Today was our last full day in Birmingham! It’s crazy to think we’re almost done with our trip; it has all flown by like the blink of an eye. We had the opportunity to visit Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust! It was nice to get a closer look at what mental health nurses do and what sub-specialties they could work in as well. We heard from a bunch of different mental health nurses and clinical educators who really helped us see what mental health nursing is all about. With caring for patients who are hard of hearing and struggling with eating disorders, I found it important to understand that these patients aren’t just struggling with the issue or disorder, but there are a lot of underlying psychological aspects that affect the patient. As a nurse, you have to look at the situation holistically and provide the best care you can by evaluating every possible factor and how it can affect the patient as a whole. Another important topic that the nurses brought up was the idea of concordance vs compliance when giving medication. When treating patients, it’s important to ensure that the patient knows what is going on with a medication and follows the patient’s values and preferences. If the patient is only compliant with the medication, they may follow the treatment plan and take the medication when needed, but it is passive care because they are just doing what they were told. With concordance, the patients and the healthcare professionals come up with a shared agreement on how they will be treated. It allows patients to be more involved in their own care and protects their patient autonomy, which leads to better health outcomes.

We then went to the actual hospital where mental health services were provided. We got to meet a bunch of the nursing staff and got a tour around the women’s organic mental health ward, which treats patients with dementia and other disorders like that. Walking around, the rooms looked pretty similar to those in the U.S. I loved how the unit had its own private garden so that the patients could sit outside and take in the calmness and relax in their thoughts. We talked to a bunch of the nurses working, and actually ran into a student nurse who was doing his placements in the unit. We noticed how, depending on what year you were in university, you would have that many stripes on your arm sleeves. So, the student nurse had two stripes on his sleeve to signify that he was in his 2nd year. I thought that was so smart how they distinguished student nurses from each year. I guess our similarity to this would just be the different color of our student scrubs.

After we came back, a few of us went to the library in Birmingham to see what it was like. The inside was very modern and very intriguing, which was so different from all the other libraries we’ve seen so far. At the top of the library, you could overlook the entire city of Birmingham, which was also very cool to see!

Can’t believe tomorrow will be our last couple of hours in Birmingham, but I can’t wait to be in London!