A Day In The Life Of A Student Mental Health Nurse

Updated 27 March 2026

Eniola takes us on a tour of a typical day in her life as a student mental health nurse.

Abbreviated transcript

A nursing degree is not like any other degree - you have to go to your lectures, you’re not like regular students, you have 9-5 days, you have placement, you have responsibility.

Don’t think you're coming to Uni to live your best life. Nursing teaches you a lot and it teaches you to mature fast.

One thing I've learned as well is taking responsibility and being responsible for your actions and everything that you do.

Expect lectures to end at 5 p.m. With the nursing degree you've got some days for your mandatory training which you have to attend, otherwise you can't go on placement because it's a policy for everywhere and also to work in the hospital you need to get covered, you need to be competent about what to do and what not to do when on placement.

Assignments

It gets competitive when it comes to your assignment. Everyone's gonna be doing different things depending on what assignment you get given but you want to make sure that you've got all your resources such as your books, your journals, your online database - I'm guessing that every database is different for different universities.

In DMU where I currently study we've got the PMF we've got the CNO - they’re the two databases for academic writing.

Make sure that anytime you get given assignment you research it on time so that you're able to get all the books that you need.

First, second and third years and all different cuts will be doing the same subject that you’re doing, so I suggest get your books right on time.

If you can't get the books straight away reserve them so you don't end up being disadvantaged.

Keep your energy levels up

For this degree you need your energy.

You need to eat, drink and stay hydrated because it can be a very long day, it can be quite stressful make sure you stay hydrated make sure you do not miss your breakfast as well because I do that and there's such a bad thing!

Make sure you have a breakfast, make sure you have your water with you.

When you come into the degree, make sure you ask as many questions as you can.

You don't want to go in assuming things and you know being disadvantaged.

Ask for support

This degree can be very difficult, it can be very hard to deal with alone which is why you have tutors and the mentors.

Speak to them and tell them what's happening.

I remember this year I went through like a very very like low, depressive state and I just I couldn't go to lectures sometimes - it just gets hard.

I was referred to counseling, so it’s important to ask for help when you need it.

A nursing degree is not easy

Don't let anyone lie to you. It’s not easy.

The things you would do on a normal basis, your schedule on your timetable is different from other people you know at Uni.

You see your friends playing, dancing, jumping around and it's so difficult to just sit down there and watch them.

If anything's going on in your personal life, tell somebody if you think it will affect your work - at least they'd know that you've told them and you can find the solution.