanzanian student colleagues were also helpful to me with language. On one occasion, three students invited myself and another WtW elective student, to have lunch with them. This was cooked for us all to share, by the students in their accommodation. We were able to discuss practices and learning in the UK, Tanzania and also in the USA, thanks to my WtW student colleague being from Tennessee. We could also discuss how life is very different in the 3 countries, covering life’s expectations both by self and from others.

I feel that the patients especially liked to be able to assist me with the language and learning, appearing to enjoy teaching me about something that they know best. I was able to enjoy laughter with them, mainly at my pronunciation of certain words.

Whilst my main objective was to see what staff in Tanzania do for mental health with presumably nothing as much as we have in the UK, I feel that I gained a lot more from it than just that.

I feel that I gained a sense of being quite humbled by the work that is done there. I continuously felt heartened by the attitude of the staff to the treatment and care of patients. They were using terms that I was used to such as patient centred care and holistic care.

Staff explained to me the reasons for patients being admitted to hospital. Together we were able to discuss the ideas and hurdles around stigma and adherence to treatment. I understood, and observed, that this was being changed through access to public health classes for patients and families. This included advice covering topics such as sexual health, maintaining good mental health and wellbeing, to environmental advice around housing and nutrition.  All these sessions were given to the patients and families/carers free of charge, enabling them to have a place to ask questions and get the help and/or advice, relevant to their individual needs.

My observations and discussions with medical and nursing staff at Muhimbili National Hospital, having gained their trust and mutual respect, highlighted many things to me. In the main, we were able to agree that whilst mental health treatment and provision is some 30 years behind that of the UK, they are heading in the right direction. One doctor I spoke to appeared disheartened in saying that things were moving very slowly forward. I was able to counter this and reframe it positively in saying that yes whilst it may feel that things are moving slowly, they are, and will continue to be, moving in the right direction. I used the idea from Confucius who said something along the lines of ‘a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step’. She liked this idea and I am hopeful that she was able to share in my feelings of positivity.

I made some great friends while in Dar-es-Salaam and feel that it was a total privilege to experience the care and treatment within the hospital setting.

I made two large blog entries whilst in Tanzania to give an update on my progress and how I had been spending my time in Dar-es-Salaam, both during work time and down time. I am happy to make this available to you and it can be found at http://myelective.ollosson.co.uk/Blog.php. Please feel free to visit and use any information you wish. I will be leaving my website and blog up for historical purposes so that future elective students may read about my trip and hopefully take some inspiration to, as the UEA’smotto states, “Do Different”. 

I am thankful to the Alumni Fund/Donors in awarding me substantial monies for my elective. It has helped me in better understanding the importance of public health, early intervention, community working and talking therapies. This is something that is applicable, regardless of age.

This elective has been an experience that will stay with me for always and will shape the way that I see patient care during my future career in the ways that I have alluded to above.

My sincerest thanks once again to you all for the generous award.

With my kindest regards and best wishes


Karen Ollosson 

Wednesday 23 August 2017




Habari za asubuhi from Tanzania


Well, here we are at 2 1/2 weeks in and only a few days to go until I come home to the UK and to my dear admin' of course. I have missed him loads while here.

But, I made a promise that I would throw myself into the elective and do my best to enjoy the time here.

I feel that I have done that totally with what I have observed while here.

It has been fascinating to have insight into the various clinics that are run here. How referrals happen and how a patient can go through the system.

Its been good to see that there are a number of similarities to practice in the UK such as person centred care and holistic care. Those in the health care line of work will know that these are big words when it comes to mental health and general health care too!

Coming out here I maintained that I did not wish to read about the care provided as I wanted to experience it first hand and form my own opinion on how things are done here.

I have also maintained the idea that "this is the way it's done here and I am not going to change it - it is what it is".

I have observed that the staff at the hospital do the very best for the patients with the resources they have.

And, whilst they may have limited resources, the interaction between staff and patients has been noted to be respectful at all times.
Some may be lead into thinking that this is just because they are being observed by us mizungu (white foreigner) students from the UK looking at what they are doing.
However, I would beg to differ.

I have spoken to staff that like to give patients accompanied grounds leave and go for walks to make sure they get fresh air and sunshine. It is known that fresh air and sunshine can boost low mood in some patients.

I feel that I have been extremely privileged to be able to spend time in the mental health department at Muhimbili Hospital here in Dar-es-Salaam.

On Friday I plan to take all the donated items to the head of the mental health department, Mr Peter, and hand these over as a way of thanking him for allowing me this opportunity.

I am hopeful that these gifts will be welcomed by him and will help his department as best as possible.
I can only thank those of you that have donated items for this elective and say that they have been most useful and have helped me no end in my time here.

So what about other news?  I hear you say.

Well, I have required a few days off :-( not because i wanted to but because I had to!
One day of the ol' Tanzanian Tango and yesterday and today off sick!
This is due to a culmination of things amounting to a student coming here hacking n coughing everywhere and not treating it, humidity, dust and there is also building works going on next door. This causes much cement dust so you can see how these things can happen.
So rather than go in with a cough and cold around unwell patients, I have opted for the professional grown up option of getting treatment from the pharmacy and staying at the house. Not ideal as I wish to go in and miss being there. But I cannot go there feeling less than 100% can I?

Therefore I am sitting here at the house updating my blog to let you guys know how it's all going.
I'm trying to be productive!!

In other news....

During down time I have been to Bongoyo Island with a couple of other student nurses. It's reached by a "ferry" and is quite small but lovely. The day we went, it was a bit grey but we did have sun and in fairness it was still lovely and warm.

What else...?

Ah yes, we went to the Mwenge market to buy some bits for home. I got postcards and some other bits and bobs so will need to post them today!

We have been out for meals and eaten well with good company.


Today, I am to go to a charity football match at the national stadium in Dar'. I understand that it is a charity shield match, a friendly between the two big names in Tanzanian football. The whole house is going to go and Mohammed (the Work the World placement/house manager) has arranged for us to go by coach as there are 20 of us going. Well basically its the whole house.



