To wonder why Adult Nursing goes into Clearing every year?

[Trapordo]

Just that really. Thought AIBU would help as it's a strange one.

I have been considering nursing for a while now. Not sure if to bite the bullet and go for it. I just had one big question that I can't find online...

Why does my local uni ALWAYS have Adult Nursing in clearing? I thought it was insanely popular and very competitive, so why so many spaces left?

Thanks to anyone with an idea

Because they will offer places to students who then don't get the grades required for the course. Unlike lots of courses where it's the universities discretion to still allow them on, Nursing is regulated so they can't take people who don't make the requirements.

All unis try to make you think they’re highly in demand etc etc but the reality is nursing is a hard sell and it’s very rare for places to be competitive. Most unis have grades to get but unless people really bomb their a levels they are normally accepted with lower grades. I work in the nursing school in a v good uni (top 5 for nursing) and we have to do a lot of recruitment in order to fill places and always have spaces at the end so can offer them. It’s not a reflection of the uni it’s just nursing. Midwifery is another story- v cooperative!

Oh I see. I thought nursing and midwifery could let you on at their own discretion. Hence different unis demanding different things.

For example, midwifery beds allow you in with just an access course and no GCSEs, just do a maths module in the access course.

Where's somewhere like Greenwich want Science, English and Maths GCSE, preferably B or above, with an access course on top with mostly distinctions (I might be slightly off but it's around that)

I'm hoping to get a place through clearing for adult nursing (no offers from either of my two choices) it is the least competitive, with more spaces available than say child nursing and midwifery. Although the Access course I'm currently on are having to give predicted grades and some uni's are now offering unconditional offers, I'm hoping there will still be some spaces through clearing!

It's less popular than the other branches or was when I trained. Paediatric Nursing for example is really popular. I expect stopping the Bursary also has had an impact too.

Because they got rid of the training bursary and student nurses had to.pay tuition fee loans, let's not pretend.

Adult nursing has always had more places and is less popular. Stands to reason, there’s more needed. Midwifery and paeds nursing much more competitive. When I trained it was eleven applicants per place.

Fortunately, nursing students in Scotland have always received a bursary to allow them to study and Scottish student don't pay Uni fees either. I graduated as a nurse with no debt and had enough saved for a house deposit within 18 months.

Maybe English folk should vote for governments who value the training of nurses?

Iwould 11 applicants per 1 Adult nurse place?

Different university set different criteria based on how popular their courses are they all claim to be popular and competitive it's all part of their sales tactics....adult nursing has the biggest intake of all the nursing branches (by a lot) and at some universities even 2 intakes a year (at least they used to anyway) since scraping the bursaries and introducing fees it's hard to fill places on any nursing course, but especially adult nursing.

There has also been a big push towards apprenticeship's and a more on the job style or training over the last few years which although takes longer pays a wage so lots of reasons.

If you are seriously considering it I would look in more details about the different pathways to becoming a nurse make sure you pick the right one for you.

Yes adult nursing just has more places, more need for general nurses- you can specialise later if you do adult first. Go for it & good luck !

On a tangent, Some areas now offer Nursing degree Apprenticeships, all ages, paid to learn and no tuition fees 🙂👍👏

Because they got rid of the training bursary and student nurses had to.pay tuition fee loans, let's not pretend.

This I did the course in 2005 when it was a diploma and had a bursary. No way would I have done the course without pay for working full time and be in 60k debt.

Since you can make 5 choices when applying to university, one would expect more applicants than places, as only 1/5th of them (on average) will actually go there (assuming people use all their choices, though some won't).

So 11 applicants per place is only really 2 people who are competing with each other. And some of them will change their minds about their plans even if they get the required grades.