Nursing work experience

commenting to stay on this thread lol! hope you don’t mind i need something to write in mine too 😂

Does anyone know of any blogs or virtual work experience or something like that that is interesting for nursing or just general healthcare. My actual work experience has fallen through over COVID and im looking for something to talk about in my personal statement. Literally anything is helpful!!!

Hi! I'm having the same troubles too (getting work experience in a care home or as a support worker is so difficult now with COVID). I'm not sure if this is helpful but I've volunteered at AgeUk as a telephone friend which although doesn't involve physical care, involves helping with people's mental health and general well-being. I signed up a few weeks ago and they replied to my application quite quickly. You will need two references though. I hope this helps
Futurelearn also has some really good courses and I think the open university has some interesting ones too.

dont panic if you can't get any healthcare-related work experience! I had none when I applied & most people on my course didnt either! You can use transferable skills from your other hobbies/employment/college etc to relate to nursing values and universities will be totally understanding if you've been unable to secure work experience due to covid19

Out of curiosity does this only apply to people going for undergraduate nursing degrees? I'm hoping to apply for a nursing conversion course in 2021 for 2022 entry but most universities specify a need for a certain amount of healthcare-related work experience. Because of Covid I'm finding it very difficult to find any sort of work experience. I have some previous experiencing working with children but I'm not sure if that really qualifies as healthcare-related (I was a volunteer at an SEN camp), and I've applied for a volunteering position at AgeUK and St John's Ambulance. Anyway, would be really grateful if you had any suggestions as to what I can try? Sorry for the long message!!

By "nursing conversion course" I assume you mean pre-registration masters. In this instance, universities tend to ask for a certain amount of experience as they convert this into practice hours. NMC requirements state that all student nurses must complete 2300 theory hours and 2300 practice hours (and there's absolutely no leniency on this). As pre-reg masters is 2 years not 3 there isn't necessarily the time to get all the practice hours in therefore they can convert a certain amount of prior practical experience.

Out of curiosity does this only apply to people going for undergraduate nursing degrees? I'm hoping to apply for a nursing conversion course in 2021 for 2022 entry but most universities specify a need for a certain amount of healthcare-related work experience. Because of Covid I'm finding it very difficult to find any sort of work experience. I have some previous experiencing working with children but I'm not sure if that really qualifies as healthcare-related (I was a volunteer at an SEN camp), and I've applied for a volunteering position at AgeUK and St John's Ambulance. Anyway, would be really grateful if you had any suggestions as to what I can try? Sorry for the long message!!

Emily_B has explained it perfectly! Just to add, if you were planning on using voluntary experience, you would need to make sure the hours were formally recorded, as you would need to prove you've met the specific number of hours the uni requires for RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning). You would need to make sure these hours were made in healthcare settings, if your role in the camp was in health, you could use it

I was a volunteer with St John Ambulance prior to becoming a student nurse, and if I'm being honest, even before Covid I struggled to meet the amount of hours most universities wanted through volunteering at SJA events... right now due to covid, there are a shortage of events so it's even harder to get these hours in. If you're keen to do the accelerated masters, it might be worth looking at HCA roles and working as a HCA/ CSW beforehand?

Alternatively, even if you have a degree you're eligible for a second round of tuition fee & maintenence loans from Student Finance England for a Nursing degree, as it's an exception course. Have you considered the 3 year undergraduate route? I had a degree before going into my BSc Nursing

That's useful to know, thank you! Unfortunately, my role in the camp wasn't in health. I mainly led and organised activities. I also helped children with mobility difficulties move around and go to the bathroom if they needed to, but I suppose my main role was leading activities and supervising lunchtimes.
That makes sense regarding SJA. We've had a few training sessions so far and I have been told we'll most likely be going to few events mainly because of Covid. I have been applying for HCA/CSW roles though, and hopefully, I'll hear back from a few soon.
I have considered the undergraduate route. I think I would rather the masters but of course, if I don't make up enough hours then I will most likely apply for an undergraduate course or take a year out to gain experience.
Might I ask what your first degree was in? Or if there was anything else you did to prepare for your nursing degree that you found helpful? Sorry if I'm being too nosy! Your response has been really helpful already so thank you