Whilst I am not the biggest football fan and much prefer rugby, I understand that the atmosphere there is fantastic and as the whole house is going as well as some of the WtW staff too, I thought sod it, why not?

We'll leave here at 2pm and should, in theory, be back in time for tea :-) I hope to take some photos which I will post up once back in the UK.

Ah yes, talking of photos, given the confidentiality and consent and all that, I have very few pictures from my placement. Any that I have and will put here will have been taken with consent.
So apologies if there haven't been many piccies from Muhimbili.

Pictures from elsewhere though? these I do have.

What else? ah yes...the football kit that I was given.
One of my lecturers very kindly gave me some junior football kit of Norwich City FC and a signed football. I have agreed to hand these over to the MH dept head, Mr Peter, as they are in the process of sorting out a mental health inpatient ward for kids. I feel that it would be good for them to use there.
Football as I am sure you will be aware, is a huge past-time here, so I feel that it will benefit the kids that will come in to this new environment and give them something that they can do together that may improve mood etc. So my thanks to Steve Wilkinson for the kit and especially the ball. The kids will love it.

I did think of giving it to the orphanage but I had heard reports that although nice things may be taken in like notebooks etc, they were not always being given to the kids. This is sad and may be indicative of how things are here in such situations. That  said I have not seen this first hand but the number of reports I have been given saying the same thing leaves me feeling slightly disheartened for the kids.

Hence it going to the hospital for the new inpatient unit that is coming soon.

Ah yes.....the other big thing that happened.......SAFARI .....

Was it like a wildlife park in the UK? Most definitely not....

It was so fantastic to see the animals in their natural habitat, not surrounded by high fences and wires. We had  a herd of elephants go behind our jeep, they were so quiet. Amazing given that they weigh around 3 tonnes each.
We saw most of the big 5 - lioness, hippo's, elephants, gnu's, wart-hogs, giraffe, zebra, crocodiles and the most colourful birds I have seen outside of India.
The team that took us to Mikumi National Park were Rama' and Henry.
Of note, Henry is of Masai heritage and was a fabulous chef, cooking all our food on something resembling a BBQ. He made really tasty food tho. Everyone needs a Henry in their kitchen!

Given Henry's heritage and links with the Masai, we were privileged to spend a few hours with the local Masai family. They dressed us up in the purple material in a way that they dress. Bart, one of the dentist students, being the only male there, was dressed as a Masai warrior.

I learned that Masai are farmers meaning that they take care of cattle. In the UK, farmers can be working with cattle or crops. Here in Tanzania, crop farmers are referred to as pastoralists.
I had a fab time there and was respected as an older person. One of the older women was able to show me how they dance and before you ask, yes I too was expected to dance.

Now for those who have never seen Masai women dance, it involves much jumping around and chanting/singing. Now, I am not a slim effort of a human and am not much into exercise. But, I did "dance" like them. Naturally we all loved but they seemed to like the fact that I took part at least.

I think overall, that the experience that I have had here, will remain with me forever. I think that it has left its mark on my heart and that I will always have good memories of my time here.

So I guess I am left asking myself the question about what will I take from here for my further career and my practice?
I could say its seeing how little they actually have and how the practice done here differs to the UK. I think that it makes me appreciate exactly what we do have in the UK and when people moan about services offered, I can speak with confidence about the level of resources here and how they are used.

I thought I would come here and take home particular skills and ideas. On reflection I feel that the whole experience has changed my outlook towards mental health and has only acted to enhance my passion of working in the mental health field.

Will  it make me a better nurse? who knows....but what I do know is that my calm nature has been noted by others while here and that my outlook on Tanzanian practice is as non-judgemental as possible.

I have had many laughs and conversations with patients and have appreciated the time that they have given to me. I don't think they will ever understand how lucky I feel coming here and meeting them.

It has been helpful to have a Swahili teacher twice a week and has served me well in practice.


So, as I sit here, nursing a soddin' cold, I ask myself would I do it again? Would I recommend it to others?
Yes, most definitely. It not for the fainthearted, I think that is a given. However, to broaden your experience in your own field of nursing and to discuss these with other like-minded people at the house? then yes, I would certainly give it the thumbs up.

I am sure that in further posts I will recall bits and bobs of this elective and I hope that I will be able to continue to post them for your reading pleasure.

Meanwhile, this mizungu is going to make a chai with some honey and take some more meds.

I may even have a sneaky coffee - as ya do!

ttfn peeps

Kwaheri

K xx









Monday 7 August 2017

Habari from Tanzania


Evening everyone,

Well, I made it here to sunny Tanzania.
I have no doubts you can smell the mozzie spray from there.



What can I say about it all?


I had good flights - thanks to Qatar Airways for the good service received.
Doha airport is as good as I was told it would be.

Would deffo fly with them again.

Haha, yes, I mean other than my flight back to the UK that is - doh. 

It's fabulous. There are some great people here who are on electives also. It's nice to be able to discuss nursing and how the different countries have different ways of doing things.

There are students here from the Netherlands, USA, Australia and of course the UK. Turns out there is one student here who also attends the UEA and started at the same time as me!

So what have I done so far? Other than soak up the sun and the warmth....

So, today has seen us having what is called an orientation day.

By the way, I need to say that the bottle that I was given by Water-to-Go is damn handy. I needed to get a drink in the middle of the night. Da-da...use tap water and put it my magic bottle. Voila and the job's a goodun'.

Us newbies took a Dala Dala (local bus) to the Muhumbili Hospital so that we could meet some of the staff there. The hospital is huge!

The staff seem lovely so far and I have heard positive things about the mental health bit of the hospital. So fingers crossed.

We then went on to have something to eat and drink at some restaurant nearby.
Granted there were some things that I put on my plate that I was unsure of but hell, when in Rome...

We headed back to the house for some time to chill before heading out again to get some money exchanged.

We then wedged ourselves into a convoy of Tuk-tuks and headed across to another part of the area and had ice cream! I was happy to try this ice cream parlour as it was a place that Work the World go to so it can't be bad.
The ice cream was lovely in fairness and there were so many flavours to choose from.

