The Student Room Group

Leave college and go onto an access course (a bit long but l need help with decision)

I am confused about what to do with my education right now. l was going to go onto an access course in September last year but l was unable to because l wasn't out of education for a year; so l had to go onto a Health and Social Care course to provide some health knowledge before going on to do either nursing or counselling.

The course l am now; l hate it a lot. l specifically asked to go on a placement in a hospital or a residential/nursing home because l need to get experience working on a ward for a university l want to go to, but they put me in a school and didn't bother to ring up the other placement that l could've worked in (l asked them beforehand and they said l could), so they put someone else in there. l wasn't allowed to swap over and l haven't been attending to my placement because l don't enjoy it at all - the teachers are awful, l don't really get on with the children and the place isn't for me. l will fail my course but would l be better off doing an access course and an NVQ (l work as a care assistant), or would the effort l've put into it, be a waste?

l'm confused as to what l should do so l need help! l work every day and l dread waking up in the morning and getting moaned at about not going to my placement. I am 19, thanks.
Reply 1
you're confused? I'M confused reading that! lol...

what level is the health an social care course u are on? if it's a 3 then do what u need to do so that u pass and can move along to the next stage which would be uni, i'd have thought?

not attending your placement no matter how much u hate it is possibly not the best way forward as it may have cost u a reference and could potentially impact the ref u receive from your course tutor...i appreciate that u said u need a hosp placement but, another way around that would be volunteering i'd suggest? i am unsure here btw, just seeing what u could do to get what u want :smile:

personally i don't see that u would be better off doing an access course IF u are already on a level 3 course but, that's just my opinion and perhaps someone else will have a diff view and better guidance for u. only thing i will add is, u already work in a care setting so perhaps see if that won't also help u with your UCAS app when the time comes...or do all the uni's u are looking at want hosp placement?

ps. another suggestion would be to see if and what quals your preferred uni's want cos i dunno whether NVQ's are ok...pends on level i believe? safer just to check tho.
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 2
As ashtoreth says, you must go to your work placement (even with gritted teeth if necessary :smile:). There's undergraduates and graduates (wannabe teachers) out there who would probably kill to have the chance to go on a placement like yours. By choosing not to do it, for whatever reason, will not look good to any university or future employer.

Imagine, 10 years down the line and you're doing some rubbish job rather than the career you wanted just because you didn't do a placement for a few months. You'll really regret it.

How long is your placement and how much have you missed?
(edited 12 years ago)

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