The Student Room Group

Nursing Branch?!

Hello I am so confused right now, I'm studying health and social care and come october will be applying for nursing at USW for 2016 which i am set on as a university. ( I will apply else where with my remaining options but I really want USW)

Basically i cannot decide on branch i just don't think i can settle on one thing. I have experience with adults in mental health and learning disabilities but I feel i want to do adult nursing and really be able to take on an interesting career path. I feel like i wouldn't be able to decide until i got onto the course and did placements with all branches. Apparently you used to just do a generic year and decide for your second year which branch you wanted but i really don't know. I am going to be a nurse no matter what i am dedicated 120% and will see it through!

I've also worked in pharmacy and have had experience in calculations on medication dose based on a childs weight and giving advice on minor illnesses for all ages at the meds counter.

My question is should i apply to adult? Will USW allow me to change after the first year if for some reason it's really not the branch for me? I really don't intend on applying with the intention of changing but if i find one branch i just love then don't waste the extra two years on the branch that isn't for you right? Should i put my intention in my PS? would this go against me? people say the fact that you are undecided goes against you or that they don't allow you to switch unless theres places or full stop. I know i should just decide but i've never done "nursing" and have only a general idea of what each branch offers in terms of patient care and feel i should experience before setting my heart on a single one.

Are there any previous or current nursing students at USW or another university that have had this experience? Or have known friends and course mates that have made a swap?

Any advice on this would be brilliant! Thanks in advance :biggrin: ( Sorry for such a long post)
Reply 1
Avatar for Fifstar
Fifstar
1
You cannot swap between branches anymore as there aren't that many places to start off with that they sometimes offer places in the April cohort to those who originally applied for the September one and that's only if they find you exceptional. You can do a top up course after qualifying to switch branches or do postgraduate entry programme but that's adding another 2 years. Being undecisive won't help your personal statement as you have a limited word count to express your interest and entusiam for your chosen branch. I'd advice you to speak to students and qualified nurses in each branch but it's really strange to be undecided at this stage. Plus you won't have placements in all branches, it's only in first year when you can have non specific placements; from year 2 you get branch specific placements.

Original post by Izzle93
Hello I am so confused right now, I'm studying health and social care and come october will be applying for nursing at USW for 2016 which i am set on as a university. ( I will apply else where with my remaining options but I really want USW)

Basically i cannot decide on branch i just don't think i can settle on one thing. I have experience with adults in mental health and learning disabilities but I feel i want to do adult nursing and really be able to take on an interesting career path. I feel like i wouldn't be able to decide until i got onto the course and did placements with all branches. Apparently you used to just do a generic year and decide for your second year which branch you wanted but i really don't know. I am going to be a nurse no matter what i am dedicated 120% and will see it through!

I've also worked in pharmacy and have had experience in calculations on medication dose based on a childs weight and giving advice on minor illnesses for all ages at the meds counter.

My question is should i apply to adult? Will USW allow me to change after the first year if for some reason it's really not the branch for me? I really don't intend on applying with the intention of changing but if i find one branch i just love then don't waste the extra two years on the branch that isn't for you right? Should i put my intention in my PS? would this go against me? people say the fact that you are undecided goes against you or that they don't allow you to switch unless theres places or full stop. I know i should just decide but i've never done "nursing" and have only a general idea of what each branch offers in terms of patient care and feel i should experience before setting my heart on a single one.

Are there any previous or current nursing students at USW or another university that have had this experience? Or have known friends and course mates that have made a swap?

Any advice on this would be brilliant! Thanks in advance :biggrin: ( Sorry for such a long post)
As above. You really must decide before you write your PS and show your commitment to the that branch. We split into branch specific modules in the second semester of the first year and the uni has a policy that students are not allowed to swap fields. We also did not get placements in other fields in our first year, it depends on the uni that you are at. If you are undecided my advice would be to get some voluntary/work experience in the four branches and then choose. Conversion courses to another branch post registration are also thin on the ground.
Good luck deciding!
Original post by Izzle93
Hello Any advice on this would be brilliant! Thanks in advance :biggrin: ( Sorry for such a long post)


Hey!
My advice would be to get experience as soon as possible for which branch you want to apply for. It will help your ps if you're decided and passionate about the branch you want to apply for.
With children and young people's nursing you will work from newborn to 18 years of age. You need to be strong when the family isn't and when that child isn't going to survive. Having experience in calculations is good, but does not help you have any idea of what it's about.
Same with all other branches. Learning disability nursing can be difficult. You deal with all ages and walks of life. You will liaise with families carers and friends. You need to know how to understand how to help and treat someone that is non verbal. Or that individual who shows behaviours that challenge.
With mental health nursing, again all ages but chances are you'll be working with teenagers upwards. (Increasingly more and more children though) so you need to have a passion for where you want your career to be.
Today, it's really not enough to say you want to be a nurse. Year on year there are more applications and not enough university places. So you need to make your application stand out. Being passionate about the branch and where you can see yourself in 5 years shows that you've thought about it long and hard and understand what's involved, university and beyond.
Try and gain experience where you can. Even if it's just volunteering in a nursery or a care home or hospital as a befriender. Every little helps!
And good luck.

Posted from TSR Mobile
It depends where you apply. I'm at Birmingham and we have a foundation year where we have three placement for each branch and then by the end of the year we express our chosen field of practice by writing a 200 word statement and then specialise next year. However not everyone is guaranteed that they'll get what they want esp if the branch is oversubscribed, such is the case with the child field

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you