To go into nursing

[Freshstarts22]

I know the NHS is in a bad state (I’m already in the nhs) but would I be crazy to complete a nursing degree with the end goal of becoming a health visitor?

I would really love to hear from people that have done it recently. What’s the workload like and how often are you on placement? I’ve been toying with the idea of doing a degree in either social work, teaching or nursing for the last 5 years but instead focused on training and work experience. If I’m going to do it it’s now or never as I’d really like it to be before I’m 40 or it doesn’t seem ‘worth it’ (silly I know)

Im a single parent and what worries me the most is how I’d manage placements with childcare. How many days would I be in uni? The actual coursework doesn’t scare me, it’s hard, but I can be at home at least. But I need to know how many weeks/how often/ placements run for.

Don't do it

When I was a student nurse the course was 44 weeks long for three years. Placements were split 50:50 with academic time. Academic time was 4.5 days a week (Wednesday afternoons were off as university sports time). When on placement you weren't given the flexibility to pick and choose shifts/ days/ nights. I didn't complete my studies (which I regret) for a few reasons but I think without iron clad childcare that covered the full shift spectrum it'd be pretty difficult to juggle.

Whatever uni you're thinking of applying to will have the course duration and placement split on their website so that would be the place to get the most accurate answer.

Have you looked into seeing if you can do a nursing degree apprenticeship? That might be better in terms of being able to fit childcare around it.

In terms of going on to be a health visitor that's a further course after the degree- usually 12-18 months long.

I'm training at the moment.
At my uni placement and theory are 50/50 we are in uni two days a week on theory time.
Half the placements I have had have been a little flexible when it comes to shifts but some are alway mon-fri 9-5 and some are 12.5 hr shifts that they schedule for you.
From people on the course with me- its fine if your kids are in school or full time nursery and you can drive. Much harder if they are littler and you have to rely on public transport.

1st year I had four placements all si weeks long
2nd year hace 4 placements between 4 and 8 weeks long
3rd year between 4 and 12 weeks long

Can’t advise on placements etc as I’m a good few years out of uni but if you can get through the 3 years of uni and are able to juggle placements/childcare then definitely do it. I had 2 children during my training. It’s hard work, there’s no denying that.
Yes, the NHS is going to shit but I wouldn’t change by job for anything. We need people to continue training and coming into the professional if there’s any chance of improving healthcare.

I am in 1st year now with 3 primary/nursery aged dc. We do 3 placements of 6 wks, 4 wks, 4 wks and need to do 40hrs per week. Uni weeks are much lighter, I’m there 2 set days a week for 3 hrs and some additional days in some weeks for clinical skills sessions etc. One module is still done online. There is a lot of self directed study but I find that much easier than having full days of lectures because I can fit it around the kids more easily.

Sometimes it’s a juggling act but my placement was really flexible and supportive when I had to rearrange things around my son who has ASN, and uni have been great too. I love the course and am so pleased that at 40 I finally bit the bullet and went for it! I am in Scotland so finances may be different depending on where you live but I am managing ok on my bursary, it’s almost as much as my part time job wages were!

There is a good Facebook page called UK Student Nurses Support and Advice where people often ask for info about specific unis and how their timetables are structured which may be really useful for you. Good luck making the best decision for yourself and your family 🙂

I would only consider it if you have extremely good mental health that can cope with constant pressure. Can make your peace with the fact that you'll be forced to provide inadequate care to your patients, due to unrealistic workload, you cannot as an individual do anything to change this. You will be working in an extremely toxic system where bullying is rife, where raising concerns about safety will ALWAYS backfire on you. I left nursing ultimately, it was terrible for my mental health. Actual nursing is a great job, but the system you will be forced to work in is utterly broken and soul destroying.

I’m sorry to hear this, and it’s not the first time. Nurses I work with have said the same.

I definitely do not intend to work on wards though, unless I find I really love it. I’m interested in either community, school nursing or health visiting.

Thank you. This is the kind of info I was looking for. Only doing 3 placements a year in blocks of 4 or 6 weeks is manageable. I could probably arrange childcare around that, because it’s short term.
But… I only have one option for childcare and 3 years is a big commitment for one person to take on. It’s hard without knowing in advance what the shifts and travel time ect will be. I’m essentially asking someone to commit to an unknown amount of childcare.

I'm a second year student, about to finish my second placement this year. I'm nearly 40 and have a DD (12).
I've really struggled this year, I think it's actually very common in year two! The academic work isn't horrifically hard if you are a good essay writer and put the work in, but the juggling is hard. Most wards are 13 hour shifts, although all of my placements have taken into account your working requirements and been brilliant scheduling the rota.
However - you WILL come across bad practice, hostile and unwelcome staff and bitchy teams. I have found wards to be incredibly bitchy places to work, but there are generally people on each who make it worth while.
For me the patients make it. I have met some lovely people and have had many happy conversations. Every day at work I have an interaction with a patient that stays with me, and it could be hysterically funny, touching, sad, enlightening or supportive.

