Monday 4 November 2013

The Student Nurse Blogger Collective




For those of you who are reading this outside of our own independent blogs we feel a little introduction is in order; we are a new double act of student nurses who go by the names of Laura, and Florence Nursingtales (Flo for short). We both run our own independent blogs, which aim to chronicle our lives and experiences as student nurses and beyond. Laura runs a blog called She’s Off Again; a blog about life as a third-year, mental-health field student nurse, and Flo runs Florence Nursingtales; an anonymous blog about the life of a third-year, adult-field student nurse. We've both been running our blogs for over two years, and first connected with each other through this wonderful world of social media.

We're both passionate about blogging, and wholeheartedly believe in the benefits and value it can offer to student nurses alike. So together with Britain’s Nurses, we’ve come up with a plan in order to convince more student nurses to get involved in this amazing experience.

We recognise that many student nurses are interested in starting a blog, whether that be through running their own independent blog, or by becoming involved in community blogging. However, we’re also aware that there are those out there who for a number of reasons feel unable to get involved, and that’s where we come in! Whether you struggle with technology, writing, or time, we’re on hand to help. We want to support student nurses, regardless of field, location, or progression point, to get involved in social media and offer their experiences of life as a student nurse through blogging. We’ll help with promoting blogs from both experienced and newbie bloggers, answering questions, and sharing tips and strategies to make the most out of your blogging journeys. Ultimately, we’re offering a one-stop shop that will hopefully suit everyone’s needs, and as you may have guessed, we’ve called it: The Student Nurse Blogger Collective. 

So how do we plan on achieving this? Good question! Here are some of the things we’ve come up with:

Blog Ring - There are plenty of brilliant student-nurse bloggers out there, though in our experience, finding them can often be a challenge! So we've come up with the idea of setting up a blog ring; a free service which allows you to connect with others who blog about the same subject matter. The plan is to incorporate these blogs into a public blog-ring list, so anyone looking for student-nurse blogs can find them all in one place. This initiative also supports those new to blogging who are looking for a little inspiration and guidance. We’re in the process of setting this up, so we’ll update you all once it’s all done.

Platform - We both know how busy and time consuming running a blog can be. So for those of you who feel unable to commit to running your own full-time blog, we have the perfect compromise in the form of a collective-blogging platform courtesy of the lovely peeps over at Britain’s Nurses. You can blog as little or as much as you like - no pressure! We hope that such a platform will encourage more students nurses to at least give blogging a bash, and who knows, if it goes well, you might even be inspired to start a full-time blog of your own! Huzzah!

Anonymity - For those of you who desire to blog anonymously, you can either email from your personal account stating that you want the post to be anonymised, or you can create a non-identifiable email account and email either ourselves or the lovely Stina over at Britain's Nurses with your post - pseudonyms are of course welcome too. Equally, we welcome those who would like to attribute their identity to their work. Either way, we’re keen to provide an open and inclusive space for reflection on all nursing matters. We are of course happy to to accept anything as long as it adheres to the NMC’s the code…, and guidance on social-networking sites, regardless of things such as writing style, word limits, etc.

Buddy System - Whether you like the idea of setting up on your own, or building your confidence over on the Britain’s Nurses platform first, we’re hoping to offer a mentoring system for those who’d like some support. By pairing newbie bloggers up with experienced bloggers, we’re hoping to provide help and support every step of the way. There are lots of student-nurse blogs out there that feature a brief flurry of activity in the early days and then nothing more; we hope to stop ‘blog abandonment!’ by supporting baby bloggers through the early days. All offers of mentors and mentees are welcome, just get in touch.
So, if that little lot hasn’t enticed you into our blogging world, here are our top reasons why it’s pretty fabulous to be able to call yourself a student-nurse blogger:

Professional development - blogging is a tool that can help build on your skills as a competent practitioner: it can help improve your reflective skills; a key skill in nursing, as well writing abilities, and IT skills, amongst others.

Portfolio Evidence - You’d be surprised how valuable blogposts can be in terms of providing evidence for portfolios; watch those hollow lever-arch files fill up in no time at all!

Support - Being a student nurse can be an isolating job at times. We often have different holidays to the rest of the student population, spend more time in university which means less time off, and often hold innumerable responsibilities. All of these things combined make it hard to fit in with the more typical student events and opportunities, which is where blogging comes in! Blogging is a brilliant way of building up support networks; providing you with contacts from all over the UK and beyond. Not only that, but sharing stories with others helps boost morale and provide a much-needed reminder that you’re not on your own when things get tough.

A Diary for the Future - Upon qualifying, Laura has come up with the brilliant idea of getting her blog professionally bound and made into a book (I am totally stealing that idea! - Flo). It will then serve as a permanent reminder and memento of her time at university, providing her with something tangible to look back on and treasure for years to come. 

And that's it! If you’re a student nurse reading this thinking ‘I could do that!’, please, please get involved and join us in our mission to get more student nurses blogging. You can either contact us through stnbc@outlook.com, or via our Twitter account @STNBC
 
Laura and Flo xx


3 comments:

  1. It's good that you empower young nursing students by sharing your experiences in nursing school. I am sure that you will be a successful nurse someday with your determination. Our country needs more nurses like you.

    I am a nurse educator and I help aspiring nurses pass the NCLEX exam. My website has test taking strategies, question trainers and a free mobile NCLEX review app that not only prepares you for the NCLEX but prepares you for you exams in nursing school as well. Just visit www.nclexpreceptor.com to find out more.

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  2. Great idea! great resource.. Keep it up! Hopefully I can read some more of your post in here.

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  3. Its a well written blog and thanks for sharing such a nice idea with us.

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