William : Good morning Mary, thank you for taking time for this little interview.
Mary : Hi William, it’s a pleasure !
W : So the purpose of that discussion is to talk about your feelings and your experience as a nursing student. Maybe could we start with a little introduction about yourself ?
M : Sure. So, my name is Mary, I’m from Nantes and I’m studying in Vannes from 3 years now. This is my last year of school and, if everything goes well, I wish I can start working after my degree.
W : I wish for you too. As you maybe know, I am studying in Nantes, in the University of Psychology. I’m specialized in the field of social and work psychology and I’m really interested by the working conditions and the feeling of nursing students. I also already worked on this topic during one of my internship. So thanks to this interview, I wish to discuss about your experiences and get your feelings about how you lived your studies. Maybe could you explain how was your daily life, between classes and internships ?
M : Of course ! The nursing formation is split in 2 parts, I have as many theory courses as internships over the 3 years. This is really interesting to learn the profession on the field, and it is also really necesssary. I really think that it’would be inconceivable to start working without any concrete experience. We constantly are in contact with patients, have a responsibility in providing treatment, have to work in stress contexts… Internships are for me really important. Courses are more theory-based, and are the foundation of our practice. For example, we have classes about biology, pathology, human body, English, prevention, law, and even psychology !
W : That sounds very interesting ! In my formation, we don’t have so much mandatory internships. but we are free to realize more than we have to. And I also think that it is a great opportunity to do that, to discorver the work reality and gain experience. It is really complementary to theorical classes. And how did your internships go ? I imagine that you’ve worked in different services ?
M : Yes, I did various internships in psychiatry, geriatric, medicine, physical medicine and rehabilitation, addictology also. I have different feelings depending on the internship and the workplace. There are internships with more interpersonnal relation with the patient, and internships with more technical treatment. The social aspect is very important to me. I never had any negative feedback from the patients. They also make me some compliments, and this really help to continue. That is why I want to do this job, to take care of them in their pain, to give them a little smile in an environment who’s initially not favourable to be happy.
W : Yes, I really understand what you mean. There are some similarities between our professions. The social and supportive aspects are very important for us. And I wish to specialize myself on the psychological support for social issues, in a group or about health at work for example. The relationship you create with your patients is also very important to help them overcome their medical problems. It’s important that they feel supported and considered. And what about yourself and your feelings ? How do you deal with your emotions ?
M : It’s true that our conditions are not easy. For example, it’s hard to find a good balance, especially during the internship periods. We start early in the morning and we end early on the afternoon. But I’m really tired, and I can easily sleep 3 hours when I get home. I also need to work my courses, but if I work, I don’t find the balance with my friends or my family. It’s a really hard point during the internships. But even if our conditions are not easy, we are all very close with my classmates. There are a lot of sharing, support, empathy and solidarity. It really helps and makes us feel good. About internships, I have already experience difficult situations, including death. Everytime it became too complicated, the other nurses were there to exchange and help me in a volonturing way.
W : Yes, it’s important for you too, to be supported. This is consistent with what you said earlier about the importance of internships. I think that it’s a part of the formation, to learn how to manage our emotions. In psychology we also have to deal with ourselves to better interact and help people. It’s important to know how to stay strong when dealing with complicated situations, and not to let our emotions overwhelm us to be fully present for the patient.
M : Yes, it is really important.
W : Do you want to complete with something else we haven’t already discussed ?
M : Not really, I think I mentioned the most important points. I’m really glad to prepare myself to this job and to be able to exerce soon.
W : So I wish you the best, and I hope this final year will be fine to you. Thank you for your time and your sharing, Mary.
M : It was a pleasure. Thank you for this talk !