What is the open university k101 equivalent too?

[Caite]

Hospitals love volunteers. They'll probably have you just doing things like answering phones, or giving out cups of tea or whatnot, but I know when we had a lad volunteering who wanted to be a doctor, if there was anything he would think of as exciting, and the patient was happy to have someone else there, we'd bring him along. Just let the nurses and doctors know you want to be a nurse.

Loads of people on my course had done the Health and Social Care course at college - possible a BTEC? Others had been HCAs and had done their Access to Nursing Course and I think some had NVQs. I did A Levels at college.

I guess with a LO you don't want to move away? But I think Scotland allows people to start their nurse training at 17.5 years old.

Working with teenaged mums is amazing. I spent a placement with the teenager's midwives, and I loved it. It is what I would like to do ultimately (well that or research). I also considered health visiting, and again wanted to end up working with teenaged mums.

I don't know how difficult the conversion courses are to get on. I know when I was working as a nurse, we had a children's nurse, who had been employed in A&E, who was seconded by them and was doing her conversion to adult. She had a placement on my ward.

The jobs/areas I can think of which would lead to working with children: health visitor(though that's also lots of dealing with parents and loads of child protection stuff, too) or staff nurse on the health visiting team, school nurse (again, would be quite a bit of child protection), neonatal unit, family nurse practitioners (maybe family nurse partnerships, or something with a similar name (I may have gotten the name slightly wrong) - I'm not 100% sure of their role, but I think they work with families who need extra support), theatre nurse/recovery nurse/anaesthetic nurse or ODP (they're not nurses but seem to be replacing anaesthetic nurses), A&E, outpatients, specialist community nurses, such as neonatal outreach (looking after babies discharged home from the neonatal unit), macmillan nurse (possibly?), or specialist nurses, such as diabetes nurses, transplant nurses, epilepsy nurses, possibly tissue viability nurses. Or if you did mental health, working in the child and adolescence community team, I imagine there are also paediatric inpatient units for mental health. Or working as a learning disability nurse. But, not all branches will allow you to retrain as a health visitor, I know adult nurses can do it, but I'm not sure about children's nurses and I don't think mental health and learning disability nurses can.

 

[Feff]

Oh I don't mind what I do really, it'll all look good! I couldn't find an email address for my local hospitals, do you think it'd be okay to ring them and ask?

Oh so there was a fair mix then? That's good to hear, it makes me feel a lot better!

Scotland would be a bit far I think but I think it's the same in wales! If I did get into university for September then I would be 18 by then anyway

That sounds brilliant! I would absolutely love to, the midwives at the hospital where I had Elodie was so lovely to me. They were telling me how mature I was and not putting me down for my age or anything, they were really nice so I would love to be able to do that for some other teenagers! I know some midwives (and definitely health visitors!) can be offish with you for being young.

Wow thank you so much! Isn't it crazy how much you can do with just one degree? I looked into adult nursing in my local universities and they do a march intake for adult nursing so I will apply for next march with adult nursing!

Thank you so much everyone for all your help, I really appreciate it! xxx

 

[orange-sox]

No point in me repeating all the excellent advice from Caite ;-)

Ultimately however you do it you'll find yourself with one of the most rewarding careers out there. Your choices and career aspirations will change throughout your training... There's very few nurses who end up exactly where they thought they'd be! That's the absolute beauty of nursing, there's literally endless possibilities once you're qualified.

I'm applying for a post graduate course right now in occupational health, and my back up jobs that I've only just applied for are in substance misuse and outpatients ophthalmology.... How much more diverse could you get?

Good luck with the March intake x

 

[Feff]

Thank you I really hope that I can get into university one day! I know it sounds so cliche but it really is my dream lol!

Wow that's crazy haha! I suppose that's what makes it such a popular career though, the diversity!

Thanks a lot xx

 

[Caite]

There is so much diversity and so many different areas of nursing that you can get in to. I really loved surgical wards as a student, and was certain that if I ended up on a ward, it would be surgical (though I really wanted to do community as I quite enjoyed wound care). Ended up working on a really busy medical assessment unit, very little of the elderly rehab stuff I enjoyed as a student, and hate doing dressings. I couldn't imagine doing a shift now on a surgical ward or elderly rehab or something. I need to do some bank shifts, but I will only do them on a medical ward.

Phoning them is probably a better way to contact them than emailing anyway. If you email, it may just end up getting lost in everything they receive. Good luck, both with your application and getting some experience.

Orange-sox - urgh, eyes. They are the one thing I cannot do. Just the thought of it makes my eyes start watering.

 

[Feff]

I know, it is such an interesting profession! There's so many different things you can do, it's crazy. That sounds so interesting, do you have much of an option to choose your hours or are they pretty much set?

Hm that's true, thank you I feel weird about phoning them lol, because it's a hospital! But I was talking to a friend earlier and she said she phoned them to ask about jobs going so I don't feel as bad lol. I've emailed quite a few places about volunteering so hopefully I will get some replies

Thanks so much, I'll keep you updated! xxx

 

[Caite]

At the moment, as a student, I am doing my own off duty. Although I do just tend to copy what my mentor is doing, but if I need a weekend off or something, I just put myself down to work with someone else.

When I was working as a nurse, the off duty wasn't very flexible. But, I hardly requested shifts off or anything (I think I got all the shifts that I requested) and I don't really have any commitments. There were some of the nurses who had set days due to childcare and stuff. I only worked 3 days a week and that was full time hours (I'd be at the hospital for at least 14 hours a day), so it was nice having full time pay and 4 days off a week.

 

[Feff]

Hm I expected it to be pretty full on anyway tbh! It's just with Elodie I'd obviously rather work as little as possible haha! (Full time is going to be the reality though) xx

 

[Caite]

You can do the course past time, but not at all unis. If needed, you could then maybe do a couple of shifts a month as a HCA around your training, but I don't know how that would affect your bursary. Bursaries have changed so much since I was a student that I wouldn't even know where to advise you to look, other than speaking to the uni. I wouldn't know whether you would be better off full or part time as a student.

As a student, some places you get to do your own rota (you have to work a minimum of 40% of the time with your mentor) and in some areas, it is done for you. They're normally pretty flexible with students, as you're supernumerary. And when you have a job, you can arrange to have set days or whatnot around childcare needs.

 

[Feff]

I looked to see about a part time course and I think all I could find was midwifery and it was in England! Pretty sure wales doesn't do a part time nursing or midwifery course!

So when I graduate and get a job, I can sort of choose my hours?

 

[Caite]

Not really choose your hours, but you can kind of go to your manager and say you have childcare issues and as such you need to work certain days. I'm not sure of the exact process, though, I'm afraid. And it's probably not something to bring up at interview. You'll still have to do the shifts, so starting early, finishing late, and doing nights.

That's rubbish that there are no local part time courses by you.

 

[Feff]

Oh right, thanks anyway no I wouldn't bring it up, I don't want any more of a reason for them to reject me lol!

Tell me about it, it would be absolutely ideal

I'm waiting to hear from some playgroups/nurseries about volunteering, going to phone the hospital Monday too! Thanks so much for all of your help, good luck ttc xxx

 

[Caite]

Thank you.

Best of luck for getting your volunteering sorted and with your applications.