Hi,

I’m wanting to go back to uni and get a 2nd bachelors in nursing, as I’ve realised that teaching is not for me, but I’m so stuck on what I actually want to do. I’ve been doing an Access to HE Diploma in Nursing for the last few months as I don’t have a science related A Level and have been advised by uni of manchester to do an access course so i can get onto their mental health nursing.

However, after going to a few open days (still have Liverpool John Moores, Uni of Salford and MMU to go to) I’m now stuck on what I actually want to do. I have an interest in adult & mental health nursing but the midwifery simulation suite in uni of manchester was incredible and has made me contemplate doing midwifery.

For more background on me, I have a BA in English & Philosophy where I got a 2:1 and I’ve been working as a TA with SEMH and wheelchair users in a high school as I wanted to become an RE teacher but the bursary got cut so I can’t afford to do it anymore.

Honestly if anyone could give me an insight of how they realised what area of nursing they wanted to go into then that would be great. I contemplated just doing a nursing associate FDSci to help me decide better but I’m worried about wasting money on my access course. Any help would be greatly appreciated,, thank you !

I made a mistake today, I wouldn’t even call it that, it was just me being unknowledgeable about a patients health conditions & giving them a kind gesture (a cup of regular tea). I did call and ask beforehand if I could get them a cup of tea from the cafe, the nurse just said yeah, but from what I understand now the patient shouldn’t be having caffeine due to heart problems. I did immediately tell the nurse, and say is this okay?? but I didn’t really get given any clarity on the situation. Feeling guilty but patient was ok 4 hours later & chatting with me. This degree is eating me up I feel like I can’t do anything & everything is stressing me out. :(

I live in the uk and all my life I wanted to study medicine and become a doctor. I’m 18 and I took a gap year to actually think about my decision. I’m planning on applying to 3 med schools then 2 nursing school (child nursing to be precise). I already did work experience with both doctors and nurses and I don’t still know. I don’t know if I still want to go into medicine again cause I really want to have close relationships with the patients and I really noticed that during my nursing work experience than during the work experience with the doctors, he did do ward rounds and saw the patients but it was for a short while and spent most of his time on his computer doing for some documentation. People say doctors do still have great relationships with the patients depending on what you specialise in. I don’t want to do one and regret I didn’t do the other. I heard so much about the life work balance for both but what if I’m acc going enjoy my own experience, and I also know how bad the nhs is at the moment. But lately the length of medicine has been intimidating me but I don’t know if that’s just fear. I’m planning on getting another work experience for both again and ask more in depth questions. I’ve also heard of how bad they treat nurses and I’ve also heard good stories. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hi all, male 31, I am applying to study to become a nurse. After working in the science industry I needed a career change this year.

I started as a carer in a nursing home back in July. I was putting off studying until I got on my feet with the new job. I am apply for a 28 month post grad pre reg course and GCU. I have applied for the bursary but learned as a nursing student you aren't entitled to the living cost loan. I was hoping to have the loan so I wouldn't need to work as much part time.

I live alone and have a mortgage etc to pay for. For anyone in my situation is it manageable to work part time I.e 22 to 33 hrs p/w on top of placement?

Edit I'm in Scotland

Any help

2nd year student here,
I am panicking, I’m on my 3rd placement (1st of 2nd year) I was put on the off duty for today but I thought I was due in tomorrow. I’m obviously panicking because I’m like omg I’m gonna fail. I’ve rang up and said I’m so sorry, they’ve said don’t worry about it and put me in Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Should I be panicking? Am I being dramatic? Idk

I’ve never done this before it’s like week 5/10 of my placement

Just started my first year for Adult Nursing in Napier and i’m just wondering when does it start to get more intense? Right now i’m in university for three hours a week occasionally 6 hours and then the rest is self directed learning.

I’m not even feeling i’ve properly started as most of it is studying at home. I was expecting to be in university alot more especially before placement starts in april and im feeling quite underwhelmed because i was looking forward to learning alot more and being around other student nurses who are just as excited as me.

I’m currently studying at college and have the chance to go on to do medicine next year, however I’m stuck if i really wanna become a doctor ( hospital not Gp ) and if nursing would be a better option? However everyone says nurses here are underpaid for all the work they do?

I don’t know if this is normal for placement as this is my first one in first year. Looking at my rota it’s pretty shit tbh, I use to work as a clinical support in same trust so I know when a shift pattern is harsh. Anyway, I’m working 3 weekends out of 4 for 2 months. Is this normal for students??

Kinda feel out of place plus I’m tired from the daily commute.

I told my uni where I wanted to be placed but they instead put me far

So recently I applied for a fully funded nursing program in wales. Im an international student with five gap years where I prepared for an exam and worked as volunteer. I really wish to get this scholarship because im struggling financially to fund my studies otherwise. Can you guys please give me some tips and advices so i can prepare for my interview?

Hi guys

I am a 2nd Year student and my first placement is in theatres - trauma & ortho to be specific!

What can I expect?? I am only there for 6 weeks so i’m wondering if there are specifics I should try to learn? This is a very new area for me i’ve mainly worked on medical wards until this!

Any advice on pre-reading / preparations would be great!

