A once in a life time student nurse opportunity

Hello,

I’m Jade, a nursing student undertaking my degree at the University of Winchester. I’ve been given the incredible opportunity to take part in an international clinical placement in June/July (2024). My hope is to travel from the UK to Tanzania with the organisation Work the World.

With your support I will have the chance to work alongside experienced local nurses and acquire new skills. This will provide me the unique opportunity to learn, support and care for people with conditions such as Malaria, HIV, HPV and Cholera. Advanced presentations of these complex conditions are not something we commonly experience in the UK. By stepping out of my comfort zone, I hope to develop a wider perspective of the complexities associated with global health. In addition to gaining valuable cultural insights that arise from international clinical placements.

When I decided to start my nursing journey, it was spurred by a desire to explore and support ways in which healthcare could be more accessible. I have since developed a real passion for public health, exploring ways we can improve health awareness and prevent inequalities. We are incredibly privileged to have access and use of our incredible NHS. In Tanzania, people often cannot not access or afford simple treatments such as antibiotics or immunisations. This means people die from many treatable or preventable conditions. I aspire to learn ways to provide vital care for those who need it, despite not having access to the luxuries of modern equipment and treatments. Undertaking this experience, will allow valuable hands-on experience of the wider determinants of global health. Developing a deeper understanding how different societies view Illness and wellness, and how access to healthcare impact different communities.

I am asking for donations to help me fund this educational experience as it not covered by my yearly nursing tuition fee. My tuition fee is £9250 per year, for 3 years. Furthermore, student nurses do not get paid to work any of the 2300 educational placement hours required in order to pass our degree. This, alongside the sheer intensity of a nursing degree, makes working alongside and supporting a family challenging.

Your support and generosity will help me fund this once in a lifetime learning experience. As well as purchasing safety essentials, transportation, vaccinations, accommodation, clinical supervision, Travel insurance, PPE and the additional uniform required for me to undertake this placement safely.

Did you know…..

Work the World ensure their students have safe accommodation while working away from home. They also provide support and debriefing whilst on placement, this is important given the intense experiences we often encounter. Fostering a close relationship with the hospitals Work the World match students with means they understand the needs of community and hospital. Aware of the difficulties the hospitals face, such as lack of equipment and resources, a portion of the fees paid by each student is directly allocated to the hospitals they work with. This helps facilitate positive and long-lasting impacts that enhance local communities. Hospital Partnerships

Additionally, if I raise enough money, I also hope to buy some mosquito nets to help prevent the spread of malaria in the community I’ll be working in. £225 would provide funding for enough mosquito bed nets to protect a small village in Tanzania. (Child Aid Tanzania, 2023). "Malaria kills an African child every 30 seconds and remains one of the most important threats to the health of pregnant women and their newborns" -Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF.

This learning experience will help me get one step closer to becoming the experienced and informed nurse I hope to one day be. Nurses never stop learning and developing and opportunities like this are invaluable to our knowledge and skill set. Your support and encouragement mean more than any words I could write. So, I will simply say thank you for reading my post and I promise to keep you all updated on my learning journey.

‘It’s a beautiful thing when a career and a passion come together’ (Mahatma Gandhi).

Sincerely,

Jade



Update: Wow! I’m so incredibly grateful of your support so far. Thank you. My first goal has been reached and flights have been booked. I leave on the 12th June 2024 (straight to the airport from my last ‘in person’ university assessment of the year- my last assignment will actually be written while I’m in Tanzania).…… Next goal: secure safe accommodation and vaccines.

2nd update: I’m so incredibly grateful for all the support and kind messages of encouragement Travel insurance and indemnity insurance has now been arranged and the first lot of vaccinations booked. I’m getting close to the half way mark of my fundraising journey now and wanted to give a special mention to the wonderful team at BUPA. They kindly arranged a cake sale event last week in support of my fundraising campaign- Thank you!

Next goal is to cover lots more vaccines and secure my accommodation.

3rd update: Happy Easter everyone! I cannot thank you all enough for the generous donations you have made. It really means the world to me. Thank you!

Only 73 days to go now….

last week I worked away at a major trauma and disaster conference, it’s really helped me prepare for critical health care without the luxuries of modern equipment, resources or an unlimited free range of medicine. I’m feeling more prepared for the transition now than ever before.

This incredible journey is rapidly approaching however, I’d really appreciate if you could share this page/link on my behalf. (sharing is caring - as long as it’s not coughs, sneezes or diseases). Every donation really does makes a huge difference to me and the hospital I’ll be volunteering with in Tanzania. My own house currently resembles a hospital stock room right now, with sanitation wipes and hand gel piled everywhere (Thanks to the amazing team at BUPA). There’s still so much more left to do though. Next on the list is booking my transfers and transit layover accommodation (already dreading the 18+hour multiple return flights but it has to be done!). Then ill focus on Visas and additional scrubs.

Thank you for all the amazing donations so far, it means so much.