It's a balance. It's a brilliant thing to do, it's a privilege to touch the lives of people in a positive way at a hard time. However they put an 8 week academic module about personal development and resilience for a reason.
Oh and you will be poor and stressed for 3 years, that goes without saying! 😂

Go for it! We need nurses! I love my job! Lots of job satisfaction.
We're normally flexible with students and shifts re childcare as ourselves would be able to request or swap certain shifts.
Normally it's 50:50 uni and placement and whilst working full time you have your assignments and exams to prepare for.

It's a tough 3 years, but to me it's worth it! I've been qualified for nearly 13 years and don't know what else I would do!

Don't do it the training is dreadful (third year) There's a saying nurses eat their young . I only have experience in healthcare so very limited to go into a different career. if you really want too I wouldn't choose adult nursing choose one of the more niche fields there's usually better staffing.

Have you managed to get yourself on one of the NHS-existing staff CPD courses? Where you get your existing salary (less weighting payments), no fees type-gig. In which case just go for it, give up if it becomes undoable.

Nursing is a great career, there’s something for everyone and it’s a passport around the world. But nurse training in the UK is awful, there’s a high attrition rate - in 2020 a third of nursing students dropped out, it was 10% when I trained 40 years ago. Very hard to juggle assignments with working long shifts and long commutes to placements, it’s particularly onerous here in the south west, where hospitals are few and far between.

We desperately need nurses, so it’s incomprehensible that they’ve made the training so off-putting and expensive.

I’m not a nurse but if that’s your passion you should go for it.

There are so many nay-sayers for such key professions on MN. I can tell you my experience of being in corporate life for 20 years (within Pharma and healthcare). On calls from 6-7am in Asia to 9-10pm for West Coast. No work-life balance and huge politicking. Spent more time justifying what my team could/should/did do that actually doing. Worked with some amazingly smart individuals, also worked with some incredible bullies.

Point is there are no ‘easy jobs’. I understand the NHS is in a bad place but if that’s what makes you happy (helping patients) you should pursue it as many on MN will make you believe the grass is always greener and believe me it’s not.

You would be nuts.

We are all ill with stress.

In my team more nurses are off sick than not off sick.

Unless you can afford to work very part time our quality of lives are poor because we are so so exhausted when we get home, and on our off days to have the energy to do anything.

Please don't be fooled into thinking community nursing is any different... thats where i work and the stress is just as high . Just different stress.

I’m in Scotland and I qualified away back in 2008 but we often have student nurses in my workplace. Placements are variable in length- I remember having short placements that were about 6 weeks and then my management one that was about 14 weeks I think. I did a mix of 8hr, 12.5hr and nightshifts. The course itself isn’t stressful as such, but juggling studying, placement and a family easily could be.

in terms of the job itself, I’m currently very happy in a job where I genuinely do not feel stressed or overwhelmed. However, it’s part of a very different service to which most work in and I worked in incredibly stressful wards for 13 years before this. When I was still a staff nurse, I was genuinely about to quit nursing altogether. Like, had lined up work experience in a school and was applying to uni’s to do teaching. I was in tears before and after shifts and hated it. I went on a period of maternity leave and my husband started a new job in a brand new service and told me to give it a try before I stopped nursing altogether. I did and I’m much happier now, with a much better work life balance.

there are jobs out there that don’t bring the same stress but I think they are few and far between, and you need years of experience to get them.

To be honest I will be going strictly agency and just picking up when I want less stress.

Don't do it. Going into nursing was one of my biggest life mistakes-I really wish I could meet my 20 year old self and tell her not to do it and pick a generic degree. I am desperately trying to leave the profession and have been for the last year, but all my efforts have been to no avail. I thought my many years of nursing would leave me with so many transferable skills that employers would be interested in but alas, I am struggling to even get a callback for entry level jobs. Bullying is rife, nurses really do eat their young, there can be toxic management and a blame culture. Doing night shifts (often 4 in a row) is so damaging for your health in the long term. The money is also crap, I am in my early 30's and whilst the graduate salary was okay compared to my friends, my earning potential has now hit a wall and many of my friends who picked other subjects at uni are earning double what I am earning. If I had my time again I would pick something else.

Paediatric nurse for 19 years here. Do it OP. It's the best job. Paediatrics is not as bad as a adults and work loads are smaller. Yes it can be hard work at times but it's worth it.
Can't comment much on balancing children, as don't have any 😰. But my colleagues seem to manage ok.

I have no intention of working on wards though. Community work is 9-5, at least in my department it is and as I said, my aim is to become a health visitor.

All I would say is go into it fully armed with the facts. Go into it knowing how poorly paid it is. Knowing how undervalued the staff are. Knowing that under successive governments you will be protesting for fair conditions and fair play.

Don't assume that community is easier though. A friend of mine does community and also really struggles with the workload. The demands in the community are massive and the best way I heard it described was "wards without walls". You are getting much more complex, sicker, patients that are now managed in the community.

I did this, completed a paediatric nurse degree with the main goal to become an HV.

I completed it, popped out a baby half way through the nursing degree, slogged through the pandemic, went straight onto the HV degree and the rest is history.

I love it.

The beauty of a nurse degree and/or HV degree is there are so many different avenues to go down.

I quite like the idea of being a safeguarding nurse in a few years or a named safeguarding nurse.

Feel free to PM me as I have done this recently.