I completed a placement at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London, which was truly a life changing experience for me, and something that I was extremely lucky to experience, which I am very thankful for. I completed 64 hours of placement, and was in placement between 9am-4pm Monday-Friday and had my weekends free; this was nice as I got to spend time with family and explore. I started my placement on 9th March 2015 and finished on 19th March 2015.
Whilst on placement I was welcomed with open arms, the staff helped me in every way that they could and tried to ensure that I was given a range of experiences whilst on placement.
Whilst on placement I was placed on the Neurological ward and spent my time working with the play department; working with children between the ages of 0-18 years using play to enhance the children's development and aid in their recovery. I had a number of duties whilst on placement, including:
- Participating and directing general play with the children, this took place either in their room, or in the general play rooms that were on the ward depending on the child's needs and circumstances, this general play was directed by the child and we would do anything that they wanted to; in my time on placement that included: arts and crafts, games such as board games, Wii games, X-Box games and interactive games etc. General play could also just mean me sitting with the child and speaking to them, whatever they needed from me at the time.
- I was also involved in play preparation, this was where the play specialist would use play as a tool to prepare the child for the treatments that they were going to be having, I observed and participated in these sessions, aiding the play specialist in preparing the child.
- I was involved in a number of play distractions whilst on placement, which was basically when a child was having a procedure we would be asked to come in with the child and distract them from the treatment/ procedure. The distraction technique would be decided by the child and would normally include: watching films, playing games, reading etc. or simply talking to the child about their life. The distraction techniques were sometimes limited by the treatments being done, so we had to discuss the treatment with the medical team first, so that we knew what were appropriate forms of distraction.
- I was asked to help maintain the high standards of cleanliness and presentation of Great Ormond Street by maintaining both play rooms; regular cleaning of the playroom and updating of the decorations within the rooms did this.
- Throughout my time on placement I was involved in making provisions to help aid the children's recovery, such as art and craft materials, sticker charts which acted as a reward system for the child, etc. I also observed a number of music therapy sessions, animal therapy sessions and school sessions with the children, which was a wonderful experience for both the child and family.
I would really recommend Great Ormond Street as a placement and would gladly go back to them in the future.
I was very fortunate to have family members who lived in Surrey, which allowed me to travel to Great Ormond Street on a daily basis; this normally took around 1.5 hours. Whilst I personally did not stay in any accommodation whilst on my placement, it is London, so you will never be struggling to find any accommodation; you will just have to search for it. Great Ormond Street is located only a few streets away from Russell Square if you were to travel around by tube, which I would recommend. In the area around Russell Square and Great Ormond Street there were many hostels and hotels where you would be able to stay and as Russell Square is only two stops from Covent Garden and three stops from Leicester Square, you are not very far from the centre of London.
So really, it is just about thinking about where you want to place yourself in London and then finding somewhere reasonable!
As I was staying in Surrey, I had to get a train from Walton-on-Thames to Waterloo Station; I used Southwest Trains for this, from Waterloo, I then took the Underground. I went from Waterloo on the northern line for two stops which took me to Leicester Square; once at Leicester Square, I then changed onto the Piccadilly Line for two stops which took me from Leicester Square to Russell Square; from Russell Square I then had a 5 minute walk to Great Ormond Street. In the first week of my placement I bought a Travel Card, this covered me for the train from Walton-on-Thames to Waterloo and the Underground, and the travel card covered all six zones in London.
The travel card cost £75.20 and lasted for a week; on the second week I decided to get a ticket daily, as this worked out cheaper because I wasn't staying for a full week, the ticket was £13.45 for a return and this covered my train journey and my travel in zone 1-2, but this was fine as that zone covers a large area.
As Great Ormond Street is based in London you are not in a boring place, therefore, there is plenty to do and it is really up to you with what you want to do based on what your interests are. Unfortunately, I was unable to do much exploring as when I wasn't at Placement I was doing things with my family; I did go to Kingston-upon-Thames, which was pretty, but unless you are based in the Surrey area I would stick to central London. I also went into the countryside surrounding Surrey, which I would recommend as it was beautiful and I even went to a little village called Shere, which is where the film 'The Holiday' was set!
The placement times were really good with being 9am-4pm and no weekends, so you will have plenty of times to explore London.
Things to do, things not to do
Go with an open mind as you will see some things that may make you emotional, but just keep in mind that the children are in the best place possible and that their best interests are in mind. Get involved with as much as possible and don't be afraid to ask questions, get the most out of the experience as possible and if possible go and explore!
When trying to find my placement I went onto the GOSH website: http://www.gosh.nhs.uk/ and searched for placements. I quickly found the page about the placements with the Play Department, on that page they detailed what the Play Department offers to students on placement if you want to find any further information.
Also, I contacted Jenny Dyer, she is the manager of the Play department at GOSH and is really nice and welcoming and really tries to help with anything you need, she was my supervisor whilst on placement, her email is: Jennifer.Dyer@gosh.nhs.uk. Just keep in mind that she is also a Play Specialist on her own ward as well as the manager of the Play Department, so she may take a few days to get back to you, so don't panic if it does take a while, she is just extremely busy.
Before you go, make sure that you get permission from GOSH to take photographs, just make sure that you mention that the child's name and face will not be shown, as that will not be allowed. I would also say make sure that you know where you need to go in terms of the tube and everything, and what tickets you will need as it will be very busy when you are travelling to and from the hospital and you will need to be prepared. Other than that just be excited, you will have an amazing time and it will change your life!
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