Today we came back to Birmingham City University. We first stopped for drinks and a Kind Bar for breakfast. After the campus store, we were off to our classroom. We first had two speakers to inform us on skills training. We learned the pros and cons of NHS funding. We also talked to two amazing nurses who were able to tell us about a normal day as a general practice nurse. They talked about the daily challenges that they face sharing small stories that make their job exciting and describing why they love what they do.

The primary healthcare speaks always comes and informs us about their healthcare systems and different parts of it. They also give us tips on approaching situations, asking questions, and using our resources when we don’t know. We learned about maternity leave. General practical nurses even left their jobs, although they loved it. This was because the GP they were at was not willing to pay what they needed. The nurses either wanted to have another child, have outside things going on, or have a mortgage to pay. With this, their GP would not pay and this had to result in them having to leave. We learned that ICS/ICB is a care system known as CCG. Between these organizations meeting health and care needs within the area is important. QOF is a Quality Outcomes Framework which is where clinical targets are related to their management. The Practices manage these practices, and every practice is paid for their points. Having full points is very uncommon, but everyone tries to get all of them. All types of care play into this. Giving a flu shot or caring for patients overall can help. Around the year 2000, more stuff started to become digital. Before then, everything was written down and stored in a room to have these documents saved. All systems do not all talk to each other. Everything is individualized and if you attend another healthcare location, they cannot see information and documents from the previous healthcare location. With this, the patients are not always completely honest. 

Patients over the age of 65 or under 16 get free prescriptions. For example, if someone gets hurt and needs a prescription. When they are being treated everything will be charged at 9.65 pounds. This could be the bandage that was held to stop the bleeding, tape to put a bandage on, medication to help heal the wound, and more, which individually will cost 9.65. Patients with long-term conditions, like cancer, diabetes, and more, are exempt from the costs. Waiting times in NHS patients are booked in a priority-based order and not first come first serve. Patient satisfaction in primary care experiences shows them opening up and with that information, you have to be a mandated reporter. The patient will never open up again, but to have them continue to open up, continue to talk through situations with the patient. 

We then talked to two general practice nurses. They gave us information on what they do under their job title. They explained to us that they have to handle pressure and try to do as much as they can in primary care to release pressure. They loved to teach and train the nursing students. The students start by observing for a couple of weeks. They then start to do practice and it depends on the level that they were rated. The range of ages is tremendous. Being in general practice they can learn all the skills they would need to treat all of these different ages. From babies to adults, all patients need care, and having these nurses helps keep everyone on a healthy path. In regards to choosing general practice, they looked at the team they would be working with, and the tasks they would have to do and would make their decision from there. As a GP, these nurses have not faced a lot of discrimination, but they did mention pointing out dementia patients and how they may face discrimination. They handle this by explaining they are here to help care for you, not to discriminate and judge based on who they are. This was especially hard during COVID-19 but has become more controlled since then. 

After the speakers were done it was time to do our final presentation. My group went second and it went well. We were all confident and excited to share the information we had been gathering. Collecting the information and being able to connect it to our overall understanding of how education in healthcare compares from the US to the UK. We then went to an Indian restaurant and ate all together. 

Overall our presentation day went well. Our first two speakers were very informative and able to give us real-world examples to help us hear how working in the field pays off. I feel that our presentation went well and we were all able to get our point across. I am very excited for tomorrow.