To wonder if I could work part time whilst doing a nursing degree?

[whatnoooow]

Hey,

I'm seriously considering retraining and looking at how to still be financially independent.

I know it'll be nigh on impossible to work part time in year 3, due to placement etc, but what about year 1&2?

I work an admin job at the moment, from home, so I was hoping to drop to part time.

Is this a silly idea and is it even doable?

Higher education is totally new to me, so I'm not sure what sort or timetable I'd be on whilst at uni.

One husband and no children with a reasonably large mortgage.

3rd year student midwife here. It would be impossible to do part time hours on top of full time placement unless you only did 8-12 hours a week, but even still that sounds mentally taxing. You could consider becoming bank staff and doing auxilliary work in your nearest hospital? Many healthcare students find that works well for them. I am hoping to do it myself once the checks are complete. I work part time in a shop but it's getting too difficult to commit to every weekend. Also, placement is not just in third year, you do it from year 1 of training. Hope this helps!

@Anonymous2003 ah thank you for the info. I didn't realise the placements were in year one as well. Glad I asked the question!

Yes, placements start straight away. From year 2, I worked as an auxiliary on the nurse bank. Worked well. You can pick and choose what shifts you do. I often used to do an early shift on a Sunday as you get a higher rate for Sundays.

Your placements start 7-8 weeks in

Many students do do bank HCA work - that's what worked for me. I did one shift most weeks then if we had a week off then I did a lot more

I worked throughout my nursing training and did hca night shifts. Most people have to work.

I worked throughout medical school including in placement years. It really was the norm for anyone not bankrolled by mum and dad. Not impossible at all and not too taxing - necessary for survival.

I worked during my nursing degree! And I have kids! It was hard work but worth it.

I worked throughout my nursing degree, most of us did as adults with bills to pay! I averaged about 25 hours a week of waitressing and bar work, which was totally doable.

Hmmm so it seems that the nursing degree may be different, in terms of free time to be able work part time, compared to midwifery?

Have you found that to be the case @Anonymous2003 ? Not sure if you have any student nurse pals?

I did. Same as you no children but alongside placements and the practical side be warned it is exhausting. I had no option but to work so got through but it was a lot. I was thankful when I qualified as I actually had free time and days off!

My niece is a student nurse, she and the majority of her friends do HCA bank shifts - if you're going to work elsewhere (eg bar, supermarket) you'll need a really flexible employer.

I don't think it would be feasible to hang on to a part-time admin job if it requires regular hours between 9 and 5, your uni hours and placements won't fit with that at all.

Student nurses and midwives have to complete the same number of practice hours, so no different in that respect.

The difficulty is you are expected to be flexible to an extent, to do your placement hours. A job that expects you to be in on set days/times probably wouldn't work, which is why a lot of students work bank shifts.

Does anyone know if you can work via bank if you don't have any HCA experience? I have signed up to the portal, but there are no roles on there at all? Maybe I'm doing something wrong. I need an NHS nanny!

This has all been really helpful, thanks everyone.

It is also worth looking at nursing apprenticeships.

I maybe should've clarified that I meant doing your admin job would be difficult on top of the course as it sounds like a large mental workload if that makes sense? But as other posters have said, we all work part time alongside the course.

In terms of banking, I know that students can apply after their first placement (band 2, then from 2nd year band 3) however I know lots of non-student auxilliaries with no previous healthcare experience. Maybe you could ask around for more advice re this

Hca work on Bank would be feasible and v useful. Lots of my Dr mates did (well didn't have a choice as they were graduate entry so not allowed student loans). I currently do 48-70h weeks whilst doing my masters (over 3y)

I did bar work throughout my midwifery degree and had a young child. It wasn’t much fun but it was very much doable.

We all worked LOADS whilst training. You're only on placement for about 20 weeks a year, so there's loads of time to work. The bank will likely take you on after your first placement, just opt for high value shifts and you'll be grand.

You can do nursing associate and then top up to full nursing as an apprenticeship- my husband is now doing this as part of his day job and working as a senior in a care home

I've just started my nursing degree after working in the NHS since 2017

My first year looks like this
14 weeks theory (so at uni)
2 weeks leave
7 weeks on placement
1 weeks leave
7 weeks theory
1 weeks leave
7 weeks placement
1 weeks leave
7 weeks placement
3 weeks leave
It's worth noting that my leave is not when schools are off and you definitely don't get the long holidays like you do with other degrees. Once you've done your first placement you can register on the bank as a HCA and pick up shifts that fit around other commitments.
Theory weeks we are in uni for 2 full days and the third day is home study. We've already been set a 2000 word assignment 800 word reflection and poster PowerPoint presentation to be done by next month so you do need to ensure you use your non uni days to get this done.
Hope this helps! X

Not impossible but difficult. I used to do bank shifts for my local hospital while I was training which allowed me to gain experience in areas I didn't go to placement and I could pick and choose depending on my uni work load

I didn’t work whilst doing my (midwifery) degree, however I did have a young child at the time. I did the odd babysitting job for a bit of extra cash.
Some of my fellow students did manage to work throughout the degree, but in very flexible jobs.

Year one I worked weekends in a takeaway, after that I banked as a HCA.
So yes worked all through training, was necessary.

Hi there, I'm a nurse. How flexible could your admin job be? You would need something which was really flexible, as when you're on placement in the hospitals etc you will be doing full time weeks.

Lots of students join the bank as healthcare assistants - really good option as you get loads of experience in different wards/clinical areas, whilst getting total flexibility with your hours. You can book night shifts, long days (usually something like 07.30-20.00) or shorter shifts like 07.30-15.00... all booked to suit you, so can fit perfectly around placement/uni and the hours you have.

I absolutely loved it... I'd say go for it. Good luck! Nursing is tough but I never regret it... can take you so many places xxx