Nurses

[LaurenLoveday]

Hi, I’m just looking for some advice and honest opinions please.

I’m a mature student, 35, and I’m looking to apply for Adult Nursing with a foundation year (so the foundation year plus the 3-year degree). The issue is I don’t have the correct UCAS points. I do have a Level 3 Certificate in Dental Nursing, which I believe is equivalent to A-level standard, but my GCSEs aren’t great.

A bit of background—I've worked in dentistry for 15 years and worked my way up into a senior role, so I do have a lot of healthcare experience. A couple of years ago, during a period where my mental health wasn’t managed properly, I made a mistake at work which resulted in a conviction. I took full accountability, was discharged early from probation, and I’ve been honest in all my jobs since and focused on moving forward.
I was also diagnosed with bipolar and BPD in 2023/24. Since then I’ve had support, I’m on medication, stable, and working, and I’m now an outpatient. I feel like I’ve really learned a lot about myself and grown from it.

I genuinely feel like nursing is my purpose, and I’m ready to make that change in my life, but I’m unsure whether universities will accept me onto a foundation year with my background and qualifications.

Has anyone been in a similar position or knows if universities (especially around Sheffield/Derbyshire) would consider someone like me?

Please no judgement—just looking for honest advice. Thank you.

Why don’t you apply and see?

The best way to check is to contact the admissions department at the universities. They are the only people who can tell you either way!
can I ask what your GCSEs are? You could potentially do as I did and do maths/english level 2 and access, then straight into the degree. Access is brilliant prep for uni and thoroughly interesting so a good route too.

And don’t worry about your health - in a lot of cases lived experiences can be incredibly valuable in something like nursing. The conviction may not be an issue, it depends on the conviction itself and again the unis are the only people who can answer that.

I am going to but just don’t wait to set my self up for failure I guess 😚xx

Thanks so much! Did you do the access course along side working ect? Do you think writing a email to head of course may help xx

Have you thought about podiatry? Its much much less stressful than nursing 9 to 5 weekends off.
I have complex PTSD and have hallucinations on and off managed with medication.
Nursing made me really ill. I was a nurse for 25 years. It is NOT a career for mentally ill people. You need to br incredibly tough.
As soon as I switched to podiatry I knew I had made the right decision. Short shifts and evenings and weekends free to socialise which people like us need.

Anything that comes up on a DBS in university is discussed at a panel. I would say it depends on how open, honest you are about it, when it happened, the severity ( so assault obviously worse than shoplifting at 16 etc) and lessons learned and how that impacts on your values. People have had past lives and that is recognised. Your illnesses - once again be open and honest. You will be reviewed by occupation health and any adjustments will need to be made, if your condition means that you can’t work in practice at all then that may impact but otherwise not. I’ve supported students with all sorts of health conditions as a personal supervisor on nursing programme.

Being honest, I have concerns as there could be issues with your conviction, your GCSE’s and your health to overcome. Nursing places massive demands on those training and working and if you are stable and working right now do you want to risk that?

There are allied health professions which have regular work hours and don’t have enough people so you can get burseries and getting a job is more likely. There are few band 5 nursing jobs around so even if you did the course there would be no guarentee of a job.

Agree with the advice above to discuss with uni; uni admission is the first step. But at least as of a few years ago, uni acceptance did not guarantee that the NMC would be happy to accept you at the completion of your degree. Someone in my cohort had a very stressful wait to find out if she would be allowed to join the register, because the NMC doesn't review your case until they receive the request to register you.

The fact that you have a criminal conviction related to work in a regulated healthcare setting is very unusual for would- be nurses, and would rightly require a huge amount of scrutiny. What if you became unwell again in future?

Also agree that nursing is not a healthy job for people with mental illness (as a nurse with mental illness). Night shifts alone are destabilising to mental wellbeing, let alone adding uni and work stress on top.

It's not a definite no, but you have many more hurdles to overcome than most students. Chat with uni is the first step.

@Headologistthe NMC rely on the university good health and character reference though not a dbs. They haven’t the manpower to have that level of administration. If your friend didn’t end up on the register it would have been because the university could not say she was of good health and character.

Exactly!!! Im always saying this. In the allied professions there sre loads of jobs and career progression is much quicker. In podiatry its usually band 6 within a year as we have not much use for band 5's.

Depends on how serious the conviction was? How long ago and is it still on your record? Your mh lived experience wouldn’t count against you.

Hi OP

Just another person chipping in to say give nursing very careful thought. Even without a MH problem, it is hugely pressured, bloody relentless and often distressing.

Bear in mind that in many contexts you may not be able to give good care secondary to poor staffing and very complex cases. Newspapers and older people would have you believe that nurses are "too posh to wash". That absolutely isn't the case, your just not given the time to do the job properly.

I pulled out of NHS work because frankly it felt like risking my PIN. Think carefully about registration with your diagnosis. The NMC are absolutely brutal and will happily throw staff under the bus.

Best of luck with what you choose.

Was your conviction for theft of drugs from a healthcare setting?

Because that would make acceptance onto a course quite difficult.

She was registered and has worked as a nurse ever since, but the registration was delayed while the NMC considered her case.

It does depend on what your conviction is for and whether you went to prison or had a community service order. However, if you don’t apply the answer is no anyway, so you have nothing to lose.

i stole money in a manic episode from my work place. Handed myself in. So probably doesn’t look good does it! I’ve taken accountability x

Obviously not ideal OP. But you didn't harm anyone, either accidentally or intentionally. I have no idea what uni or NMC will say. I do suspect they will have an issue with the mania though, as it sounds as if you had minimal/no insight there.