Access to HE (health) Work experience/volunteering whilst studying
Hi all,
Hope I'm posting in the right place...
I attended the Access to HE (health) induction for my course which starts on the 12th (next Monday)
The head of Access went through everything but she seemed to assume we all already had HCA/care work experience (myself and quite a few others do not) Now pretty much straight off the bat we will be working on our personal statements for uni and i'm concerned that I don't have the necessary experience that they will be looking for. Obviously I am manically searching for HCA work but I am worried about the workload as it is, especially with a young family.
I guess my question is, did you manage? Is voluntary work sufficient? I'm not necessarily looking for care work for the money as i've set aside this year purely for study. Obviously the money would be handy but i'm really just looking for experience to present to Uni, otherwise I'm worried my application will be substandard. Especially after seeing so many example personal statements.
Any tips? What are you planning?
Thank you!
Hope I'm posting in the right place...
I attended the Access to HE (health) induction for my course which starts on the 12th (next Monday)
The head of Access went through everything but she seemed to assume we all already had HCA/care work experience (myself and quite a few others do not) Now pretty much straight off the bat we will be working on our personal statements for uni and i'm concerned that I don't have the necessary experience that they will be looking for. Obviously I am manically searching for HCA work but I am worried about the workload as it is, especially with a young family.
I guess my question is, did you manage? Is voluntary work sufficient? I'm not necessarily looking for care work for the money as i've set aside this year purely for study. Obviously the money would be handy but i'm really just looking for experience to present to Uni, otherwise I'm worried my application will be substandard. Especially after seeing so many example personal statements.
Any tips? What are you planning?
Thank you!
Anyone? Grateful of any advice whatsoever 😀
Posted from TSR Mobile
Posted from TSR Mobile
Hello, I'm taking an access course for social science. Volunteering is fine! I currently volunteer at my local Mind charity. They give you and induction or training day and then you get right into it, I think this is the same as most volunteering places. Since it's volunteering you can tell them what hours you can do or what suits you. I'm currently doing 1 hour a week of mentoring a young person, this lasts for 8 weeks and since it's only an hour it doesn't take up too much of my day.
I don't know what degree you are planning to do but for Adult Nursing some universities insist that you have volunteering or HCA experience. My local hospital said that they had sufficient volunteers so I contacted some local nursing homes. I got a volunteering job at a dementia nursing home. I do 2 hours a couple of evenings per week. I chat to the residents, help with the activities and help feed the residents unable to feed themselves. I love it, it is so rewarding, the residents enjoy the company and it takes the pressure off the HCAs. You will need to be DBS (criminal record) checked before you start, this can take 8 weeks, so if you are hoping to get into university next year then you need to start the ball rolling to be able to include it on your personal statement.
Original post by Sarah Green
I don't know what degree you are planning to do but for Adult Nursing some universities insist that you have volunteering or HCA experience. My local hospital said that they had sufficient volunteers so I contacted some local nursing homes. I got a volunteering job at a dementia nursing home. I do 2 hours a couple of evenings per week. I chat to the residents, help with the activities and help feed the residents unable to feed themselves. I love it, it is so rewarding, the residents enjoy the company and it takes the pressure off the HCAs. You will need to be DBS (criminal record) checked before you start, this can take 8 weeks, so if you are hoping to get into university next year then you need to start the ball rolling to be able to include it on your personal statement.
Many thanks, Sarah. I'm planning on Adult Nursing bsc next September. I actually got myself a paid job yesterday at a beautiful luxury care home (residential and dementia) and i have interviews lined up for voluntary work within care and befriending services. I know it's an extremely competitive degree so trying to do what i can to stand out.
Sounds like you have got everything thing planned, well done.
You are right, some universities are really competitive with about 8% of applicants getting offers, others it can be as high as 40%, but don't forget a lot of students aren't nearly as prepared as you. You first big step now is getting your personal statement ready, my recommendation would be to write it, go away, read it, rewrite it, ask your tutor to read it and then rewrite it. If you can get through to interview stage you sound like the kind of person who will get through that stage easily.