Then we headed back towards the house to buy a SIM card so that I could communicate easier round here. Especially if the wi-fi in the house fails.

However, the most likely reason it fails it because there are loads of people using it and it can-nae handle it captain.

Fair enough really.

Finally, get that sorted out and come back to the house for a beginners lesson in Swahili (or Kiswahili as it is known here).

The teacher made me giggle...he was so energetic and passionate about teaching us all to speak his language. I'm glad I read a bit before I came out here.

But you lot already know that from my previous blog posts.

"Brilliant" I hear you say "but what else did you do? 

Well, thank you for asking.

We had our Kiswahili lesson and then had our evening meal. Again there were things there that I put on my plate that I wasn't sure of. But still...

So it turns out that the kinda rubbery stuff that I had eaten was octopus!

I mean...octopus??? I would never dare touch that in the UK.

It was cooked in a sauce of the local variety and seemed to be more of a texture than flavour.
It wasn't in-edible though as the chef here is professionally trained and food so far has been lovely.

So then as if today hadn't been busy enough, 5 of us newbies headed out to the local cocktail bar called Shooters. Needless to say I had a Mojito - yes only the one but it was nice.

I think the fact that it has a rooftop bar had something to do with it and I managed to send some piccies back home to my dear admin'.

On that note, my dear admin' has resigned his position.
Karen is not a happy bunny but, bless him, he couldn't do that for always.

He did a fantastic job for me tho'.

So there we are. I am now back in the house and typing this wee blog to you all and would readily recommend it to anyone.

Granted I was a little upset at leaving the UK and doing this on my own. But...I did promise to come here and enjoy it and get the best from it. And indeed I am trying to do that.

Doesn't stop me walking round thinking how my family would most likely enjoy it here.

Anyways, I am going to get a coffee and then get to bed. I think the water is back on now so I may just get a shower in too.

Keep 'em crossed for us, would ya please? If all else fails then it'll be a shower in the morning.
Oh well needs must and it's just the way of things here.

Hakuna Matata. 

Yes it is said here!! as is Rafiki and Simba.

Right, night all and sleep well.

I will update you lot again at some point.

ttfn

K xx



Tuesday 1 August 2017

Result - It's August 2017


Good afternoon all

How are we all doing? You ok? I do hope so.

Do I have some news for you? 
Totally right I do.

Hmm where to start?

Ok...in my last blog entry I said about awaiting the exam results for the resit.
Well good news...I passed.

Yes, it's capped at 40% because it's a resit, but hey, I don't mind, I passed it.

Then I had some assignments to hand in. Which I have done.

Yesterday, I met with my personal adviser who signed all my progression paperwork so that I can go into Year 3. So I guess that's me done for Year 2 then.

WOOHOO

Me and the girls went to Revolucion de Cuba for cocktails to celebrate the end of two years hard work. And why not, especially as they have a 2-4-1 offer on! Be rude not to.



What else? 

Ah yes, I completed my nursing placement and after 11 weeks they would like me to apply for a job.

However, I still have a year to go but have applied anyways. There is no harm in trying.

So imagine my surprise when I get asked to come for interview. This will be when I come back from Tanzania so that gives me time to prepare a bit and give examples of the work I have done to progress my career.



Am I proud of what I have achieved?
Yes I think I can now allow myself to be proud of my efforts.


What else? Ah yes...I know...

A little while back I applied for some funds through the Uni'.
I did my presentation on what I will gain out of my elective and how I am hoping that it will give me some tools for the nursing toolbox.

I hadn't heard anything and thought that was that. No biggie I thought, at least I tried. I totally dismissed it believing that I hadn't been successful at all. I was pleased because I knew that others would have been helped by them.

So imagine my surprise when I get an email this morning saying that I had been granted a prize of a sum of money, towards the cost of my elective.


Well between the offer of interview, the cash award, finishing year 2 and about to go on my elective, I have been totally gobsmacked!

I mean how lucky can one person be? My head is still trying to process it all.

As a treat to myself yesterday, I bought myself a kite! Yes, a kite.

"But you're 47 years old....you don't need a kite"

Maybe not, but I have one now.

My plan is to get out and get some fresh air and fly my kite.
I'm hoping that it will allow me to process all this happy information before I go on Saturday.

Talking of Saturday and my forthcoming trip to Tanzania, I am happy to say that I am now packed and ready to ship out.

I have the required anti-malarials to start taking on Thursday. I am jabbed to the 'inth degree to protect me from nasty stuff. I have everything that I could possibly need to enjoy my time away to learn.

I cannot thank everyone enough for the support, donations and gifts that I have received in a bid to raise funds for my elective.

I realise that perhaps my blogs have sometimes been very slow to arrive and for that I apologise.

However, I have just felt so clogged up with Uni stuff that everything in my life has taken a back seat.
Poor excuse you may think but it's true. I may have sat playing on my phone but with a clogged brain, the simplest of tasks is welcomed.

This period of acting in a solitary fashion has included paying less attention to one most dear, and without whom none of this would have been possible to achieve. I am, of course,  talking about my dear admin', Marc.

You have heard me talking about him a fair bit. He has organised me and encouraged me and just been an absolute star.
He is my life rock and is there to pick me up when I fall, dust me off and get me on my way again.
Needless to say that I love him with all my heart and will miss him for the coming weeks that I am away.

That said he has continued with a dastardly campaign telling anyone that will listen that I am abandoning him. He says he'll be left with the cats and their litter trays while I go sunning myself on foreign shores.

Pfft...I mean...Doesn't he know I'll be working??

"...but what about...?"

Well yes, ok there is the safari.

"...and ...?"

Oh alright, yes there is the beach and the warmth and the sun.

But - I  will be working every Monday to Friday between 08:00 and 16:00hrs. I have no doubt that everyone back here will be looking after him. Not that he needs looking after mind you, but still.

I am hoping that I can add some piccies once I am there so that I can update you on my progress too.

Apologies but this may have to be done by the pool. Needs must and all that jazz. I'm sure you will understand.

