Students gain experience in care home via partnership
MELBOURNE: A charity-run nursing home for veterans and a university have teamed up as part of a new partnership to offer student nurses clinical placements.
Adult nursing students from the University of Roehampton are now being giving the opportunity to carry out a six-week clinical placement at the Royal Star & Garter nursing home in Surbiton.
The charity, which also has homes in Solihull and High Wycombe, provides care to military veterans and their partners living with disability or dementia.
The home already offers placements to student nurses and trainee nursing associates at Kingston University and St George’s, University of London.
The first two student nurses from the University of Roehampton to be placed at the Surbiton home began their placement at the end of 2019.
One of them, Natalia Taylor, said: “I find as a student nurse that there’s so much you can learn here.
“I started off having no skills in nursing and I’m leaving after six weeks with skills and knowledge to take with me on my nursing journey.”
Students who go to the home on placement work in a multi-disciplinary environment, which includes in-house physiotherapy, activities, speech and language therapy and a dietician.
Pauline Shaw, director of care at Royal Star & Garter, worked with the University of Roehampton’s head of nurse education, Paul Newcombe, to set up the partnership.
Ms Shaw said the charity was “delighted to be playing our part in helping to train and inspire this new generation”.
“Royal Star & Garter has a reputation for providing exceptional care and, in the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, we’re continuing to share our experience and learning,” she said.
“We’re looking forward to our new partnership with the University of Roehampton.”
Meanwhile, Mr Newcombe said choosing to partner up with the charity was “an easy decision”.
“Their reputation as a sector-leading and award-winning care home provider with expertise in dementia care made it an obvious choice,” he added.
He said on his first visit to the Surbiton home he was “immediately impressed by the approach to care, the staff and the general facilities”.
“In particular, I have shared my genuine admiration for the outstanding level of personalisation to the environment with many colleagues,” added Mr Newcombe.
“It is a real beacon of excellence and our nursing students are very lucky to have the opportunity to learn from director of care, Pauline Shaw, and her team.
“The feedback from students has been excellent and we look forward to sending our next group in February.”
