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Students studying Learning Disability Nursing at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ Leicester (²ÝÁñÊÓƵ) have joined forces with their course lecturer Sam Humphrey to draft a new nursing pocket guide. 

Adele Bunten and Patrick Doherty, collaborated with Sam to draft Pocket Guides: Learning Disability Placements – a small handbook offering practical tips and advice to student nurses providing care for patients with learning disabilities.

The book is part of the popular Pocket Guide series and has already sold through its first two print runs, receiving five-star reviews on Amazon.

Sam said: “Any nursing placement can be quite daunting at the start. We wanted to provide students with a book that explores the best way of preparing for their placement, safeguarding and mental capacity issues, as well as sharing some top tips from our own students.

“I decided to take the idea to the learning disability team and work collaboratively as we have a great range of expertise here at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ. We’re a small course, so thought it would be beneficial to let the students include what they thought would be useful to have in their pocket when they were out in practice.

“Pre-lockdown, we sat down with Patrick and Adele and discussed some of their experiences while on placement. They contributed some of the chapters to the book, which for most students isn’t something they’d usually do before qualifying. It’s been a positive opportunity for everyone involved.

“²ÝÁñÊÓƵ has been very supportive. The library team has added it to the reading list and there are several copies available.

“It’s really rewarding to have industry recognition not just from your colleagues but from other universities too that offer their own learning disability nursing course.”

The book is inspired by Sam’s first general nursing placement, which – in his own words – was ‘one to forget’.  Stationed on a diabetic ward on his first day, Sam was told off for taking too long to wash his hands and generally felt well out of his depth. It wasn’t until a four-week taster placement within a learning disability team that he found his calling.

After obtaining his degree, he worked as a nurse in residential homes for patients with severe learning disabilities before joining ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ as a lecturer in 2019.

It was during his first year of teaching that Sam spotted the gap in the market for a disability nursing help book and contacted the publishing team behind the Pocket Guide collection. 

“Inspiration can work in weird ways. I was actually watching Strictly Come Dancing when I spotted one of the new Pocket Guides had been published and I thought to myself ‘Oh, I wish I had one of those for my students.’

“I flicked through their catalogue and saw there was no learning disability nursing guide, so I asked if they had one, and in response, they asked me to write one.

“This is my first attempt at doing anything like this, so I’m just really grateful for the support from students, colleagues and the publishers too. To see your work out there in print and, at one point, reach the top 50 nursing books on Amazon as well as the top spot on its release in the Nursing Fundamentals section is a truly special feeling.

“Being part of that family of pocket guides helps build recognition for learning disability nursing and showcase what our discipline entails.”

Adele provided information across fundamental skills, assessments, observations and reasonable adjustments. The 19-year-old from Leicester was in her first year while the draft book was being finalised.

She believes the book should be an essential read for all nurses that work with people that have learning disabilities.

“Books for student learning disability nurses are sparse, particularly targeted at placements, meaning I was excited to apply my knowledge of learning disabilities to different interventions, skills and relevant information to help fellow student nurses,” Adele said.

“My upbringing was slightly different to my friends because of my sister’s learning disabilities. Normal things such as shopping or just going to the park were always more difficult for my family due to the needs of her learning disabilities. These experiences inspired me to study learning disability nursing, so I can support and improve the lives of the patient and their families.

“The book has been a massive support for me during my placements. It’s like having my own little tutor in my pocket to remind me of important terminology, skills and how to handle specific situations.”

Through a mix of theoretical teaching and practical placements, ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ’s learning disabilities course explores the well-being of patients and their families, primary, acute and complex care, managing complexities and critical inquiries.