To put myself first and do my degree.

[GettingBackToIt]

Dc's are 5 and 9 and I have been a SAHM since my eldest was born.
Currently looking into doing an access course in nursing and midwifery with the hopes of gaining enough ucas points to be able to gain access to a mental health nursing degree.
The access course would be no problem but the degree is 4 years long and would include a lot of placements to which I'd have no idea of hours until the placements were set.
Dh has lived away for most of this year due to work and could be away at any time really so it would be extremely difficult but I just feel I've put this on hold for so long.
Anyone on here managed to do a nursing/shift placement degree with young children?

What would your plan be for childcare when you're doing shifts?

I’ve just finished Access science with three DC in tow as a single parent. I was offered a place at a University to do Medicine with a Foundation Year. My absolute dream. But realistically not doable due to the shift work involved as I have no childcare. I never expected to be offered a place and turning it down was devastating but absolutely the right thing to do.

I’m doing Medical Microbiology at the same University instead.

I'd have to ask for a lot of family help. It would be doable but I wouldn't be around as much for dc's and they've had me around at their beck and call since day one so I'd be worried how it would effect them having me gone so much. Dh is supposed to be home for at least 18 months now and usually only away for weeks at a time but has been almost 8 months this year.

I'm a lone parent and did an access course by distance learning. I'm not coming to the end of the 2nd year of my nursing degree. It can be done if your childcare arrangements are rock solid.

*now

Its hard isnt it pipe, congratulations on getting through your access with 3 children, that in itself is a massive achievement! Good luck for your microbiology degree.

What other degrees / careers have you considered?

Hmm, a lot to think about here. Firstly, are you expecting family to help or have they offered to help? If they help how much help are you talking about? Will it include overnight care if you are on nightshifts, or is it only school pick ups and have them for a couple of hours. Could you afford alternative care, such as an au pair?

You need to plan for both the worst case scenario and the best case scenario, and then assume that it will usually fall somewhere in between, but that it can - and usually at the worst possible moments - swing to the worst case scenario.

Thank you shapely. I'm not sure how much if my placement would be evening work As I'm assuming most mental health nursing would be day clinic etc but I know it involves working with inpatients and prisoners so could include night work. I might go in and have a talk with the tutors first to see how suitable it would be.
Amazing that you've been able to do it though you must be so proud of yourself.

My DC were nine six and one when I started college after being at home since I had my eldest so it was a big change for them. But it was now or never.

If you have back up childcare for overnight then you should be fine.

If you have family around to help, then go for it. You need to get a place on the access course and complete that first, so you wouldn't be starting the degree for a while yet. By then your children will be a bit older anyway and the oldest nearly at secondary school.

It seems like they are a good age for you to be starting this.

Im not too sure what else to do Rabbits. After being at home for so long it's the only thing I feel passionate about.
Any alternative suggestions that are more family friendly would be welcomed though if anyone has any ideas?

It’s hard, but not impossible.
You get the same holidays as the children, so that’s good from childcare point of view.
When at uni, it’s 2-3 days a week, so not too bad. The fun part is when you’re on placement.

Shifts can be negociated. If you contact your mentor beforehand and ask, I’m sure they’ll try and accomodate you.
You could negociate 3 long days, but you don’t see your kids, shift starts at 7 am finishes at 8pm.
Or you could do weekends. There are ways around it, you’re not the first mature student with small kids.

But: you don’t get a bursary anymore. You leave uni with 30 grand in debt (and that’s just tuition fee) to go to a salary of £21,700 or thereabouts. In hand, before pension, it’s around £1,200.
Do the maths, and if you can afford it, I’d say go for it.

Could you afford something like au pair . So they live in house and can do child a short notice.

As some shifts will be early morning and late night or night work .
That way with famliy g
Help you coukd do it .

Not sure I'd want a full time au pair but I suppose if it came to it and dh was given notice of a long period of travel it would be an option.

Right so, you are not sure what else to do. You've gone for the equivalent of being a train driver, ballet dancer or fire fighter. A thing you understand from your normal life.

There are loads and loads more jobs out there that could offer similar job satisfaction.

Can you do a more generic access course? Keep options open.

When on the course get involved in the careers groups. Network like crazy. Find out what other people do for a living. Ask midwives and nurses what alternative career paths they'd suggest. There are thousands of jobs out there that most people have never even heard of.

Why nursing in particular? Occupational therapists, for example, can also specialise in mental health, but training would be much more 9-5.

I am going to university in October to do a Masters in Occupational Therapy. After working from home for 4 years and having lots of flexibility for the kids (now 11 and 8) it will take some planning but worth it in the end. I spoke to some Occupational Therpists and there are family friendly jobs out there, so it may be worth speaking to professionals to get an idea. Also speaking to the university and finding how parents have managed study and family commitments. Best of luck!

Ive just qualified as a mental health nurse and its totally achievable. It flies by and is no harder than working full.time

I say do it if you can.
I'm a single mother with two dcs (8&9 one with a disability). I just finished my degree in social work, which involves placements. I'm lucky enough to have a retired mother for childcare and help from exhub.

It was tough going, assignments etc But I have achieved something I never thought possible and it will give me some kind of job security for life.

Look at your finances, your childcare options and discuss with your partner the notion that it's now your time to do this.

I hope it all comes together for you.

I'm not sure how much if my placement would be evening work As I'm assuming most mental health nursing would be day clinic etc but I know it involves working with inpatients and prisoners so could include night work. I might go in and have a talk with the tutors first to see how suitable it would be.

You ideally need to find out what the course looks like at the unis you'd be applying to. The NMC requirements state you have to have participated in the 24 hour care cycle during your placements. My uni dictates this to be 150 hours of nights as a minimum, whatever field of practice you're studying.

Different unis also have different holidays. Mine most certainly don't line up with school holidays. I essentially study year round but with 3 weeks off at Christmas and a few other weeks off scattered through the rest of the year. My uni has us physically in uni for 2 days per week while on a study block and we're expected to work from home for the other 3. Other unis want daily attendance.

I'd also caution against relying on placements being flexible about your hours. Due to the huge influx of nursing places the government is demanding, many will be hosting too many students to give much flexibility at all, especially those who are moving towards a coaching model rather than a mentorship model. Some already host too many students to allow flexibility, even before the government pressure.

It can be done. But I'd plan and budget for the worst case scenario.

Nursing students do not get the long uni holidays. Please bear in mind that your placements do not have to accommodate your shifts due to childcare but also have to consider learning experience and working alongside your mentor. You would also need to ensure your family support would continue after 4 years when you get a post.

There will be some 9-5 community placements (although they could be based anywhere so you could have a hefty commute on top of that) but funding is shit in psychiatry nowadays so it's moving towards more emergency crisis care which will be unsociable hours as well as inpatient work. You'll be expected to work weekends as well. You need to make sure family are 100% on board to help with childcare.

Student nurse here and I agree with ShapelyBingoWing

I recently spoke to a HR person in the NHS about returning to work and she said it was possible to get some work experience to see what a job entails, this might be useful for you as I’ve found lots of jobs aren’t like the job description in practice.