Today was our last full day in Birmingham! Although I have enjoyed my time here in the city, I am excited to explore London. Today was an easy day. Our start time got delayed until 8:45, so I got extra time to eat breakfast and prepare for the day. Today we went to visit the Mental Health Trust and learned more about the impact of mental health in the UK. Personally, I did not know much about the topic of mental health in general, so I found this lecture to be very interesting and enlightening.
When we first got to the Mental Health Trust, we were able to grab some coffee before starting our lectures. We talked about what the Mental Health Trust is and what they do. We also learned about how they get into their career as a mental health nurse. One of the more important topics that we talk about today was concordance vs. compliance when giving medication. If they are concordant, they will just follow what they are told, like when to take it and how many times a day to take it, but they may not really understand why they are taking it or how they could personalize to fit their needs better. If they are compliant, they are more involved with their own care and protects their autonomy, which can create better health outcomes for the patient.
After our lectures ended, we drove over to the hospital, where we ate lunch in the cafeteria. By the time we got there, most of the food was already gone, which was unfortunate. I was hoping to get mac and cheese, but when we got up there it was all gone. I ended up getting chicken, which was actually really good, and I personally think that it was better the hospital food in the US. I ended up getting an ice cream bar while I was there (thanks Ana!) which made the lunch 10x better.
After lunch ended, we went into a meeting room, where we met some of the staff that works in the hospital. We were split into four groups, and we all toured four different parts of the hospital. I ended up in a women’s mental health ward, which I found very eye-opening. In the US, I have never been in a mental health ward, so seeing one for the first time was very interesting. Our tour guide explained how they layout was set up, and why it was set up that way. For example, the hallway is in a “T” shape, with all the rooms across the top. This way, they can always have eyes on their patients, and they are easier to find. Also, some patients have a nurse with them at all times. This is because they may have trouble getting up and around, or they may just struggle with the little things. I like how they gave their patients a lot of freedom, while still managing to keep it safe for them. After the tour, we headed back up to the meeting room where we discussed how our nursing education differs in the US.
We walked to a bus stop after out Q&A had ended and took the bus back to the bull ring. Some of us decided to go shopping, so we ended up just walking back to the hotel. On the way, we stopped in the library, since that was a big bucket list item I wanted to do since we had gotten here. Overall, I actually loved the library part. The bookshelves were to die for, and I definitely need those in my house in the future. After leaving the library, I decided to get some packing done before heading out to dinner at Slug & Lettuce, where I got the nachos (again). They were absolutely amazing, and we ended the night back at Opulence to get some ice cream. I am ecstatic to go to London tomorrow but will be sad to leave Birmingham as well.
