Lots of questions about nursing!!

Original post by Pegeek

1. In terms of A- level entry requirements, what is classified as a 'biological science'? Does PE count?

2. Current student nurses, do you have much of a social life as placement probably takes up the majority of your time? Do you have the time to be part of societies/ sports clubs?

3.Is it possible to juggle a part time job as well as placement? How do you survive financially if not? Are bursuries sufficient?

4.Do nurses get the same holidays as other courses? I've heard they get longer because of leave but I've also heard they get shorter because of placement and have a shorter summer than other courses?

5. Are there many exams on a nursing course? I'm trying to steer away from exams and adapt a more vocational course after a-levels, GCSEs etc.

6. What universities are recommended for nursing I'm looking at North West universities if possible. Does anyone recommend the following unis for nursing: Edge Hill, Liverpool, Manchester?

1. Won't lie....I've no idea. All I did was a diploma to get it when I was like 19! I'm 25 now and I got in. I also had a degree in health and social also though

2. I'm on placement at a treatment room at minute and it's lame hours. Most days I go home at half 12! And I don't work weekends. But my friends who are on wards have 13.5 hour shifts and sometimes they are back to back which is so tiring. Thing is with first year you have no assignments during placement (won't apply to all unis) so at the minute we aren't doing so bad. You still have a portfolio and other bits you have to do during placement but when you start getting essays and exams at same time that's when it gets really difficult.

3. It's not possible for me to do any part time work with my placement as it's Monday- Friday and I have kids so weekends I need to spend time with them. If you are doing long shifts you will probably have the odd day off so you could possibly pick up a bank shift but I'd imagine it's very difficult to hold down a job aswell as uni....if you can do that your superwoman! I doubt you could because it's just so unpredictable. I won't lie bursery is cr@p. I scrape by. It's measly compared to my old wage but you know what the rest of my life and my kids lives will be better so....long term it's worth it

4. At the end of every term you get 5 weeks off and 2 weeks makeup time so providing you have none to make up youl get 7 weeks off. There's also 2 weeks before and after each placement so holidays aren't bad BUT I've had to work through the summer and all Christmas il be on placement....so the times I do get holidays isn't the best. I am March intake though September lot have summer off

5. Yes there is. Quite a lot. Depending on unis....we have about 6 I think. 2 a&p 2 meds management and there's 1 or 2 practical exams but I can't remember off top off my head. I've already done one a&p and there's another in October

6. I'm at uclan but only since March...so far so good! Fantastic support its good. I've heard edge hill and Cumbria are good but I only applied for uclan!

I hope I've helped abit! Haha. Good luck!

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Reply 2

PaediatricStN

12

Original post by Pegeek

1. In terms of A- level entry requirements, what is classified as a 'biological science'? Does PE count?

2. Current student nurses, do you have much of a social life as placement probably takes up the majority of your time? Do you have the time to be part of societies/ sports clubs?

3.Is it possible to juggle a part time job as well as placement? How do you survive financially if not? Are bursuries sufficient?

4.Do nurses get the same holidays as other courses? I've heard they get longer because of leave but I've also heard they get shorter because of placement and have a shorter summer than other courses?

5. Are there many exams on a nursing course? I'm trying to steer away from exams and adapt a more vocational course after a-levels, GCSEs etc.

6. What universities are recommended for nursing I'm looking at North West universities if possible. Does anyone recommend the following unis for nursing: Edge Hill, Liverpool, Manchester?

1. Different universities have different ideas on what classifies as a science subject and whether they consider it "Preferred" or "Compulsory" for a prospective student to have a science subject. PE is unlikely to count. The most common A-Levels classified as a science are Biology, Physics, Chemistry and sometimes Psychology. If you are in any doubt over what courses are/aren't accepted, the best thing to do is contact the admissions departments of the universities you are interested in applying to. 2. It depends on the nature of the society and how much commitment they require from you. Obviously these societies/sports club run on a regular schedule; same time each week. Some societies won't mind you dipping in and out. Others (particularly sports teams) will want a minimum commitment from you. Especially while on placement, it's unlikely a student nurse can commit to a regular event each week. Doesn't mean you can't be involved, they just might have to be flexible/understanding. All hat said, if you plan and manage your time well, there is plenty of opportunity for coffee dates, and drinks out with friends on a Friday night.

3. Most students do bank HCA work. Part time bar work or any jobs with 0 hour contracts work well. I was employed by my university to promote nursing to local schools and colleges - on a 0hr contract of course. For the same reasons as the social activities, you can't commit to a regular job, but jobs with flexible or ad-hoc hours are perfect for student nurses. I'm going to be honest, bursaries and loans generally aren't sufficient - and the bursary has just been scrapped by the government, so it is difficult to accurately comment on what funding student nurses will get. Again, same as socialising... Manage your time well and there is opportunity to work. I managed to attend (on average) 1-2 social events a week, and worked my job with the university alongside my nursing degree. Other people wondered how I found time for this, but it was because (I think) I managed my time well.

