The moment Patrina Loughran realised she could make a real difference through nursing came during her first placement in a busy hospital. She was a student, and the experience was overwhelming, but caring for a young girl with learning disabilities was immediately rewarding.
“I had been working with her and got to know her parents,” Patrina says. “On one particular day I wasn’t assigned to her room, but I’d gone in to say hello and felt her father was more worried than usual. I noticed she was very pale and agitated, yet her eyes were distant.”
Others had assumed the girl’s symptoms were part of her learning disability, but Patrina wasn’t convinced. “I felt she wasn’t right, so I checked her blood pressure, which was severely low,” she says.
She was transferred to paediatric intensive care, where investigations showed she had internal bleeding. Thanks to Patrina’s intervention, she made a full recovery. “It was a big moment for me, thinking: I can actually do this,” says Patrina.
“I realised that I could actually make a real difference. It was this point in the course where my confidence grew and I knew I needed to highlight the role of the learning disability nurse to others.”
Journey into nursing
Patrina didn’t take the decision to go into nursing lightly (“I knew it would change my life”), but after 10 years of being a housewife and bringing up 3 boys, the time was right to try something new.
She started an Open University course in health science then, drawn to working with people, asked her local trust about volunteering opportunities. “They sent me to a learning disability day care centre and I loved everything about it,” she says.
It was a big moment for me, thinking: I can actually do this
Patrina become a care assistant in a local home. After 4 years and with support from her manager she successfully applied to Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) to study learning disability nursing, but there were nerves. “Even when I got onto the course, I was still panicking, thinking, I don’t know if I can do this,” Patrina says.
Now, 3 years on, Patrina is not only graduating with a first class degree, but has been recognised with the ultimate accolade of RCN Northern Ireland Student Nurse of the Year. “It’s a big surprise and a lovely way to finish off university,” she says. “I’ve worked hard, but to be appreciated at this level is fantastic.”
Overcoming nerves
When she began her studies, despite initial nerves, Patrina was determined to make the most of every opportunity. When she proved her knowledge on placement, helping the little girl get the care she needed, Patrina also had a realisation: “I’d assumed everyone had these skills, but people need education about learning disabilities.”
One of the key attractions of learning disability nursing is navigating challenging scenarios. “You can’t just go in to meet someone with a learning disability and expect them to let you take bloods. You have to work at the relationship,” she says.
She resolved to spread the word about the role of learning disability nursing, and educating others about the different kinds of learning disabilities they may encounter in their own practice.
- Read next: Conquering placement nerves
Top tips to innovate as a student
Patrina pushed herself and built her nursing skills by making the most of every learning opportunity. Here she shares her tops tips for being innovative as a student.
- If you have an idea for positive change, speak to your university.
- On placements, spot gaps in practice and offer solutions. “On one placement I spotted that social workers had limited knowledge about epilepsy and learning disabilities, so I made a poster, which has been really well received,” says Patrina.
- Use social media to your advantage. “On World Mental Health Day I tweeted about how those with a learning disability are more like to have schizophrenia than the general population,” says Patrina. “Used appropriately social media can be a really useful way to share important messages with a wider audience.”
- Know your value. “As nurses we can be under-confident,” says Patrina. “But it’s time we celebrated ourselves.”
- Use your personal strengths to help others.
- Think outside the box – how could things be done differently?
I'm not shy about highlighting the needs of someone with a learning disability
Patrina made posters about different conditions and syndromes, many of which have been circulated throughout every health trust in Northern Ireland, alongside the university. “They tell people about the typical characteristics of a condition in an easy-to-read manner,” she says. “It’s knowing what’s someone’s norm and their baseline, their traits and how to treat them.
“I’m not shy about highlighting the needs and rights of someone with a learning disability and I want as many people as possible to have awareness of this.”
Student to student support
Supporting her fellow nursing students motivates Patrina too. She was nominated to be class representative and surprised herself by being able to speak up and advocate for her classmates. She then became the student representative for QUB’s whole school of nursing and midwifery, looking after the interests of around 1,000 students and highlighting student successes and initiatives.
She’s loved mentoring, leading a group of 20 first-year students when she was in her second year – a relationship that continues. “There’s a few in my mentoring group who’ve won awards and I’m so proud of them,” she says. “We’re going to need support in future, so we need to be a team now – this is us learning to work together.”
Patrina has also written blogs, including one that was the most read at her university, about how she copes as a parent and a nursing student. “I was very honest. There was a need to talk about it,” says Patrina.
Finding that the same questions recurred around first placements, she came up with a guidebook, detailing issues such as making initial contact and what shoes to wear. A second guide followed to help boost new students’ confidence, with second and third-year colleagues sharing their own experiences, both good and bad.
“On my first placement, I put a paper cup in the microwave and it burst into flames! Another called her ward manager, ‘mummy’ by mistake. As well as these silly stories, we shared the nice stories too, showing how much they can get out of their placements,” Patrina says. “It’s to show them they’re not going to be perfect, but that’s okay.”
