Kas Livingstone

First of all, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to start my career at Solent University. My time here has been an experience in itself. The first year and half of the second year was the best time as we were not in a pandemic. During those years I reached out to the Student Hub to support me academically. They referred me to a learning support service which helped with extra support. When the pandemic hit, it affected me personally and again I was able to access support through the Student Hub.

We were the first cohort to use the new nursing lab which provides educational simulation through scenarios using simulation patients. We were able to practise skills with the state-of-the-art equipment. This enriched our learning further. The staff carried out major incident and cardiac arrest scenarios to prepare us for such real events. This gave us the confidence to carry out procedures in real-life events.

Additionally, the staff at Solent University have always been by my side with every single thing I’ve had to encounter, both academically and personally. The adult nursing team has always encouraged me to achieve my full potential. They have given me what it takes to become a nurse. I will be forever grateful for that.

My favourite thing I’ve studied so far is definitely recognising deteriorating patients – it was really good and I enjoyed learning more about anatomy and the physiology of the human body. It was interesting to finally understand how to interpret ECGs as well as blood results. It was probably the first time I felt like a nurse.

The opportunities I’ve had have been endless. I was a course rep throughout my whole course and was involved in developing future courses for new adult nursing students. I was able to be part of the NMC course validation and meet the Chief Nurse of Health Education England at the opening of our new nursing simulation suite. I also won Clinical Apprentice of the Year, 2018/19, and took part in the launch of the new Solent University Nursing Society.

My end goal is to become an advanced nurse practitioner. I enjoy the diagnostic part of nursing – it excites me.