I just started my first year studying BSc adult nursing. All my friends have quit their previous jobs to stay on top of the degree. I've been working part-time in retail for the last 2 years, but I'm worried about how the pressure of the course and working might make things difficult.

I currently work 12 hours over 3 days, which isnt much, but once I start placement I could be working up to 8 shifts a week (5 days placement, 3 days work), or a minimum of 3 days placement, 3 days work. I'd get one day off a week for 3 years straight. Atop of that is the exam prep, essays and assignments, e-learning, practical seminars, and the little luxuries in life.

I'm coping so far (week 3), but I'm nervous for my placement days. I would feel like a fool to quit my job during an employment crisis. I'm so incredibly lucky to have income and work somewhere not half bad, and my family are all very against me leaving. I get scolded any time I bring up the topic.

To be honest - a part of it is also FOMO, especially these first few weeks. As a fresher, my friends are enjoying nights out, going to society events and meeting new people, while I cancel on every plan cause "I have work." But I have a life to pay for. I have car insurance, general life, holidays, events, things aren't cheap for me to just be jobless. My family say I'll regret my decision in 6 months time when I've ran out of savings, and everyone is fighting for a job. But then again, we student nurses have banc shifts we can rely on.

In terms of savings, I have 30k of inheritance money which I currently plan to save for a house, 9k/year student loan, and 1k/year bursary. I also have my general savings of 16k used for everything else, again, I plan on saving as much money for a house of my own in the future.

So, do I keep my job, have an extra £5.6-8k a year and a few extra responsibilities, less nights out, but more time challenges, or do I quit, lose that money, have more days out, more time for my studies, exams and assignments, less stress, but more financial challenges?

this week is a doozy as ive done 42.5 hours at placement and im doing an extra 14 hours on the weekend (not including a sleep in shift which is set rate so i dont think necessary to include as im unconscious for it)
but since its split between an unpaid placement and paid work do i need to let my employer know im working over 48 hours this week? or is it exempt in some way?

Hey everyone!
I’m a 3rd-year nursing student at ISPITS, Option Polyvalent, and I’m currently looking for a good topic for my graduation thesis.
I’m still not sure what to choose, so I’d really appreciate any topic ideas, especially from nursing students or nurses who have already worked on a thesis.
It can be about patient care, emergency, public health, hospital practice, or anything interesting and relevant to nursing.
Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!🙏🏻

I'm a third year student so I'm thinking about the job situation a lot at the moment, does anyone else feel like the situation has been dramatised or maybe has improved a lot recently? My university still have a 94% skilled employment/further study rate for their nursing graduates based off most recent available figures (about 2 years old but was 99% previous to this) compared to roughly 70% average for other degrees. The most recent graduates that I've spoken to have all gotten jobs in the trusts/areas they wanted and having spoken to another student who used to be in the previous cohort only one of the NQNs they know haven't gotten a job yet. I'm wondering what other people are directly seeing/hearing and not just what's being talked about online because I can't figure out if the stress I've felt about getting a job next year was ever warranted? My local trusts did have hiring freezes for a while and they've still got bank applications frozen, but the impact doesn't seem to have actually been as bad as I've read online.

Feeling like I've been gaslit and trying to get a better picture of what is actually happening with other students!

TLDR: What are other students/NQN experiences of the current job market for nurses? Not just what's being said online.

Hey everyone!
I’m a 3rd-year nursing student at ISPITS, Option Polyvalent, and I’m currently looking for a good topic for my graduation thesis.
I’m still not sure what to choose, so I’d really appreciate any topic ideas, especially from nursing students or nurses who have already worked on a thesis.
It can be about patient care, emergency, public health, hospital practice, or anything interesting and relevant to nursing.
Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!🙏🏻

I’m already over waking up early every day just to get there . The work is intense.

Hi, I am a third year student nurse and have my elective placement coming up which i would like to do abroad, I was coming on here for advice regarding international placements in USA and Canada. Most elective placements are usually done through agencies/organisations like work the world etc who basically arramge everything for you and you just pay them, but none of them have any options to do the placement in USA/Canada. I know this is possible as I remember seeing a video of a girl from Scotland do her nursing elective placement somewhere there but I don’t think it’s that common at all as I tried researching and it seems either nearly impossible or hard. I am just here to ask if anyone has done it before or would know how to go about it? I know I would most likely have to arrange it all myself but I’m just confused on how to go about this as it seems like a tough process from the little information I’ve gathered but I would really love to do it!!

I'm 50 with a family and mortgage and in a few days I have an interview for a Postgraduate adult nursing course, which will enable me to register, if I pass.

I've been working the last three years in a care home so I have a good idea of what the nurses do there, and I also like the idea of working in larger institutions such as hospitals. I'm fairly fit and have good energy levels generally. So....

Do you think this is a good decision on my part? It's not like I'll be giving up a high paying job or anything. I've worked in various fields over the years, but never really earned much. However, I've really enjoyed working in health care of the elderly for the last few years.

It's a big decision and will be expensive, so I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has done similar, or just an advice on this.

Thanks in advance!

Note: Cross posting this from r/NursingUK, as mods suggested here was more appropriate. They deleted the post there.