Student Nurses doing Degrees - Come and tell me your experiences please!

[nikki1978]

I have lots of questions :)

How did you get onto the course?

Where are you studying?

How many hours are you at uni for?

Do you do blocks of study then blocks of placements?

If you have kiddies how has it been emotionally, physically and financially for you?

Are you enjoying the course?

And any other facts/wisdom you wish to impart

Am looking to start my access course in Sept then fingers crossed my degree next year. I want to go to Kingston as it has a good reputation and is the closest to me which is very important due to childcare and finances.

Bump :)

bump for me too!!
Can I ask Nikki are u having to pay for your access course,i have just been toldthat i dont qualify for any help not evenchildcare, my husband only earns £21,000 and we have 5 children we are financially responisible for,(3 live with us), and the course costs £1600,no way i can afford that, and childcare, and petrol costs(am 30miles away from nearest college)

bump

bump

Yes it will cost me £1380 and is 3 days a week from 9.30-3.00. I don't think you can get help with an access course but you should call your local college to check. I wonder if you can do it via distance learning?

www.accesstohe.ac.uk/students/finance.asp

thankyou so much for getting back to me, I am halfway between two colleges,have just phoned the other one which is Boston, lincs,and they only charge £700! OMG Thats over halfthe price of the other!
So am glad i enquired at a different college!

Oh that is great! I might check at some other colleges too :) The two closest to me charge the same amount. The only childcare issue I have is the hour after school which means I will need to put them in after school club and pay for the full 2.5 hours grrrr!

have discussed it with dh and might be we cant afford to do it but going to apply and see if i can get a job asap to save up some money, and hopefully find a job i could keep on throughout the year. It's only sept-june, and then the degree is paid for and we will still qualify for the full bursary.

Test

Have namehanged as is rather identifying!
Started in sept 07 to UCE. I don't have children. Went straight from my alevels. Course fees paid by govt. Got a maintenance loan of around £3k ish. Parents earnt over the threshold to get anything else.
I had worked in a hospital as a ward hostess all throughout sixth form so had lots of patient contact experience which the I interviewers loved.
They say it is 50-50 academic-practical butthis is over the three years in total rather than weekly or yearly.
From sept to Jan was spent in uni. 5 days a week. 8.30/9-5 most days, with two days of evening lectures until 7.
First placement was in Jan. 37.5 hours a week. Following the shift rota that your mentor does as close as possible.
I started placement late January. In the middle of january I got a pub job. Which was really flexible around placement and uni. And gave me something else to do besides placement! Even if it was just 2 shifts a week! People thought I was mad doing both but I enjoyed it.
I was on a neuro ward for first placement. Right in the deep end. Your placements get drawn at random for the first two years, although consideration is taken into account if you drive/live near a closer hospital etc.
Learnt a LOT sept-Jan. It was very intense and a few people had quit by november. Placement was 8 weeks long I think. Loved it. I got to spend time in neuro-surgery, with physios, a day in each special neurology clinic with each consultant and because a lot of our patients were bed bound, did a lot of intimate care and some had behavioral difficulties too. The multi disciplinary team was great.
Some of my friends however said that their mentors were lax, and disiterested. Some got their wards changed, and some complained.
I underestimated how much I would spend on bus fares.
I broke my wrist the week before my second placement on a liver unit, and was told I'd have to repeat the year to make up lost placement time. It suddenly hit me that I didn't want to be a nurse THAT much. And left. And I now work for a brewary! So at least I got something out of my time a uni! I loved being at uni and loved placement even more. But I think it was something I could have done as a job for a few years but not a lifelong career. I have a great first aid kit though...!
Top tips...
Always always always iron your uniform.
Get yourself a Lot of pens
Get yourself some little tiny notepads
Don't forge how essential the 'essentials' are. Putting a straw in someone drink or asking how milky they actually like their tea or making sure there are no creases in the sheets so patients arent uncomfortable can easily get forgotten.
Get yourself some patient contact experience if you can. Volunteer, clean, anything.
Invest in good shoes. 2 pairs. Swap each day on placement. They will last you a lot longer than 2 pairs bought one after the other. And save your feet.
There is a LOT of paperwork. Folders, portfolios, forms.
Get yourself organized a study area at home or somewhere you can file safely and store things.
..... Anything else just ask!