My placement comes to an end.  As ever, I have encountered many interesting people and situations and experienced a wide range of emotions from elation through to despair.  I have learned a lot and realised how much more I need to learn.  The kindness and patience of the majority of staff have made the difficult task of adapting to a new placement a pleasure, only marred by a few who seem to have forgotten that they too were once students.  And what of my quest to back up my practice with nursing research?  I have tiptoed like a child into the boxing ring of evidence based healthcare and come out after round one with a bloodied nose before even swinging my first punch.  But I am still on my feet and will hopefully be a little wiser when I return for round two.