Children/young people with gastrointestinal conditions can be found in all areas of children and young people’s nursing. Hospital-based placements where you may be involved in the nursing care of children and young people with a gastrointestinal condition include general children’s wards, medical and surgical wards, paediatric intensive care and neonatal intensive care, emergency department and high dependency. In the community setting, a placement with a health visitor, school nurse or a community children nurse may bring you into contact with children and young people who require support and advice in managing a gastrointestinal condition. Before you go on placement, it will be helpful for you to:

• Review the profile of the placement area you are going to, so you know what to expect in terms of age group, conditions, level of dependency, skills revision and acquisition. 
• Revise and refresh your knowledge of the gastrointestinal system (called the alimentary system in some A&P textbooks).
• Revise and refresh your knowledge of fluid balance as this is a key element in gastrointestinal nursing (also covered in Chapter 27: Fluid Balance).
• Familiarise yourself with the Bristol Stool Chart.
• Look at the NICE guidelines relevant to the placement area – there are a number of these which are relevant to gastrointestinal nursing, so you may want to consider which ones will be of most use, based on the expected conditions for your placement area.
• Familiarise yourself with the NICE guidance for Intravenous Therapy in Children and Young People in Hospital (NG29) and Diarrhoea and Vomiting caused by Gastroenteritis in Under 5s: Diagnosis and Management [CG84].
• Look on the healthcare provider’s intranet resource for key policies and procedures that relate to gastrointestinal conditions/treatment and identify what you can and cannot be involved in as a nursing student (note - you might only be able to access this from within the placement area).
• Prepare an action plan for your learning needs and discuss with your mentor or supervisor to gain supervised practice of your nursing skills.  
• Keep a child centred, rights-based approach, in all your interventions.