So, for now, I bid you all a good afternoon and look forward to sharing with you, more trials and tribulations of a student mental health nurse.

ttfn

K xx








Sunday 9 July 2017

Exam Results

Hellooo,

Exam results time...well...what can I say?

Well I could scream, cry, jump up and down or just dry my eyes and get on with it.

Yeah, ok I will do the latter of the list.

As you may well be aware, I was sitting an exam consisting of 3 parts.

They were nursing practice, A&P (that stuff we all did in biology back in the day) and the bit on research.

You may also be aware that I was nervous about the research bit.

So, can anyone tell me, why in the name of all things good, did I manage to miss the grade on the nursing practice and pass the  other two with pretty much flying colours?

I could wax lyrical as to why I think I made a hash of the nursing practice but that wouldn't change anything.

Anyways, them nice peeps over at the UEA gave me another bite of the cherry so to speak, and I was allowed a re-sit.

Yay! I hear you shout...what's the result? 

Well, that has to wait for the 20 working days turn around for marking. So, I should know by the 17th of July whether or not I have passed this time around.

I spoke to my main lecturer and my academic adviser to see where I went wrong. I found out that I had made a daft mistake and missed passing by about 5%.

In terms of marks, this was probably about 2-3 marks.

Mental note to self - next time you have exams, go hibernate to revise. Be accessible to no-one or anything. A hermit you will become! Side-tracked, you will not be. 🚫

On the upside I did pass the Safemedicate exam with 100% so that's a plus 🎉🎉

Anyways, that is where we are with exams and the such.

I still have loads to do and get on with. Time is slipping through my hands faster than I care to think about. It's a scary thought but I have almost completed 2 years of nurse training. Only another year to go and then doing the job for real.

In other news, I have finally decided that I  want to work in dementia care. So, fingers crossed please for the re-sit exam being a pass.

Anyways, I am off for another coffee ☕

Be good and I will chat to you all again.

Night night - K x


Saturday 8 July 2017

Elective presentation

Good evening one and all.

Well it has been a busy couple of months but there is an end in sight - distant but getting closer every day.

What have I got to report to you all about? Ah yes the elective presentation I was asked to do for Uni'.

I must say that I think that it went very well in fairness. There were about 30 or so people present and ranged from 1st year students to friends and family and guests of the Uni' too.

Did anything go wrong I hear you ask? err yes....the computer didn't want to load my presentation up onto the big screen for all to see. So my lecturer suggested that I carry on and that he would have a go at fixing it.

So, me being me, started speaking to eager ears.
Years gone by I would have been passing proverbial bricks stood up there at the front of the lecture hall.
Is it wrong to say that I actually quite enjoyed it?

Anyhow, there I was, talking about something that I am looking forward to. Combine that with the prospect of observing mental health nursing in another country, experiencing a new culture, new food and new language.
It was, in the words of a late friend and colleague..🌈..."Marvellous dear, marvellous" 😎

And then, as if one presentation wasn't enough for the confidence tank to be drained, I applied to the Uni' Alumni Panel. I had to then present again, with a slightly different slant on my forthcoming elective, to a panel. I chose not to reinvent the wheel and used the same background for this presentation too.

Why? mainly because I like it 😎

Having done the last one to around 30 or so people, anything less than that would be much better. I got there to find I was presenting to 2!

Needless to say I felt better knowing there were just 2 people that I had to discuss my plans with.

How long do I have to wait to hear? Well in theory it should be around a week or two, so we shall see. Apparently the alumni will email me if I have been lucky enough to receive any funding. If I am not successful, then I will have been happy to have been accepted to attempt it.

Other than those 2 little nuggets of information, there hasn't been an awful lot more to do with presenting the elective to others.

That said, once I get back, there will be oodles of things to do with it. I will be reporting back to lots of places about my time in Tanzania and naturally updating all of you with how it went.

I am planning on making a photo diary of what I did while there. Take a picture of something every day to jog my memory kinda thing. I will find that much easier than writing it all down whilst I am there.

Anyways, I will say ttfn, and yes have a coffee, and I will put further updates on here about the elective and more trials and tribulations for your ongoing entertainment.

Night night all and sleep well.

Kx


Saturday 27 May 2017

Back in Practice

Evening all, long time no see.

How are you all doing?

You ok? ... you are? ... good

Family ok? ... they're good? ... pleased to hear it.

So, yes, I am back out on placement. I love this part of the training as I get to meet some super people and get to practice all those skills that we learned in Uni'.

It's nice to be in a position to help people. Whether this is attending to personal care, making sure that a person has enough to eat and drink, ensuring timely medication is given, it's an amazing position to be in. Such a privilege....I simply can't find the words to describe it.

In this placement I am working with people living with dementia. Now this is an area that I would like to go into when I hopefully qualify. Have a look at the Dementia Friends website. Maybe you would like to join them and be a Dementia Friend too? I know I am.

Seeing the damage that dementia can do to a person can make you appreciate the things you have and take for granted. It is very humbling but also very rewarding too.

So what have I been doing I hear you ask.

Well, to be fair loads. I cannot go into detail about the specifics of what I am doing as I wish to keep confidentiality of the patients.

However, I can say about how the teaching is delivered in this environment. Learning in practice turns me into a kid in a toy-shop.

I am doing things that I have done before such as giving out medication and personal care, but there are things like patient handovers and discussion of patients among the multi disciplinary team or MDT.

The first time I did that was kinda like being chucked in at the deep end but yay, I did it. I used the swan theory.....all graceful on the surface and well not so graceful underneath!!

Learning is also different to any other placement I have had before. They use something called CLiP. This is Collaborative Learning in Practice. Each day you set out what you wish to learn about.

Then you ensure that you have a student from each of the three years. The 3rd year supports the 2nd, and the 2nd supports the 1st. They are then all supervised by a coach and are responsible to their individual mentors. Sounds complicated but it does work.

It helps build leadership skills and nursing skills too.Everyday you complete a learning log that evidences what you chose to learn about and how you achieved this learning.

By filling in the logs every day, it also helps to give evidence for the Assessment of Practice (or AoP) document that we have to complete for Uni'.

