A NEWLY qualified intensive care nurse has released the second wave of flashcards her to help student nurses.
Beth Dennis the cards that include top tips for student nurses who are on placement and has advice on what to remember in certain situations.
The innovative project earned Beth two coveted Student Nursing Times awards, including “most inspirational student nurse” back in April 2024, among other projects the dedicated nurse has championed.
The first batch of flashcards were a hit – Beth received fantastic feedback and local universities reached out to her to enquire about her cards. Beth got to work on creating more new and improved information cards.
She said: “I created a survey to see what content student nurses wanted to see for the next set of flashcards. They asked for a general set of cards not just for paediatrics, so this new set covers all fields of nursing: adult, mental health and paediatrics.”
Beth received a charity grant of £4,500 from Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital Charity to create the flashcards, meaning that she could ensure the cards are free for all student nurses.
She also hopes to roll these cards out to other Trusts across the country.
Beth has been involved with Birmingham Women and Children NHS Foundation Trust’s (BWC) student volunteer group, Young Person’s Advisory Group (YPAG), since the age of 16 whilst her brother was an inpatient in Birmingham Children’s Hospital (BCH).
Beth said: “Since a young age, I always wanted to become a nurse but on my first placement I found it all very overwhelming because I have dyslexia – as a student there is a lot of information to remember.
“I have even seen nurses drop out of their placements in the first week because of how stressful it can be with the transfer from university to working on a ward. I felt there wasn’t a huge deal of support, and I wanted to change that. ”
Beth worked with BWC’s education team as well as many individuals and clinicians across the Trust to contribute to creating the cards. She also reached out to young people and patients.
She explained: “When I first started nursing, I was shocked by how there wasn’t that much content in the curriculum that champions the voice of young people. I’ve always been so passionate about young voices being heard.”
“I learnt so much from talking to parents and carers, young people and people with learning disabilities. I think it’s really important to have their voices be central to the creation of these cards.”
“I would love it if every student nurse that wants a pack of these cards can get them for free as other education cards can be very expensive and these ones have lots of information in that I found really useful when I was a student nurse.”
