Access to nursing help needed

[Unicorndreamer]

Hello Everyone. I have my interview on Thursday for an access to nursing course. I wondered if there is anything particularly I should revise/prepare for ?? I have 16 years experience of working for the nhs as a Healthcare Assistant . I did 6 years in trauma theatres and 10 years on a midwife led maternity unit. I really want to become a paramedic. My youngest child is 3 years old and stars nursery in September. I feel the time has come for me to pursue my ambition of becoming a fully qualified member of the NHS and being part of the ambulance service is something iv always wanted to do. I am 35 now and have not done any schooling for a very long time and worry I may be too old for going back to college ? Will I be given an exam on interview day or will my maths and English exam be at a later date ? The letter just states to attend interview but I was told previously that a basic English and maths exam is part of the acceptance criteria for this course ? Has anyone had their interview recently amd can you tell me what it was like ? I am really really nervous

Anyone

You have got so much experience you can easily talk about that in your interview!
The Maths and English are basic, more to make sure you're at a good standard level. The test and interview are normally on the same day too.

You shouldn't be worried I can guarantee there will be people of the same age and even older attending, those courses are usually for mature people who have been out of education for a while.

Good luck :)

How come you're doing an access to nursing course to become a paramedic? They're completely different careers!

Good luck anyway

It's so I can get the qualifications to get into uni. It's an access to health course which is what nurses ,midwives and paramedics use to get into uni

Do you have a Maths and English GCSE or at least (I think) an NVQ equivalent in Maths and English? The access course I applied for wouldn't accept anyone who didn't have those qualifications as the University's would ask for them when you apply to them (might have changed as it was a few years ago).

Obviously, I guess all colleges are different but you have no problem with all your work experience which is another thing that you had to have. The interview was just asking about why you want to go into nursing and what area you want to focus on.

As for the tests, I can remember doing a very basic maths test but the written work was a kind of comprehension test about the pros and cons of Madonna adopting kids from Africa

Ahh I see! That sounds good; I thought it was more nursing-based which might not have been so helpful.

I imagine they'll want to hear about your passion for healthcare, and given all your experience you should have no problem with that. I imagine they might want to explore your understanding of the nature of paramedic work and the emergency side of it, rather than hospital-based continuing care.

Do you have GCSE Maths and English grade C and above? You may need to provide evidence of these.

Good luck!