So all in all, I think this has great potential for students everywhere. It takes some getting used to for staff as it means change. None of us like change and some will kick back against it.

However, I think its great and look forward to what I can learn in the coming weeks.

I am thinking that the learning logs may be useful for the elective too! we shall see.

Anyways, I am off for coffee.

"No changes there then"

ttfn to you all

K x

Saturday 6 May 2017

I've gone global!


Evening all 👮

Just thought I would share with you all, a little bit of info that I had from my dear admin'.

I've gone global  - woohoo 

Well, yes, okay... the blog and website has.

There are people looking and reading my blog and website from far and wide!

United Kingdom                                    United States                                      Poland
Ireland                                                   France                                                Germany
Portugal                                                Belgium                                               Singapore
Spain                                                     Japan                                                  Taiwan
Canada                                                  Lithuania                                 Czech Republic
Slovenia                                                Switzerland                                         India
Thailand                                                Cyprus                                                Denmark
Hong Kong                                            Austria                                                New Zealand
South Africa                                          Netherlands                                        Vietnam
Sweden                                                 Latvia                                                  Qatar
                                                              Ukraine

See.....there's loads! 

People from 31 countries have popped by to have a gander at what I have been writing about.  
Let me know if you have visited and I haven't listed your country, won't you 😊

Does that make me truly international now? Hmm...I shall leave you to ponder that thought 😃

Right I'm off to make some coffee ☕....I'm sure Mr O will want one too ☕
Better still, he's making a cuppa for me - yay 

ttfn

K x

Funding & Donations Update


Good afternoon and welcome to a lighter chat than before 😊

I thought I would update you guys with how the fundraising is going.

I'd say it's been bloomin' marvellous to be fair.
I didn't realise how generous my friends and family were.

So far, there has been donations totalling £1210. This is aside from the value of goods donated for my elective.

There is a break down of sponsors/donators on the website on the Asante Sana page.  You will also notice the various logo's on the website, of those companies who have donated goods.

From the stats' that my dear admin has looked at, I understand that PayPal has been the most popular way of donating, followed by Go Fund Me and then cash/cheque.

Fundraising is far from complete and I still have to raise funds for the HIV PeP kit.🚑

This is something to give me peace of mind while working in a area that has a high prevalence of HIV.
Whilst I will take all precautions while there, you cannot rule out the possibility and risk. The HIV PeP kit 💉will give time to hopefully prevent me developing full blown HIV.

As I say it's peace of mind for me and for my family too!

So yes, thank you so very much to all the people that have donated. I am truly humbled by it all. If only you could see my face when I get a notification that someone has donated. Mr O reckons its fab and shows a mix of shock, pleasure and the realisation that someone has actually helped me.

As I have said in the main website, if the fundraising target exceeds £2000 then the excess will be split between Nelson's Journey and YoungMinds. 

Anyways, I will leave you to your afternoon and hope you enjoy whatever it is you're doing.

I'm going for a coffee ☕hahaha - who knew?!

Be good and catchya soon.

ttfn

K x

Tuesday 25 April 2017

E-Day - less than 48 hours to go...


Good evening all,

Just a smallish update for you lovely peeps out there so you can see how I have been getting on.

Well, I guess the title gives you the idea that something big my way comes?
And yes, you'd be right.

EXAM DAY aaarrgh

Now, most of us will have felt nervous before exams and fair play I know I did at school.
So now that I am almost 47, why in the name of all things good, do I feel nauseous and like there is one hell of a cat fight going on in my stomach? 😟

Oh yes silly me... nerves!!! I mean at my age? Nerves?! Yup - that's me. 

I may have said before that there is 3 parts to this exam. Whilst I am relatively ok with the A&P bit, the other 2 have me worrying that I will forget a bit. That I wont get the right piece of theory in the right place. That I wont remember the theory full-stop! 😕

Then there are the nursing models to remember. Guys like Kitwood (clever fella, check him out - knew a lot on dementia and how to treat someone better that is living with it- you may have seen the blue forget-me-not flower in relation to dementia).

You've then got Kübler-Ross and her 5 stages of grief. Roy and her model of adaptation. Prochaska and Di Clemente and their Transtheoretical Model (or Stages of Change). There are things like person centred care to think of, body image, how a person may adapt to living with a long term condition and so it goes on.

So okay, I may remember them, great. Then there are the 6C's that nursing has running through it like a stick of rock, not to mention the NMC Code (2015) something that as nurses (and even us students) have to work by. It's a professional code of conduct if you will, and as nurses are governed by this to some degree, then it's wise to include it on anything that you can to evidence you have thought about it.

And breathe...

Right ok...so we get to grips with the A&P and the nursing practice - then what?

Oh nuggets!!!

It's the bloomin' research element to contend with!!

You'll note that there is no coffee break in this little lot! 😓

Not cricket I tell you!

Dear readers, please do spare a thought on Wednesday afternoon, when I will be sat feeling overly anxious, nauseous 😧, with a bottle of water to drink if I get thirsty and NO COFFEE!! ☕

Honestly, how is a girl supposed to function without it??

Even most NHS shifts run on tea and coffee (and biscuits...and cake 🍰....and, well anything sweet I guess). Where was I? oh yes...research...

So yes, I have read the 10 page paper until I have fallen asleep on the ruddy thing!

I cannae read na' mor' captin...I may just beam up and never be seen again...

I mean research??? - its life Jim but not as I know it!! 

I met with some student colleagues (and dear friends) last week in a little tea shop in Norwich. It's called 'Biddy's Tea Room'. Well worth a visit as the tea in there is just fab and the cake is (in the words of an old friend, George) "marvellous dear, marvellous". 🍰

Well I mean if you have to revise research where better than in tea rooms eating cake and drinking tea and coffee? 

We got lots done and were in there the whole morning. Together I think we broke the back of the ruddy paper and had a much tighter grip on it than before. 

"You seem to have it all under control Karen...what can go wrong?"

