Your timetable
The most important thing that we want for you is to feel like you belong to your course, which is difficult when everything is online. There are several things we do to ensure that you feel part of your Return to Practice (RTP) course. We run a communication cafe, this is from 9am-10am on a Monday. In the cafe is an optional session for you, it is a social space. It is where you will begin to get to know your RTP team and other students. Past returners drop in and update us on life after RTP which is always lovely to hear. It is a very supportive space, so if you are having a difficult experience within practice, I am sure you will find an answer here. Often my past returners are at work, they just pop in for 10 minutes whilst they have a short break.
Your timetable runs over eight weeks and covers, communication, providing and evaluating care, pain management, and much more. If you are currently working within a health care environment and have current patient handling and basic life support updates, you need not attend the scheduled session in the skills rooms on the Falmer Campus.
I know you need to plan your life, so please find the timetable
Your Placement
Depending on which RTP course you are taking, you will have either one or two placements. Irrespective of which return you are taking, the first placement will return you to your field of nursing. This is the field of practice in which you have been registered with the NMC. The University of Brighton returns nurses to Adult, Child, and Mental health nursing. You cannot return to Learning Disabilities or Midwifery via our courses.
If you are returning to Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN), you will have held this qualification. You will have a second placement in your chosen field of School Nurse or Health Visiting.
Support in practice
You will have a Practice Supervisor who will supervise you whilst you are in placement, they will ensure you access learning experiences. You will also have a Practice Assessor, this is the person who will review your progress and assess your abilities in practice. We will talk about this more when your start your course, so don’t worry too much about it now.
Assessments
You have a Practice Assessment Document (PAD) and a Professional Conversation, there is no essay. The Professional Conversation is via Microsoft Teams, there will be your Academic Assessor and your chosen person from practice with you in this assessment. You look at an issue from practice, link to national and local policies, and apply the NMC code throughout. This presentation is in a reflective style. Again, do not worry about this assessment as we are here to support and guide you.
If you are returning to SCPHN there is a Professional Portfolio linked to the SCPHN standards. This is about you working within the SCPHN environment and meeting the SCPHN Standards.
You have five years to reregister once you have completed your RTP course.
Once you have completed your RTP course, you will have five years to re-register with the NMC. In the event of you do not re-register within the five-year period, you will have to undertake additional education and training or gain such experience as specified in the NMC standards.
You will have worked hard to get your registration back, I am sure this will not be an issue for you 😊
Nursing and Midwifery Council
I am sure you will have visited the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) website, but if you have not then here is the link https://www.nmc.org.uk/about-us/our-role/
The values which uphold our profession have to be maintained, and the NMC code is threaded throughout your return to the nursing register. You need to be comfortable with the code, you need to understand it and know how it applies to practice. This link will take you to the Code https://www.nmc.org.uk/standards/code/