Nurses.co.uk inspires anyone to become a nurse, and provides free career development services to nurses through job search, training courses and shared knowledge..Student Nurse, Emily, highlights how new measures have affected working relationships between Nurses, and gives some observations on what Student Nurses can expect moving forward.With the new statistics recently released by The Nursing & Midwifery Council, we take a look at how Brexit has affected Nursing numbers and why the influx may be short-lived.This site uses cookies. Welcome to my second part of my three-part blog, where I will be discussing the healthcare professionals, I shadowed during my first placement.I was fortunate in shadowing a range of healthcare professionals during my first ever placement!A top tip I would give first years is, make sure that you put yourself out there and ask different healthcare professionals to shadow them whether it's for a day or an hour.This will enable you to gain more insight as to what their role in healthcare is and how they contribute to the multidisciplinary team.You would be astonished as to how many healthcare professionals are involved in one patient’s care plan.It is always intriguing seeing how other health professional's care I think it's fair to say the first healthcare professional I followed was the Healthcare Assistant to get my head around the ward.I was able to witness firsthand the amount of stress they are put through especially when there are shortages in staff much like nurses.I assisted with a range of duties being the fundamental building blocks to aid me in my nursing training like how to communicate I shadowed a Stoma Nurse; it was the idea of the nurse I was paired up with.She explained to me since I am in a surgical ward, where patients are admitted due to having problems with their pancreas and hepatobiliary; many patients would've undergone surgery to create a stoma and will be adjusting to their new life with a stoma.---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- -------------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------For the readers that do not know what a stoma is, a stoma is an opening on the abdomen connected to either your digestive system (colostomy) or urinary system (ileostomy) to be diverted out of your body (Bladder & Bowel Community, 2020).Patients tend to have this surgical procedure due to having one of these following: cancer (such as bowel, anal, cervical), bowel incontinence, Hirschsprung's disease, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis, and ulcerative colitis.Shadowing the stoma nurse for the day was one of the best days I had during placement.We went to various wards from my home ward to the orthopedic ward; advising patients with a colostomy or ileostomy on how to keep surrounding skin clean and preventing infection, teaching patients how to care for their stoma especially emptying and changing the bag.Two significant events during my day with the stoma stirred deep emotion in me - melancholy and gratitude.The first incident was following the Stoma Nurse to the urology ward; I was met with a person of similar age to me.Our goal was to check whether he could change his stoma bag.This male had been living with Crohn’s disease; therefore, the doctors thought it would be best for him to have a colostomy to help him lead a ‘normal’ life.I watched as he cleaned his new stoma with care using all the supplies the Stoma Nurse had put in his stoma supply bag.I could tell from his facial expression that he was still coming into terms with his new attachment, instantly I experienced a wave of sadness through me.After the stoma nurse gave him more supplies for his bag and advised him how often to change his bag: I spoke about the concern I had for the patient.I wanted to know how he would be able to cope with such a life-changing surgery (especially at his age), with the inconsiderate partners he may have in the future thinking his stoma is ‘disgusting’ or even his self-confidence.Each trip he would have to make in future being pre-planned, making sure that he has all his Coloplast equipment a popular brand used for an ostomy.The Stoma Nurse explained it to me that the colostomy had given I was also able to visit the children’s ward with the stoma nurse (although I do adult nursing) where we visited a 7-month-old baby, with a recent colostomy stoma in place.This incurred by apart of his bowels dying (Intestinal ischemia) during surgery.The baby was fast asleep by the time we had arrived, with his mum perched over the baby’s cot, admiring every small puff the baby exhaled.I remember the Stoma Nurse discussing with the baby’s mother how the baby has been, regarding his new stoma and the mother making a joke out of the situation “At least I don’t have to change his nappy every day”.