4. Nursing students get approximately 7 weeks holiday a year (2 weeks at Christmas, 2 weeks at Easter and 3 weeks over the summer). This will vary slightly between different universities but this is roughly what to expect. So it's about the same as what a qualified nurse would get.

5. I only had 3 or 4 exams on my course, whereas other universities will do more. The pass marks will vary too, so I'm afraid it's difficult to give you a one-size-fits-all answer there.

6. It genuinely doesn't matter where you train as a nurse - future employers really don't mind. I trained at a very small university with not a great reputation in a crummy town. I now work in a tertiary centre in a lovely city. Things to consider when choosing a uni are distance from home, cost of living, placement opportunities, and whether you actually like the vibe of the uni! The Nursing and Midwifery Council (If you start nursing, you're gunna hear alot about these guys!) regulate all nursing degrees, and therefore the standards are pretty similar across the country.Hope that's useful!

Reply 3

Original post by PaediatricStN

Nursing students get approximately 7 weeks holiday a year (2 weeks at Christmas, 2 weeks at Easter and 3 weeks over the summer). This will vary slightly between different universities but this is roughly what to expect. So it's about the same as what a qualified nurse would get.

Sorry for going off topic but how do you get 7 weeks' holiday as a qualified nurse? The basic NHS entitlement is 27 days if you're full time (bank hols on top obv) which is nearer 5 weeks if we're talking a 5 day working week and 4 weeks if 7 day working week?*

Reply 4

PaediatricStN

12

Original post by infairverona

Sorry for going off topic but how do you get 7 weeks' holiday as a qualified nurse? The basic NHS entitlement is 27 days if you're full time (bank hols on top obv) which is nearer 5 weeks if we're talking a 5 day working week and 4 weeks if 7 day working week?*

My job isn't in HR so I don't calculate the annual leave entitlements - I just take what my Band 6 and 7 tell me I can have - which is the same as all my equivalent length of service colleagues get. All I know is that I've booked 6 weeks A/L since September last year and still got another 32.5 hours to take (Which I'm basically going to end up losing, but that's beside the point). That to me adds up as just under 7 weeks.

Reply 5

Original post by PaediatricStN

My job isn't in HR so I don't calculate the annual leave entitlements - I just take what my Band 6 and 7 tell me I can have - which is the same as all my equivalent length of service colleagues get. All I know is that I've booked 6 weeks A/L since September last year and still got another 32.5 hours to take (Which I'm basically going to end up losing, but that's beside the point). That to me adds up as just under 7 weeks.

Sorry, I was just curious. It depends on stuff like whether your shifts typically fall on bank holidays or not, how long your shifts are etc, but unless you've been working in the NHS for 5 or 10 years your entitlement should be 27 days plus bank holidays.*

Also - if you're going to lose that time because the service needs you to work, you should be able to carry over 5 days or more with the agreement of your line manager, definitely worth checking your Trust policy :smile:

the nurses at my old Trust lost loads of leave because nobody ever told them they could carry it over. Although I suppose if your service is so busy that it's never going to be feasible for you to take the leave that might not be very helpful anyway*

Reply 6

Original post by PaediatricStN

My job isn't in HR so I don't calculate the annual leave entitlements - I just take what my Band 6 and 7 tell me I can have - which is the same as all my equivalent length of service colleagues get. All I know is that I've booked 6 weeks A/L since September last year and still got another 32.5 hours to take (Which I'm basically going to end up losing, but that's beside the point). That to me adds up as just under 7 weeks.

It depends how long you've been with the NHS. If you hit 10 years you do get 7 weeks you are right

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Sorry *depending on trust!

Reply 7

Original post by wbnurse

It depends how long you've been with the NHS. If you hit 10 years you do get 7 weeks you are right

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Sorry *depending on trust!

The 10 year extra entitlement isn't dependent on the Trust, it's an NHS wide policy **

Reply 8

Original post by infairverona

The 10 year extra entitlement isn't dependent on the Trust, it's an NHS wide policy **

.....you've just contradicted yourself. You said nurses don't get 7 weeks 😂 make your mind up

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Reply 9

Original post by wbnurse

.....you've just contradicted yourself. You said nurses don't get 7 weeks 😂 make your mind up

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The post I originally quoted said you get 7 weeks like a nursing student which to me implies that new nurses who therefore won't have 10 years' experience get the full entitlement which they don't. New NHS staff start on 27 days plus bank holidays but if you're a nurse it's usually worked out on hours instead as obviously nurses don't do a 9-5 role, but it should still be worked out as 27 days in hours plus all the bank holidays in hours. At 5 or 10 years you get more days but that's not because you're a nurse, all NHS staff get the extra days if they've met the criteria. There's no need to be so rude when you don't even work in the NHS yet*

Reply 10