The Student Nurses
Guide
To Maynard Sinclair
Your mentor is
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Introduction.
Welcome to Maynard Sinclair at the Ulster Hospital. Named after
the Rt. Hon. John Maynard Sinclair, we are a twenty bedded general
medical ward with eight of those beds for infectious diseases.
Together with Craig Ward, Rapid Response Unit, Outpatients, Day
Case Unit and the Community Children’s Nursing Team, our Children’s
Unit provides a comprehensive range of inpatient and outpatient
services for children from birth to fourteen years.
Students are very welcome in Maynard and this guide has been
devised to give you some useful information and to help you to settle
into the environment quickly and safely. Even though some of the
staff appear to be rather old, we do remember what it is like to be a
student and we appreciate how daunting beginning a new placement
can be.
With our wealth of experience we are here to support you
throughout your placement and we hope you will find it stimulating
and enjoyable. Just remember to bring with you your enthusiasm,
your willingness to learn, and a smile!
Our Philosophy of Care
‘’Our aim is to make your visit to the Children’s Unit as enjoyable and
informative as possible within a relaxed, caring and safe
environment’’
We aim to provide a High Quality Family Focused Service which,
 Recognises each child as a unique, developing individual whose
best interests are paramount
 Listens to and respects the rights of children
 Recognises that good health care is shared with families who
should be closely involved in their child’s care, being kept
informed, educated and supported at all times.
 Ensures that communication with children and their families
and between members of the multidisciplinary team will take
the highest priority in order to achieve our objective of
excellence in patient care delivery
The Ward
Situated on the second floor of the Children’s Unit, Maynard is
divided into three sections, Bay One, Bay Two and ID.
Bay one is a six bedded area in which we care for those children
usually over one year of age.
Bay Two is also a six bedded area in which we care for babies from
birth to one year of age.
Infectious Diseases has two, two bedded side wards and four
cubicles designed to care for children with infections.
This area can also be used to care for the critically ill child and
those children with complex needs who can be vulnerable to
infection.
We take admissions twenty four hours a day and these admissions
can come from a variety of sources including UHD A/E, RRU, GP,
Community Midwives, Community Paediatric Nurses and our Direct
Admissions List. We will also accept admissions from other hospitals
including RBHSC, Craigavon, Downpatrick, Antrim and Lagan Valley.
Conditions you will see on Maynard are numerous and variable and will
include children with Respiratory, Endocrine, Cardiac, Digestive and
Renal Disorders as well as those children with Infectious Diseases,
Dermatological Conditions and Complex needs.
Our Team
Sr Hazel Walsh is our Ward Manager
Sr Eileen Scott is our Ward Sister
Anne Reynolds is the Ward Clerk, Karen Hawkins the Ward
Housekeeper and Sharon Millar is the Play Specialist
Other members of the multidisciplinary team include senior and
junior staff nurses, auxiliaries , senior and junior medical staff,
medical students, physiotherapists , dieticians, speech and language
therapists, developmental physiotherapists, social worker and school
teacher.
Getting The Best From Your Placement
It is important to start planning your learning experiences before
you begin on placement. There is a great deal to learn and we will
help you to meet your learning objectives and enrich your experience
by ensuring you utilise every opportunity available.
Ask as many questions as you need and remember to carry out only
the work your mentor assigns to you. You will not be expected to
undertake any nursing care that you are not competent in or feel
unsure of.
Please bring any worries or concerns you have to the attention of
your mentor as early as possible so that they may be addressed and
hopefully resolved. We welcome your feedback and will respond to
any issues sensitively.
There will of course be the ongoing teaching on a one to one basis
with your Mentor, but there will be opportunities for you to take
part, with other students ,in scenario based teaching sessions with
other Staff Nurses. Don’t panic, these are very informal sessions in
which you will have the opportunity to link theoretical and practical
knowledge together to assess, plan, implement and evaluate the care
of a child whose condition you have already come across on the ward.
Details and examples of these scenarios can be found in the Student
Resource Box.
Your Link Lecturer is Heather McKee. Heather will contact you and
visit you during your placement here on Maynard, her contact details
can be found in the staff telephone book.
Off Duty
We work a variety of shift patterns
07.45-21.00 LD
07.45-18.00
07.45-14.15
13.00-21.00
14.00-21.00
20.45-08.00
You will be working the same shift pattern as your mentor and you
will find your off duty in a pink folder at the nurse’s station. If for
some reason you are working a shift without your mentor you will
find the name of an associate mentor beside yours so you will always
know who you are working with.
There is an off duty request book and if you have any special
requests, write them in here and we will make every effort to
accommodate you. If you have to make any changes to your off duty
always discuss this with your mentor first.
We rotate onto night duty every 4-5 weeks so you may find that
during your placement your mentor is rostered for nights. Why not
join them and see what Maynard’s night life has to offer!! You really
won’t fall asleep and it will give you the opportunity to experience
Maynard from a different perspective.
Punctuality is important. You will find that staff tend to be on the
ward and ready for handover 15 minutes before the start of the
shift. This is to allow for what can sometimes be a detailed report
and to ensure that staff finishing shift can go off duty promptly.
There is a separate handover for each area so look at the patient
white board to see which area you will be working in for that shift.
Please take note of the ward telephone number, 028 90550445 and
if you find for whatever reason you are running late please ring and
let us know. Take care if you are calling from your car, we don’t want
you to be arrested as our ward budget would not be able to cover
your legal expenses!!
If you are unwell and unable to report for duty, please let us know
and also when you will be resuming. It is your responsibility to ensure
that any hours missed are made up by the end of your placement.
Car Parking
On the first day of your placement go to the Security Department
situated on Level Two of the Terraced car park just past A/E. They
will issue you with a car parking pass to enable you to park in either
the Terrace or the car park on the hillside (behind the terrace.)
Currently the cost for four weeks is £11 and for six weeks is £1650. Security will issue you with a receipt with which you will be able
to claim back your expenses from the University. Payment needs to
be made in cash at the time of purchase.
If you are starting shift at 07.45 on a week day and parking in the
Terrace, please keep driving until you reach the fifth floor where
there will be plenty of spaces to choose from. Starting at 14.00, you
will usually find the terrace full so drive on up to the hillside.
Lockers
Lockers are available for students and can be found in the linen
room. Please do not bring anything of great value with you as
unfortunately even though your bag is in a locker it does not
guarantee its safety. Please note there is no Cash Point available in
the hospital grounds.
Staff Facilities
We have a small staff room just off the ward with a sitting area,
kettle, microwave and fridge. We tend to use this area for all our
breaks and you will find that the majority of the staff bring their
own food with them.
Morning tea break begins at around 09.00
Lunch break is from 12.30 onwards
Supper is at 16.45
Generally there is a tea list made out in the morning and put on the
nurse’s station so you can see when you are going. If the ward is
busy breaks may be delayed but rest assured, students will always
get their break.
Tea and coffee can be made in the kitchen and taken down to the
Staff Room. The Oasis Restaurant is the hospital dining area and is
open during our break times where hot and cold food is available to
carry out.
And Finally
We would also like to ask you if at the end of your placement you
could provide us with a recent article on anything you have found
particularly interesting so that we can put it in our Student
Resource Box for your colleagues to share.
Good luck and we look forward to meeting you.