Thank you for the vote of confidence, I appreciate it, I really do, but I am suffering a bit of the 'what-ifs'. 
What if I fail? 
What if I go totally blank?
What if I misunderstand the question it asks me? 
What if, what if, what if? Arrgh.

I hate exams. End of.

Thing is if I fail one bit, then I only re-sit the one bit, not the whole 9 yards. 
Great news. 
Thing is, I'm hoping that I get enough to pass this exam, so that I can concentrate on the rest of my course and naturally the forthcoming elective. 

Did you know I'm off to Tanzania

There is so much to do before then and yes, at times, it can be overwhelming and you start thinking why did I start this? 

And do you know what? I sit and I reflect on these thoughts and finally come to the conclusion that I wanted to study nursing. In particular mental health nursing. 
I wanted to put myself through the mill. I knew that this course wasn't going to be easy. If it was easy then we'd all be nurses I guess? 

I know that it takes a special person to be a nurse; to want to submit themselves to life's pressures and to face the storm when the proverbial hits the fan for people. I am one of those people. 

So when I get all wound up like this, I know that deep down I am doing this for me and in the hope that one day, I will help a person who is in the depths of despair and hopelessness with more to worry about than a ruddy exam. 

I want to know that I will be educated enough to help them find a way to manage that suits them, not me or society; to know that one day I could be the person that can help someone see light at  the end of their tunnel? 
This will not be a job that is done for the money, it will be done so that one human can help another human and show them 'unconditional positive regard' (thanks Mr Rogers!).

We have one crack at life, lets make the best of what we have in the best way we can. It is possible. 

My motto or life rule has, for many years, been that 'if for one second of one day, I can make a person smile, then for one second of one day that person has no trouble'

I like humour and I hope that in reading some of my other posts, this will have come as no surprise. It has it's place in life, let alone nursing, but it is important and, used wisely, is an excellent tool to have in your kit bag as a nurse. 

I just think nursing is amazing and such a privileged position to hold. 

Anyways, I don't know about you but I need coffee after that little piece of drama or at least a drink of squash before bed. 

You too? I don't blame you - enjoy 

I will have a lighter bit of chat in my next blog. Thank you for reading. 

😴 Night night and sleep well. 😴

Kx




Saturday 15 April 2017

The cost of nursing? Possibly

Good afternoon and  🐰 Happy Easter 🐇

I hope you are enjoying the break doing whatever you do at this time of the year 😊

I thought I would have a little think about the topic of the cost of getting a nursing degree.

As always feel free to comment on this blog as you see fit. The thoughts I put in this blog are just mine and in no way reflect the thoughts of my Uni' or anyone else. Just my meanderings about this area of life as a student nurse.

How I see it, is like this...
If you train to be a nurse while you are young, still living at home and with minimal stuff to pay out for, then brilliant.

However if like me, you have lived a few years and have stuff to pay out for and think about, then things aren't so simple!

I mean, there's rent, bills, food, not forgetting of course that I love coffee and all students need coffee don't they?

☕ ah ok... just me then? 

Anyways, you get the picture of what I am on about.

Now, for me, going to Uni' was a dream I have had for years, most of you know that already. However, if it wasn't for the lovely Mr O being an ace with finances, then I would likely still be dreaming about it!

The fact that I was able to claim a bursary and get the maintenance loan from those peeps over at Student Finance and NHS England helped because without it, Uni' would most deffo' still be a dream.

So now we are back in 2017, I have a year and a bit to go til I hopefully qualify as a proper professional.

(No Mr Shaw and Mr Collins, I am not rolling on the bonnet of your Ford Capri - how rude!! I am referring to being a professional nurse - for pity's sake!! Not CI5)


So, where was I? oh yes, bursary payments and the such.

Okay, so we know that the government has decided to ditch the bursary for student nurses. This will mean that anyone wishing to train to be a nurse from here on in (well ok, September 2017), will have to have a full SFE loan and end up with a huge debt.

I am at a loss as to how mature students, like me, will be able to manage to train and run a home. I wonder if this will mean that there will be very few of us older peeps at Uni' now? That said, at 45+ years of age, are you going to want to increase your debt by a substantial amount? I say substantial cos its mahoosive in my book, I don't know about anyone else's views.

Perhaps the idea is that people train young and therefore are employed as a nurse for much longer? More bang for your buck as it were? I dunno...just a thought!

I am aware that some mental health Trusts run a kind of in house nurse training course that involves you doing Uni' work alongside your normal job.

However, what happens when the area you work in is busy, on a day when you are a student and not the employee? Do you say sorry I cant help today cos I am a student nurse? or do you simply do the tasks required cos you can and after all it would be helpful?

It's a tough call to be fair and not one that I would want to make, but there are those that manage it very well in all fairness, and I guess it's not for everyone.

Yes, sorry, got sidetracked - back to the figures and costs...

Lets say you take a career break to do the 3 years studying and your salary whilst employed was in the region of £20k a year. This means a potential drop in income of £60k.

Then you have the loan from SFE for 3 years' worth of education = £28.5k. Roughly.

Then we add to the mix the incidentals like maybe living a life while studying for the 3 years, at a basic level so as you can eat and all that jazz (yes even students must eat!!), travel to Uni' and get the stuff you need to write on and with. We''ll call this about £7.5k.

This is without the cost of renting anywhere to live while at Uni' as I live in the same city as my Uni', so can't comment on that.

The total cost you have is about £96k for the 3 years. I make that £32k per year.
Not bad and I didn't even remove my socks for that!!

So, you see, while I think doing a nursing degree is a brilliant choice and still one of the best things I have had the fortune to immerse myself in, is someone going to be able to give up on a career they may already have, to do something they want?

Possibly, possibly not. I know I couldn't have done it without the bursary and the help I currently receive - but hey, that's just me.

Therefore, what I was getting at right back up there at the beginning was that maybe people are best of taking up this nursing degree and study at an early age while they are able to afford to do so and before they end up with their own home and all that goes with it?

As I say, these have just been my ramblings about the student bursary for nursing. They're my thoughts only and meant as a lighthearted look at the possible implications for a nursing career in the future.

