What would you say to people wanting to start the trainee nursing associate (TNA) programme?
In my opinion, when starting any sort of programme everyone feels nervous, which is normal. I felt really nervous when starting the TNA programme, especially because I did not have experience within the healthcare field.
Looking back at when I first started the TNA course, I had no knowledge or skills to care for patients. Now, I have gained experience within the healthcare field. For example, I'm able to recognise when a patient is deteriorating and the role I have to play to support patients to help stop them deteriorating further. The TNA programme helped me to gain knowledge and skills, while also shaping me to become more confident and independent.
If you are planning to start the TNA programme, you should not hesitate to start the course. The TNA course has good opportunities, including working alongside healthcare professionals and gives you experience within four different fields of nursing which is very interesting.
Working in different fields helps to build confidence, enhance knowledge and develop new skills.
The TNA programme will allow you to work with a wide array of professionals, who have values of caring for patients, therefore will align with yourself, if you have a caring nature. Healthcare professionals are supportive, and they want you to provide the best care to patients by being compassionate.
What did you do before you started the TNA programme?
Before starting the TNA course, I was completing the access to higher education course at college. Alongside studying, I was doing voluntary work at an optician's practice to gain skills and confidence to carry out healthcare tasks. Doing this voluntary work helped me to interact with people of all ages while on the TNA course, because nursing involves communication with a wide demographic to explain the care plan and treatment, and to support patients with individual needs.
Where do you see yourself after finishing the programme? What are your career ambitions?
After the TNA programme, I would like to become a registered nurse and progress further to be a sister, which holds a lot of responsibility, including leading staff to ensure they deliver the best quality care. To accomplish the target, it will require a two-year nursing degree at university to gain the required knowledge and skills.
How have you found balancing university and working at the same time?
When staring the programme, I found it really hard to balance university and working at the same time, because you get increased level of responsibility. You have to stay highly organised. It took a couple of months to get use to my new routine to balance university and work together.
What do you enjoy about the programme?
I mostly enjoy the fact that everyone has a caring nature which they use to help patients to recover. This means patients are provided with unconditional care, therefore recovering faster, which always feels rewarding. The job means you're always learning; there will be so many areas where your knowledge may be weak, but you will be able to develop these skills throughout the course. You also get to participate in different opportunities while working with a wide array of professionals.
Last reviewed: 17 June 2021