Does anyone know if we can get flexibility in nursing hours whilst on placements

[MUMS210]

I’m hoping to start a master degree in nursing as the health and social one I hold has not had much jobs.

I have been looking at the requirements it states you would need to do late, early, night and weekend shifts.

Which I can’t do because I’m a single mum with no support from anyone whatsoever.

the only time my daughter is without me is when she’s in nursery or school. Which I do pay private nursery from 8-6.

In wondering if uni or placement will let me do these day hours because of my circumstances.

I wouldn’t have thought so, certainly not in my area you need to work the same shift as your mentor.

Literally the ONLY place you will get this info is from your course team.

Going forward, have you any idea at all if you will be able to work school hours mon-fri term time only once you qualify? I suspect these positions would be insanely scarce and equally sought after?

Sounds like you need to rethink your plans OP...

Sorry but no. When I did student nursing, those shifts were required by all - parents and non parents. The night shifts is actually a legal requirement by the NMC. I think you have to do four in total.
best bet if you can get through the training is once qualified to get a bank nurse job, rather than staff nurse. Health visitor, GP surgeries and district nursing might be good for you as bank staff.

Also, if your child is unwell, you will still need to attend placement and classroom based uni. Every hour counts and is submitted to the NMC for certification. At Southampton uni, they used to pass this thing round at random classes and you had to swipe an ID badge or put in your code I think to prove you were there.

Are there really no social work jobs?

When I trained to be a midwife a few years ago, we had no choice in the shifts we were allocated and they were allocated only 10 days in advance. I even complained about it and argued it was unfair on parents but I didn’t get anywhere. Things might have changed slightly now everyone pays fees but I think it is very unrealistic to think you will only be expected to work within nursery hours. In the end, I got an au pair for maximum flexibility. Good luck.

Yes I was hoping once I qualify I’ll work as a school nurse or outpatients nurse which will be from 8-5 mon-Fri.

I do hold a undergrad degree I don’t know what else to do. I want to have a secure future and job.

Yeah I thought so it’s to do with NMC. Which is a huge shame because then I won’t be able to do it.

Nope not in any of the Scottish universities anyway. To do your nursing training you need to be able to do all shifts including nights.

Look at options in Occupational Therapy as n alternative It is non shift profession as a rule so will have Monday- Friday training placements and jobs.
They are desperate nationally for OT’s so job prospects once qualifying are good.

Honestly nothing, 8 years I’ve had this degree just working as a band 2

Could you look at safeguarding roles?

I've got a similar degree to you (social care studies). Have you considered being an activities coordinator in care homes? Or a play worker on children’s wards in hospitals? Day centre support worker for older adults or homeless people?
Id wait until your child is older and can be trusted to walk to and from school or you have bullet proof childcare before considering nursing. Sorry op x

Very unlikely. I recommend OT instead (Ok, I'm biased, as I am one!) as the working hours are much more likely to be 9-5 Mon-Fri. Some services are moving to 7 days a week working (e.g. discharge to home / mental health) but there's definitely no shift work.

In England I know of several student nurses who are mums/ single mums and had lots of flexibility as you are not in numbers. Depends on the ward/ hospital culture. But I would say it is entirely possibe

DS is a nurse and it really is very limited flexibility with shifts (he is now a nursing mentor and has just been talking to me about this exact situation last week). You have to fit in 2300 hours of practice somehow and assuming you are doing a two-year masters this is even more accelerated than in a three-year undergrad. Students are indeed supernumerary, but that doesn’t mean that you can do your hours 9 to 5. You have to be there at least some of the time for the 12 or 13 hour shifts and you have to do at least some overnights. Depending on your job at the moment, if you already work in some kind of front line healthcare role, you may be able to get a reduction in the number of placement hours needed. Some placement hours are also made up sometimes of seminars or online training etc but it still leaves hundreds of hours to fulfil requirements. Some placements may actually have regular hours for example in community nursing but depending on the university the geographic spread of placements may be great so you may end up with an hour commute to arrive for a 9 am start which needs to be factored in as well. DS Was pretty lucky to train in a large city and also had a car but was still sometimes leaving home at 6:15 or 630 to get to his placement.

Assuming you have a limited number of universities where you can apply, your best bet is to speak to the admissions department there directly to establish exactly how they organise their placements, the frequency and duration of placements (which can vary between universities) and how they feel you could make this work as a single parent with no outside support. Do bear in mind though that it is not the university which determines the timetable for your placements but the individual hospital or clinic.

OP, what is it about nursing that particularly appeals to you? Would a more regular healthcare role equally appeal?