All I can say is good luck in however you choose to learn, if indeed you are thinking about nurse training, I'm glad I did it!

Anyways, ttfn, I am off for a coffee ☕☕

"Surprise, Surprise!" 

Alright, calm down Cilla, calm down... they don't need to think of your singing just now!

Bye for now

Kx

Tuesday 4 April 2017

The OH Travel Nurse, she says yes...well, once I've had a few jabs that is.


Evening all - me again, 🙋

Well as you will be aware I am off to Africa to undertake a nursing elective - sorry did I spoil the surprise? my bad.

Anyways, to go on said elective I have had to see the OH travel nurse. Nice lady in fairness.
We 🔭navigated our way through may past vaccinations of which I have had a few.

It's always a moment of chuckles when someone exclaims "Ooo you've had rabies!" 😷

Just to clarify, I haven't had rabies the illness, just the vaccination for it.

So anyway, there we are, going though what I have had and what I need. Turns out that there were a few things that had question marks over them and I left it to her to find out and clarify the finer points.

I have to call and speak to my GP to see if they will give me the Typhoid jab.💉 If not then the nice OH/travel nurse lady can do it there.

She was very good in explaining about the anti-malarials in fairness. A brand I would have bought for this trip would have been a waste as I understand that it's now, no longer effective against Mozzie Osborn and his band of high pitched, wheezing, blood sucking followers.

On a side note - there's always that one that gets into your room at night, from somewhere, and you lay there, listening, pin-pointing the sound with deadly accuracy that MI5 would pleased to have - then WALLOP!!!!! 
You hit that tiny buzzard with a bloody great sandal! Just to be sure you get it. You then retire back to bed with a victorious grin. Come on, we've all done it, be honest....ah there you go, yes you. 

Welcome to the 'Mullered Mozzie Mob'.

I am sure you have equally attractive names for them!!

Anyways, back to what I was on about before.

As for things like Yellow Fever and the meningitis jabs, these are the finer points she's checking out. However I haven't heard from her today so I shall try and call tomorrow.

Yellow fever is a bit of a sticking point to be fair.
You see, the thing is, I haven't been to a yellow fever country and so for Tanzania itself, won't need the jab. 💉Great news!

However, if I go to Zanzibar while there, (for the culture of course and not the 🌞sun, 🌊sea and 🏖sand!!) I am not sure that I will be allowed back in to Tanzania because Zanzibar is apparently a yellow fever zone? I'm sure you can see where the sticky wicket comes into play here!

So what do I do?    It's ok...it's a rhetorical question, just my meanderings as usual. 

I have said I will have the jab but I wont be given it because it's simply not needed. I may just have to forgo the trip over to Zanzibar to avoid the hassle. It would be nice tho'.

Ah well...it will get sorted one way or the other.

Other than all that confusion, I now have the Malarone anti-malarials (thanks again Express Pharmacy) 💊which were delivered and are now waiting for the time to move round until I start taking them.

Oh and as you know all to well, things are never that straight forward. I will also be given a prescription for HIV-PeP.

This has also opened debate about whether I take this with me or not. It's hugely expensive (around the £200-210 mark) and there is no guarantee that I am going to need it. However, you can never say never I suppose and I understand from what I have read, that there is a HIV prevalence in Tanzania.

This topic is still in discussion.

Other than a few slight points above it would appear that I am clear, in principal, to go. Once I am jabbed 💉and am given relevant prescriptions, I also get a certificate. 📜

"For good behaviour?" I hear you ask. Well yes I would like to think so, but I think it's more to do with travel requirements for the elective, than a feel good factor.

So there you have it, a rather convoluted report on my meeting with the OH/travel nurse. Once I am jabbed, I will let you know.

Guess what's going to happen now? Ah you're too good at this ☕☕

Ttfn

K x

Monday 3 April 2017

Humans vs Mozzies 2017

Evening all 👮

Well it has been a crackin' day here in sunny Naarfook once again.
Good boost for the Vit' D levels methinks. (You get it from sunshine don't ya know)

Thinking of sunshine and all that, my dear admin' has struck gold again Au.

www.expresspharmacy.co.uk  
There is a lovely lady called Marina working with the team over at Express Pharmacy. Admin' sent a very nice email to them and they have agreed to support me for the elective with the relevant anti-malarials.
"Marvellous"

I am not sure who was more shocked and amazed 😲me or my dear admin'.

You know how it goes, you send out an email with a hope that someone may read it, then you hope that they can help you and if they can't, you at least hope for a reply that says 'apologies but not on this occasion' or 'no, sorry'.

Well this one was fab'. It's so exciting (and I just can't hide it, I'm about to lose control and I think I like it........Aha...you are singing it too - cool 😎).

And the speed with which the lovely Marina replied was lightening quick.

True to her word, Marina very kindly advised me of the correct anti-malarials to take with me and arranged it so that I could order them online and have them delivered to my home.

As I sit and tell you this cool bit of news, I am waiting on a delivery by Royal Mail with the little Malarone gems from Express Pharmacy, that will put paid to the risk of malaria in Tanzania.

'Say hello and say goodbye'... 
"Are you singing again?"
Seeing as the bloody mozzies treat me like a complete buffet lunch, they are much needed.

So I can work quite happily in Dar es Salaam with two digits rampant to the mozzies.

Enter stage right - Mr. Mozzie Osborn!!


So yes, there we are, another amazing nugget of news about help received for my elective.
I am so lucky and I continue to thank everyone who has helped me to date. I am so very grateful.

Anyways I'm off for ....yeah okay.....coffee. ☕

"Would you like a coffee Mr O?"   
"Yes?"   
"Good 😊I need to tell you what I just told them all in the blog, about what I have been given".

ttfn

K x





So there we are, students together, sat in another lecture...


Hellooo 😃

Yeah I know, its kinda like a Mrs Doubtfire greeting, but why not.

In all my ramblings about my elective and all the great stuff that's happening, I realised that I had not told you why I decided to do the elective, why Tanzania and how I came to choose Work the World to organise it all.

So, if you are sitting comfy and all that jazz, I'll tell ya.

