From the Royal Marines to mental health

Stuart Pearson, BSc (Hons) Nursing (Mental Health) student, describes his transition into full-time study
Stuart Pearson, BSc Nursing (Mental Health) student

I came to the realisation that anyone can be impacted by mental ill health.

I was in the Royal Marines for 22 years. I joined when I was 18, and pretty much saw that all the way through. I finished my time as a drill instructor, training other drill instructors and taking recruits through training. I really enjoyed it, but I had reached a point where I wanted a new challenge, and this is where I decided to pursue a career in Mental Health Nursing.
A number of things made me consider a career change. Some of it was personal experience with mental health, but a lot of it was seeing my colleagues’ experiences. I came to the realisation that anyone can be impacted by mental ill health. It was certainly an eye-opener. I looked at transferring to the Navy as a mental health nurse, but at my stage in my career I’d left it a bit late, so at that point I decided to retrain as a mental heath nurse in a civilian capacity.
Coming from the forces, it was a bit strange entering into the university environment initially. It’s very much understanding that everyone is at a different stage in their life. I had a short period of leave, but I pretty much went straight in. I had a plan and knew what I wanted to achieve, so I felt prepared for what was ahead of me.
Choosing Plymouth was easy. For me it was location. Like a lot of mature students, I have things like a mortgage, kids etc so relocating isn’t always an option. Looking at Plymouth there had been a lot of positive recommendations.
I spoke to people who worked within the mental health services in the military and a lot of people had studied at Plymouth and qualified before joining up. I knew I was making the right decision to come here.

I definitely felt supported joining the course as a mature student.

I wasn’t sure what to expect once I arrived and there is certainly a mix of ages throughout the cohort. A lot of people study nursing as a second career and the mix provides a very interesting and supportive learning environment.
 
 

On my first placement it really hit me that I was becoming a real nurse.

My first placement was fantastic. I worked on a ward at Mount Gould Hospital dealing with people who have dementia. I found it incredibly rewarding, but I wasn’t sure what to expect. Dementia care wasn’t something I saw myself doing as a career choice later on, but it really opened my eyes as to the opportunities out there.
I found coming to university a bit unusual at the start, but one of my lecturers told me that once I went out on placement, I’d feel different, and I certainly did. It really hit me that I was becoming a real nurse.
We were going into a weekend, I was on a night shift, and there was a new patient admission. This was unusual for a weekend, and there was me and a nurse on duty. When the patient arrived, I was asked to speak with the family to gather any information that could help us, and that initial liaison where I was with them, I felt a bit like “am I qualified to be doing this?”. The on-call doctor came along later and asked for all the information I’d collated to be handed over, and I realised there that there was no questioning my status as a student, and I was instead being treated like any other colleague, although I was always offered support. Afterwards I thought “I’m in the right environment here”.
There was an element of trust that I was here, and I was capable.
Nursing and midwifery facilities hero image. Nursing students clinical skills. 
Working in the clinical skills labs is incredibly useful and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the skills sessions. The lecturers seem genuinely invested in our learning, and this really comes across in the labs. If you’re struggling with a particular aspect I’ve found that they’re more than happy to stay back after the session to help you along. So far we’ve practised taking bloods with some of the models. They’re very lifelike and it’s a great confidence-builder for going out on placement.
Due to the nature of the simulation there is absolutely no pressure to get it right first time, and this helps take the stress out of learning.
 
 
 

The balance of theory and practical is fantastic

The mix of theory to practical on the BSc (Hons) Nursing (Mental Health) course is great. That initial term when you come in gives you a bit of breathing space and a bit of reassurance to go out to placement. You get to go into the clinical skills labs and practice the basic skills that set you up well for when you go out to real patients. The balance is fantastic.
The programme is absolutely helping me feel prepared to be a mental health nurse. During my first placement I felt really lucky to be there – there was a good mix of mental health and general nursing, so the skills that I learned have really helped me set up a solid knowledge base.I have a lot more to learn for my future placements, but I’m certainly looking forward to it.
If you are considering applying for this programme, make sure you are getting into it for the right reasons. If you’re genuinely invested in helping people with their mental health, then this is absolutely the right place.
From a forces background, I’d say people would fit in really well as it’s a similar environment, in a way – you’re working within a team, it’s multi-disciplinary and you’re all working toward the same goal. Communication skills and being a team player are key here. The beauty of nursing is that you need a diverse range of people as you have a diverse range of patients. If everyone was like me then the system wouldn’t work. This is reflected in the diversity of students on the course, and you’re all learning from each other constantly.
I also knew that I wanted to join a society while at University, so I ended up joining the clay pigeon society. This was a great one for me as it allowed me to dip in and out, so I never felt pressured to attend around my placements. I found it a great experience as it allowed me to meet people outside of the course.
Before applying, I came along to an open day , and I would definitely recommend attending one if you’re interested. It allowed me to see the facilities first hand, as well as meeting the lecturers face to face to ask any questions I had.
 
 
Stuart Pearson, BSc Nursing (Mental Health) student

I’m keeping an open mind as to where I’d like to go once I graduate. I could see myself working on an acute mental health ward, based on my experience on placement. A great perk of the job is that you can change it up every couple of years, and with that brings some much-needed variety and widens your knowledge base going forward.

I also believe that more men need to join up wherever possible, as you need a diverse range of staff to fit the job. Some patients would respond much better to a male nurse, for example. I certainly don’t feel out of place as a man on the ward and have yet to have a bad experience because of this. I would absolutely encourage applications.