"The placements are invaluable" Rob, Mental Health Nursing.

Rob graduated from our Mental Health Nursing degree in 2014 and now works as a Community Health Nurse at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust.

This is his story.



Choosing Bradford
I chose Bradford because of its diversity, as I wanted to learn about different cultures and meet people from different backgrounds. It also ranked highly as a university for nursing, and I had friends who'd studied there and recommended it.

Everyone is one big team
I loved the way that the lecturers interacted with us. There wasn't an us and them mentality, we were like one big team and there was a warmth and closeness that was really conducive to learning.

I went on to do a PhD at Bradford after my degree, and was diagnosed with high functioning autism just after I'd started, and the support I received from staff at Bradford was amazing.

The course is brilliantly structured
I learnt how to be a fantastic mental health nurse at Bradford. The course is really well structured, and you spend half your time learning in the classroom and the other half on placement.

In your first year, you study alongside students from other nursing fields, learning about foundational nursing skills, such as ethics and basic physiology. In the second and third years, you branch off into your chosen field and specialise more, so I learnt about things like therapeutic processes and the different approaches to therapy.

This is all combined with regular placements, and you have mentors to guide you through the whole process. The opportunity to learn and practice on the job lets you hone your skills and by your third year, you begin working on small caseloads, so when you graduate, you feel ready to enter the industry confidently.

The placements are invaluable
My course was instrumental in me getting my first job after university, and the placements you do throughout provide excellent networking opportunities. The placements also let you explore different specialisms, so you can decide which areas interest you and go onto pursue a career in a field that's right for you when you graduate.

As a mature student I was always made to feel welcome
I didn't start university until I was 39, and as a family man with kids. I didn't get heavily involved in student life. However, it's such an inclusive university and I was always made to feel welcome. I got on with everyone I studied with and made some great connections, who I'm still in touch with now.

Mental health nursing opens up so many opportunities
Working in mental health nursing is interesting and rewarding, as you get to work really closely with patients who expose their innermost thoughts and fears to you.

It's also a field with lots of different specialisms, so there's a lot of opportunity to move around, develop new skills and determine exactly what area you want to specialise in. You're actively encouraged to move around departments to explore these different areas, as it can take a few years to decide your chosen specialism.

Being a mental health nurse is a career in which you'll never get bored, and there are also lots of opportunities to progress up the banding system. Working in mental health nursing is a real privilege to work in mental health.

Over the past couple of years, I've definitely noticed an increase in the number of males entering the industry, which is fantastic. I think people often stereotype nursing as a female career, but that's just not the case. It's great to see a more diverse range of people coming into mental health nursing.

If you'd like to know more, discover Mental Health Nursing here.

Thank you so much for your post, it has been very informative and interesting.