Sometime back, sat in one of many lectures, we were all told about electives and that we could do this at the end of our 2nd year.

"Hmmmm....me liking this thought...." 

Cogs ⛮⛯ on stealth mode in my brain ⛮⛯, well doing something anyways 😏

So yes, I get home and the conversation with Mr O gets round to how was my day at Uni' and what did I do? bless him, he's a goodun' 😇
And yes, its after the 'walk in the door' coffee ☕☕ (you lot know me so well - we're almost on first name terms!!)

So, I get to saying about the elective idea but dismiss it because I can see it's expensive.
However, dear Mr O says this is not a problem, let's discuss the idea further.

💬

The positives now outweigh the negatives and my excitement at being able to do something that I had only dreamed of, is becoming a reality. 🙌

Woohoo!! cool, I can do the elective (dances round the room) 😎

Then Mr O pipes up "Hold up...that's all very well dancing round but where are you going to go and who will organise it for you?"

"oh bugger!...didn't get that far"

So we sit down and start looking round online at what's out there for nursing students like my good self.
Well, we looked at numerous sites and places 👀 and sites and places 👀 and more sites.
There were sooo many.

I had a think and realised that to narrow this very wide margin of choice, I first had to choose the company. I have learnt to go with gut instinct as it is usually the correct choice. Hence then I had a good gut feeling about Work the World. 
Voila!!

Yes, except that they have sooo many great places to go to ⛰⛲⛵✈⛺ brilliant but more choices.

So like you are now, I was reading the various blogs that they had available.
We looked at pictures taken by previous students and eventually narrowed it down further still.

Eventually I decided on Tanzania as it was a place that I had not been before, I would be outside of my comfort zone and I felt that if I could manage being away from home, in another country for three weeks and working there too, then hell, I could manage most things.

So there we were, we had decided on the elective, the country and the company 🙌.
Sounds straight forward but it took us ages to do.
Lots to consider and all that. I am sure you can imagine what is involved in sorting this out.
However, Work the World are what you might call a slick operator and have this all in hand. 👍

I now have a timeline to keep me organised as to what I need to get done and when. They arrange all the stuff in country such as accommodation, placements etc. All we had to do apart from pay, is complete the various tasks on the timeline. 📑

Everything is clearly laid out and they are only too willing to help where they can. All in all I think they're brill' and would suggest these people to anyone.

I also found out that they have had many dealings with students at the UEA for their electives.

You remember I said about gut feelings? Well I was correct. Everyone I've spoken to about them have all had positive things to say.
Oh yes, that's another thing, they've asked me to say a bit about my experience of the elective in Tanzania too. They have spoken to me already and will speak to me when I am there in August. Exciting times.

Mind you, Mr O is not looking forward to being home alone.
He'll be ok I am sure and I will soon be back home. He'll probably wish I were going back out there again after I have told him about 'that time when..', a dozen times 😜

So, thank you gut, you won again, let me give you a coffee ☕

Ttfn to you all

K x

Sunday 2 April 2017

Good evening all


Good evening and welcome 😃

Well what a week or so it's been.

Well I had the mock exam and found out what I need to revise. I think its going to take lots of reading and preparation. I am planning to put together a revision plan.

I am going to do this with my friends in Uni as many heads are better than one. Especially if it involves research 😕

Other than that, I have been to NSFT (Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust) and had a photo shoot session for the article that will appear in their staff magazine called Insight magazine. I have also spoken to a very nice lady called Liz who has now written said article.

This will be seen by people that I used to work with and by those I am yet to work with and is available on their website.

Of course this is not forgetting that NSFT have agreed to donate some CPR face masks for the coming elective.
What I refer to are the face shields that are used when doing the rescue breaths in CPR, so that I don't get a face full of vomit.
😷😨😶
"Ewww😨I hear you shout.....not half as bloody loud as I would shout with a face full of someone's previous meal.
However, keeping one's mouth shut could be preferable in such a situation 😶.

So anyways, yes I am lucky, once again to be given another vital piece of equipment for the elective and I am grateful to be receiving them.

Keep smiling all

Ttfn

K x






Saturday 25 March 2017

Could I be hearing things...?

Evening all,

Well my project administrator has been working hard again. 📝

"What have you been lucky enough to receive now?" I hear you ask.

Well, thank you for asking, I have been lucky enough to receive a fantastic stethoscope from the lovely people over at MDF Instruments.

Now I struggle to hear 👂properly with the stethoscopes I have used in the past and was reading about this beasty that improves sound.

Eureka! (had to change as someone's nicked my chicken dinner 💨).

Anyhow, thinking about things I will need to take to Tanzania so I can work more effectively, I needed a good stethoscope. Not for going all 'Greys Anatomy' kinda thing, but to do what I am capable of doing 😊.

You can imagine my surprise when I (well, ok, Mr Project Administrator) received an email to say that MDF Instruments would be happy to supply with a Sprague Rappaport stethoscope!! and that they will arrange for 'Kays Medical', their supplier in the UK, to send me one.

How bloody cool is that?
They are up there in the creme de la creme of stethoscopes and it means I can hear proper now  👂👍 woohoo!

I have of course heard of MDF Instruments but never thought I'd have one of their stethoscopes😃

Anyways, I was doing a bit of further reading about them after reading their email. I see that they have another element to the brilliant equipment they make.

On a side note, did you know that their stethoscopes are hand crafted? No, me neither till I looked. Pretty cool huh?

Anyhow, they do lots to help people in other countries and call this Crafting Wellness. Their aim is to take "healthcare to millions of individuals through empowering over 200 teams of medical professionals who serve over 90 countries" 

I would suggest, if you have a bit of time, that you go have a look at what they are achieving. It's quite something. They have a Facebook page and their own blog.

So, yeah, all in all I am continuing to feel very 🍀lucky 🍀indeed.

My elective is feeling very much around the corner now. You will see how long there is to go from the countdown to the right of this...⏳....not long eh?!

Well I'm off for a cuppa ☕☕or two, and I will leave you have a peek at the stuff above.

Keep smiling and ttfn.

Kx