Funding and Nursing pathways

Background: I currently hold an ordinary degree of BSc (non-hons) in Health and Social Care as an exit award from doing the Adult Nursing course. I'm still passionate about pursuing my nursing but unsure of how to take a step forward. I have been told of options from different people and I am unsure which would be the best possible step to take.

Advice given to me:
- Take the 3rd year again as I failed one module (currently have 340 credits).
-Do a top-up degree in Adult Nursing
-Do a masters pre-reg in Adult Nursing
-Do the NA or RDNA route

I want to take the quickest route as much as possible which means that taking the 3rd year again would be the best option. However, most universities only accept 120 credit transfer which means I will have to go back from the 2nd year.
Top-up degrees will most likely take around 2 to 3 years. Someone suggested to do a masters but most universities will only accept a specific grade which makes it difficult searching for a university that is not so strict. With the NA route, apparently I couldn't do this as I have completed my first 2 years of the nursing course and since the modules will be similar, I wouldn't be allowed to something that I have already gained credit for. The RDNA route will mean that I have to work for a few years before I can get into this and will have to move somewhere near a bigger trust who caters this course.

Furthermore, since I have a degree already, I don't know how funding will work. I don't know which one will be the most practical, time and funding wise. I have asked multiple universities and so far, they haven't been very positive. It feels really weird as everytime I take a step forward, I learn something which makes me fall 2 steps behind. I really need your help, guys! I don't want to give up on this career. Thank you so much for your advice in advance!

(edited 4 months ago)

Reply 1

CCCU Health Rep

Official Rep

Original post by Sbautista

Sorry to hear you haven't had many positive experiences with trying to find advice on this, definitely keep that passion for your future career in nursing and don't give up! 🙂

It is a tricky one, we have spoken to one of our lecturers in adult nursing and they have advised that the best route would be RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) so that your previous studies could be recognised, but as you say, this is usually only up to 50% of the credit requirements for the qualification, meaning you would need to do at least 18 months of study at a new university and this would depend on what your previous studies entailed and if the previous modules mapped across to the new course.
Funding will, as you say, impact your decision due to the previous funding you have already received, which is why the postgraduate pre-reg route may be easier from this perspective as you could be eligible for postgraduate student finance (which works differently to undergraduate), but might not cover the full course fee. Alternatively, you could still be eligible for one year of undergraduate funding as tuition fee loans are normally calculated as: length of current course + one year – years of previous study (UCAS).

All routes you have mentioned look like they will take additional time and I am not sure which one would necessarily be quicker, but I think it will come down to what you feel would suit you best (along with if funding could support or not). If you have found a university that offers the route you want to take, definitely speak to their finance team for advice on how it could work for you and your funding options.
Don't forget about the Learning Support Fund that is available to provide some support 🙂

I hope that is somewhat helpful!