Health Visitor Training Course

[romanuik75]

Hi folks. I have recently applied for the above course and was wondering if anyone has recently been through it and if so can you give me some advice eg how often you are in uni and on placement etc. I have emailed the uni several times asking these questions and they just don't get back to me, know others who have been doing the same its terrible they just don't respond to you! Its just so I know if this course will be feasible for me as I have 3 children and need to work out the practicalities. Thanks.

I have some colleagues that have done the course and it's basically a full time job. They were on placement 4 days per week then in uni 1 day per week. It will probably vary slightly with each uni. One of my colleagues used to have to go to late lectures which finished at 8pm but that was just the way it was done at that particular uni.
It's nothing like the nursing course where you spend blocks in uni and blocks on placement. It's hard work. My old boss wanted me to do the course but i refused because i couldn't fit it in with looking after DS. My colleague told me that it kind of takes over your life for the year you are doing it.

Thanks for your reply I have heard others say it is really hard going. Think I will need to have a long think about what I am going to do. Thanks again x

My friend is a health visitors assistant (a qualified nurse but not a qualified HV) her trust is trying to get her to do the course but she has one child who is still school age (17) but she has to drive her to school and pick her up and she's waiting till she's left school because she's heard the work load and commitment is massive. The other thing you have to watch is the pay, she's currently top band five but they will only pay her bottom band five when she does the course. It's also all child protection stuff these days, no more sitting in clinics giving out advise on introducing solids, she does this now, so very stressful at times requiring you to make difficult decision. Lastly you have to work for the trust for a year afterwards and they won't guarantee it's where she's working now so she could be placed a significant distance from her home (she's rural).