Student Information
Sam Beare Hospice
At Sam Beare Hospice we extend a warm welcome to your new learning environment and hope that you will embrace every opportunity to gain knowledge and skills in the unique scope of Palliative care.
We shall endeavour to honour your off duty requests and in return you will work closely with your allocated mentor/s, to ensure you are supported throughout your placement.
Duty Times
Early 7.30am - 15.30 pm
Late 13.15pm - 21.15pm
Night 21.45pm - 07.45am
Long day 07.30am - 21.15pm
Please ensure your requests are given in plenty of time prior to the need. There is a request book and also a member of staff will assist you.Please also ensure you let the nurse in charge know if you are sick or unable to come in for a planned duty, this time will need to be made up at the end of your placement in accordance with University guidelines.
Mentors and assessors
We shall endeavour to allocate a mentor and a co-mentor to you prior to your arrival to ensure you are supported as much as possible during your placement here.
Your mentor will be an experienced skilled member of the team with ENB998 Teaching and Assessing qualification, and/or the Mentorship Preparation course.
You will be offered the opportunity of one to one supervision and tutorials according to time and the discretion of your mentor.
You will need to identify learning needs and outcomes as a micro team, which will help you to develop your skills and knowledge.
Palliative Care provides a unique opportunity to develop your skills to become a true patient advocate and the knowledge to give you the assertiveness to take forward the concept of holistic nursing and provide individual, physical, psychological, spiritual and emotional support to each patient and their loved ones in equal measures.
As you will appreciate no man is an island therefore during the last weeks of life it is of cardinal importance to afford each individual time and understanding of his or her own unique experiences and coping mechanisms.
Clinical Experience
We shall provide opportunities for learning new clinical skills such as escorting patients for the purpose of observing investigations/ radiotherapy/ chemotherapy.
We will provide learning opportunities to observe the setting up of syringe drivers whilst teaching you the rationale for its uses and possible disadvantages.
You in turn will have the opportunity to question and learn other means of symptom control.
You will be responsible for gaining experience with other therapists and doctors by allocating time to make appointments/ meetings to ensure you have a wide range of experience whilst on your placement.
Astrid Hadley is our Occupational Therapist who will be willing for you to observe her undertaking a full assessment and offers the opportunity to escort her on a home access visit to gain knowledge of her input for the patient and family.
Liz Bennett is the Day Care Leader and has a wide range of skills and knowledge to share including complementary therapies and their role within the unit.
Becky Lewis is the Physiotherapist who is very experienced in palliative care and can explain the rationale and importance for palliative physio.
There are many volunteers who offer their time willingly and would share their experiences freely.
Funding is also an important aspect of the Hospice.
Location: Click here for a map of how to find us
Facilities available
There is a small kitchen available for staff use and is very reasonably priced, however the food is limited in the evenings and at night you are therefore advised to bring a snack with you at these times.
There are local café's and shops so if you fancy a sprint there are lots of places to get a good quality coffee!
Weybridge railway station is about a twenty-minute walk.
Parking is available although limited so please try and park in the library car park, which is pay and display.
Learning resources
There are books and specialist palliative care journals within the hospice and there is a learning resource folder in the staff room.
All the staff are willing to assist you in your learning and the doctors and Consultant are more than willing to allow you to sit in whilst a patient is being admitted and assessed at the discretion of the patient and family.
Every opportunity will be made to ensure you feel safe and supported during your placement in Sam Beare, however should you encounter any problem or difficulty which you find you cannot resolve please do not hesitate in speaking with your mentor or the ward manager Helen Bryant who will be more than willing to assist you.
Remember, you are the future of nursing and as such have a responsibility to ensure high standards of practice at all times wherever you choose to work, and a personal responsibility to look after yourself.
Learning opportunities at Sam Beare Hospice
- Principles of palliative care
- Pain and symptom control
- Causes of symptoms
- The who analgesia scale and the use of opoids and syringe drivers
- Communication skills within the palliative care setting, including the principles of counselling skills.
- The use of the Liverpool Care Pathway
- Multidisciplinary team work and its importance within the hospice
- Meeting the community clinical nurse specialists and arranging home visits
- Essentials of total nursing care to include oral care and pressure area care etc.
- Assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation and documentation of care
- Discharge planning
- Day care
- Complimentary therapies
- Chaplaincy support
- Teaching, opportunities for one to one and tutorials
- Wound management
- Stoma management
- Peg/rig feeding and artificial hydration
- Care of patient receiving blood transfusions.
- Principles of palliative emergencies.
Your involvement in your own learning is vital for you to gain from this unique opportunity and as a thank you we would ask for your feedback on completion of this placement.