Hey Guys
I am
not applying for Nursing this year however, I applied for Adult Nursing last year and didn't receive any offers, so I just wanted to offer my advice and guidance to you that Nursing is very very very competitive, so make sure you all have a strong personal statement that will make you shine above the rest. I have learned from my mistakes of this year and I am reapplying for a different course however, I wanted to pass on some words of wisdom to you guys from someone who tried, failed and learned, to make sure you don't make the same mistakes I did. My downfalls included: How I wrote my personal statement, my choice of course (changed my mind now) and the number of unis I applied to!
It may be obvious, but on your personal statement make sure you have relevant work experience, voluntary work and extra cirricular activities to get you those offers because grades, are only half the battle. Last year, I had two work experience placements, two volunteering placements, the Gold DofE award and EC's however,it still wasn't enough. Do not write in detail about a future work experience placement that you have lined up (which is what I did for one of mine) because I was told afterwards that unis do not like to see this. Also, if you are struggling to get work experience or voluntary work because WE in particular can be very difficult to obtain, there are other options out there that are available to you, which you could use as work experience. You could try shadowing nurses at a Hospital or if this fails, you could inquire as to whether there is a volunteer programme at your local hospital (could be general, mental health, paeds whatever) (most hospitals have them) this could count as either vol or WE, additionally, you could try volunteering at a Nursing home or a hospice. Another alternative is to sign up with the Nursing Bank and become a Health Care Assistant in a Nursing Home, the nursing bank is a 0 hours contract, so you can work full time in the Summer holidays and not work at all during exam period - perfect! I wish I had done this last year!
Another piece of advice I'm going to give you, is look at previous personal statements, to get an idea of how it should be written or done (This was my biggest down fall last year), make sure you reflect on your work experience, talk about the skills you gained or the skills you observed and how they relate to Nursing! If you are going to do Children's Nursing, Mental Health Nursing or Learning Disability Nursing volunteer at a creche, a mental health charity (such as the Alzheimer's Society or mind) or a Learning Disability Unit! There are loads of things available to you, you just need to go out and find it. Also, a side note, if you are doing Children's Nursing remember, it is just as much about working with the parents as it is with the children, something to bare in mind when writing your personal statement
Additionally, make sure you use up all 5 choices of uni, another of my down falls from last year, I only applied to four unis! Do not underestimate how competitive nursing is, no matter how good your application may be, apply for "back up" unis if you have to! And Finally, (sorry for the long post by the way) if you are doing Nursing, make sure it is definitely the right career for you, make sure it is something you are passionate about, something you could talk about at interview with great passion and enthusiasm, make sure you have researched the career thoroughly and you know the best and the worst parts of nursing and make sure that you are going to be OK, with those parts. As a nurse, no matter what branch, you are going to see some horrible and gruesome sights and often have to clean up those sights, that includes blood, urine, faeces! You're going to see, smell and clean it all! You;re going to have patients who are going to scream, yell and abuse you, if you are sensitive soul, this may be something you may want to take into consideration before applying to any health care course! But overall, enjoy it, if Nursing really is for you, I hope you enjoy your future careers and I hope you all get into your firm choice uni
Just be prepared.
Any other questions about applying to university for Nursing or if you want any advice feel free to give me a shout either on here or PM me, I will be happy to answer any of your questions.
Good Luck