Primary care is often the first line of healthcare accessed by patients; however, research suggests that there are limited opportunities in primary care for student nurses, particularly

learning disability nurses. Primary care experience is a great opportunity to build skills, and for students offers a new perspective into career paths. I have been fortunate enough to

experience a small aspect of primary care, completing student nurse-led health checks via the The Nurses on Tour roadshow facilitated by Joanna Vintis, practice nurse and link nurse for

Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group, and Helen Stainsby, practice placement facilitator, Effective Learning Environments at Health Education England. As a learning disability nursing

and wellbeing of patients in primary care, they offer routine screening and can often detect signs of deterioration while a person is typically well. Examples include, flagging raised blood

pressure readings or perhaps identifying increased alcohol intake. Importantly, the skills obtained during the completion of health checks give student nurses increased confidence to ask

potentially difficult questions, and to develop and build upon their clinical judgement and decision making. People with learning disabilities are four more times likely to die from

preventable causes than the general population, and evidence suggests that NHS health checks often identify modifiable risk factors (such as risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease) with

referrals from disadvantaged groups being included within these outcomes. Information gathered from the _LeDeR Action from Learning report 2020/2021_ identifies ischaemic heart disease as

one of the leading preventable medical causes of death in adults with learning disabilities, making up 22% of all preventable deaths. NHS health checks are now designed to highlight and

identify cardiovascular risk factors, with practice nurses being able to offer specialist advice and make relevant referrals to improve wellbeing. Student nurses experiencing primary care

are in a valuable position to learn from practice nurses, who have specialist skills and knowledge which is varied and diverse to meet the needs of their patients. The student nurse roadshow

has allowed me to reflect on my own practice, skills and development as a student. The coaching model adopted by the road show, with peer support at the forefront, allowed me to gain

confidence in my skills and ability to share knowledge with others. Encouragement from the facilitators allows for the development of decision-making skills, which is a vital part of our

nurse education. The opportunity for learning disability nursing students to consider primary care has been well received and greatly welcomed. Learning disability nurses should continue to

build on their development and presence in primary care, to not only improve the health and wellbeing of people with learning disabilities, but to continue and contribute to the NHS Long

Term Plan. _Chloe Hawkins is a second-year learning disability nursing student, Northumbria University and 2021-22 Nursing Times student editor_