With your Access course, three handy tips, firstly reference everything, secondly to make your assignments look professional you can include diagrams off the internet (just reference them to reliable sites (like BBC or gov) and thirdly if you ever have spare words left when writing your assignment then it means that you have missed something obvious.
I'm very excited for you starting off because today I am officially enrolling at university today 😎 it feels so surreal, hopefully I will pick up my nurses uniform today too
You are right, some universities are really competitive with about 8% of applicants getting offers, others it can be as high as 40%, but don't forget a lot of students aren't nearly as prepared as you. You first big step now is getting your personal statement ready, my recommendation would be to write it, go away, read it, rewrite it, ask your tutor to read it and then rewrite it. If you can get through to interview stage you sound like the kind of person who will get through that stage easily.
With your Access course, three handy tips, firstly reference everything, secondly to make your assignments look professional you can include diagrams off the internet (just reference them to reliable sites (like BBC or gov) and thirdly if you ever have spare words left when writing your assignment then it means that you have missed something obvious.
I'm very excited for you starting off because today I am officially enrolling at university today 😎 it feels so surreal, hopefully I will pick up my nurses uniform today too
Original post by Sarah Green
Sounds like you have got everything thing planned, well done.
You are right, some universities are really competitive with about 8% of applicants getting offers, others it can be as high as 40%, but don't forget a lot of students aren't nearly as prepared as you. You first big step now is getting your personal statement ready, my recommendation would be to write it, go away, read it, rewrite it, ask your tutor to read it and then rewrite it. If you can get through to interview stage you sound like the kind of person who will get through that stage easily.
With your Access course, three handy tips, firstly reference everything, secondly to make your assignments look professional you can include diagrams off the internet (just reference them to reliable sites (like BBC or gov) and thirdly if you ever have spare words left when writing your assignment then it means that you have missed something obvious.
I'm very excited for you starting off because today I am officially enrolling at university today 😎 it feels so surreal, hopefully I will pick up my nurses uniform today too
You are right, some universities are really competitive with about 8% of applicants getting offers, others it can be as high as 40%, but don't forget a lot of students aren't nearly as prepared as you. You first big step now is getting your personal statement ready, my recommendation would be to write it, go away, read it, rewrite it, ask your tutor to read it and then rewrite it. If you can get through to interview stage you sound like the kind of person who will get through that stage easily.
With your Access course, three handy tips, firstly reference everything, secondly to make your assignments look professional you can include diagrams off the internet (just reference them to reliable sites (like BBC or gov) and thirdly if you ever have spare words left when writing your assignment then it means that you have missed something obvious.
I'm very excited for you starting off because today I am officially enrolling at university today 😎 it feels so surreal, hopefully I will pick up my nurses uniform today too
Thank you so much for the advice and support - it means alot that you would take the time to help me.
How exciting for you! It must be feeling very real for you now. How do you feel about it all? Which uni are you going to?
That's fantastic advice re referencing. This year they are being extremely strict with word counts and the lecturers think we will struggle to keep within them. Some assignments have been adjusted to posters and presentations simply because the word counts for essays are unrealistic. They are really trying to help us but they can only do so much.
Best of luck for today, although by the sounds of it you're going to fly! Enjoy every moment x
I am beyond excited. I am a (very mature) student and this is a total career change for me. I'm attending London Southbank, it was my first choice, they have placements at all the top London hospitals, I'm hoping to get Guys and St Thomas'. (I got offered a place at Kings Uni but found them a bit snobby, but maybe for younger students who want to do research or management roles it might be more suitable)
I'm sure that you'll get into university too, on your personal statement just show your enthusiasm, the fact that you have taken a HCA role to get work experience will look good. If you want any advice about applying to university then send me an email.
I'm sure that you'll get into university too, on your personal statement just show your enthusiasm, the fact that you have taken a HCA role to get work experience will look good. If you want any advice about applying to university then send me an email.
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