Developing future nurses: Insights from student placements in HEIW

Published 28/01/2026

Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) was pleased to recently welcome two nursing students for a four week placement at Ty Dysgu, HEIW’s headquarters in Cardiff.

HEIW supports practice-based learning across Wales, giving learners hands-on experience to develop essential skills, deliver high-quality care and grow professionally through real-world practice and reflection. Facilitating placements within HEIW offers students the opportunity to build key professional and transferable skills interprofessionally.

Joanne and Abi are currently in their third year of nursing studies at Cardiff University. Reflecting on their HEIW placement, they kindly shared their thoughts and experiences with us…

What motivated you to choose nursing as a career?

Joanne, “I chose to begin my nursing career later in life than most, after working previously in project management and business development. Once my children became more independent, I wanted a new opportunity to build a meaningful career for myself. My motivation for nursing grew from personal experiences. During these times, it was the kindness, compassion and clinical expertise of nurses that truly made the biggest difference. Alongside this, seeing things that could have been handled better also sparked my interest in how care can continually improve. It was this blend of appreciation and aspiration for patient centred care that ultimately led me to nursing.”

How did you hear about the HEIW placement opportunity?

Abi, “I heard about the HEIW placement opportunity through my university and felt it would be invaluable for developing key leadership and management skills, which is the overarching focus of the third year.”

What were your expectations before starting the placement?

Joanne, “With prior experience in strategy and transformational project work, I had a broad idea of the type of environment I might be entering. I also researched HEIW to better understand the strategic priorities and ongoing programmes. My main expectation from a learning perspective was to gain insight into how healthcare strategy translates into operational delivery. I hoped to understand the planning, collaboration and innovation required to drive change across NHS services in Wales and the placement has met those expectations.”

Can you describe your experience during the placement?

Abi, “I led a project to create a pre-placement checklist aimed at enhancing students’ experiences on placement. I worked with stakeholders across the whole of Wales to start to determine the content of the document, eventually creating a product that will soon be piloted by a small group of students. I took up a range of other valuable opportunities during this placement, including attending a compassionate leadership workshop – a concept that is of particular interest to me.”

How would you describe the quality of the placement provided by HEIW?

Joanne, “The placement has been of an extremely high standard well-structured, thoughtfully planned and supportive of student learning. The team demonstrated a clear commitment to education and professional development. I was consistently treated as a valued member of the team and the breadth of exposure across strategic, leadership, educational and digital workstreams made this a valued learning experience.”

What kind of support did you receive from mentors and the wider HEIW team?

Abi, “I have felt very well supported by all of the professionals I have engaged with during this placement. I have been able to sign off a number of electronic Practice Assessment Document (ePAD) proficiencies, as well as completing my ‘Supervising and Supporting Learning’ in-point assessment. I did this at the same time as presenting my project to a large audience at a joint directorate meeting.”

What new skills or knowledge did you gain during the placement?

Joanne, “I developed a deeper understanding of national workforce planning, healthcare education strategy, quality improvement, training design, leadership frameworks and clinical digital systems. I strengthened key transferable skills including strategic communication, professional networking, leadership awareness, service improvement insight, digital literacy, presentation skills and a grounding of how to translate complex policy into practical implications for clinical teams.”

Were there any challenges?

Joanne, “The main challenge was shifting from a fast-paced clinical environment to an office-based strategic role, which required a different kind of focus and learning approach. Initially, the volume of new terminology, projects and strategic processes felt a little overwhelming. However, this was quickly eased through strong support from my supervisor, assessor and the whole team, a clear structure, ongoing feedback and encouragement.”

In your view, how do placements like this contribute to improving healthcare education in Wales?

Abi, “I feel that inviting healthcare students to take a more active role in healthcare education improvement initiatives is of huge benefit. As a student nurse myself, I feel that actively incorporating healthcare students’ views into such initiatives has the potential to improve learning experiences more effectively, enhance advocacy for student needs and build a more collaborative, trusting and understanding relationship between students and wider healthcare organisations.”

Joanne, “Placements within strategic organisations like HEIW allow student nurses to better understand how national policy is shaped, implemented and evaluated. This helps to develop future clinicians who appreciate system-wide thinking and are better prepared to contribute to service improvement. Insight into leadership programmes and digital strategy is particularly valuable, enabling student nurses to bring enhanced communication, education and innovation skills back into practice. This helps strengthen the future nursing workforce in Wales.”

Simon Cassidy, Head of Placement Experience and Improvement said, “Supporting Abi and Jo on placement was a pleasure. Their perspectives and lived experience gave us valuable insights and their projects delivered tangible outcomes that will inform our future placement work. We’re grateful for their contributions and wish them both well as they join the nursing workforce in Wales - it's reassuring to see such high‑calibre students entering the profession.

We are thrilled with the outcomes of the latest placement evaluations. They have shown that our HEIW strategic focus and national engagement activity and the insights this provides, has proved extremely beneficial to students’ leadership journey.”

HEIW is committed to providing high‑quality, sustainable practice‑based learning across Wales. For further information on placement learning please contact HEIW’s Practice Education Team.