Nursing

Hi,
I'm 36 and looking to change my career to nursing.
I've recently taken redundancy from my job as an accountant and after reflecting on my life and career decided i wanted to do something that would make a positive difference to peoples lives.
I've applied to study an access to nursing course at Cardiff & Vale College and wondered if anyone else that has taken this entry route to get into university had any good advice..
Is my age likely to be a negative factor?
I'm also a little concerned at some of the information I've read on various university prospectus pages regarding health assessments. I have in the past suffered with depression and i'm currently overweight, does anyone know if this is likely to cause me problems with an application?

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1

auroracase

Hi Ben,

i can't advise on the access course but if nursing is what you really fancy then go for it. I can even pretty much assure you, you won't be the oldest on your course as a lot of people come into the profession later in life. I've even met someone in their 60s retraining as a nurse!

As for your occupational health assessment just be honest. Being overweight won't matter although there is always ongoing debate about health professionals and weight but that's for another thread! Be honest about your past problems with depression. They will just be looking to make sure that at the present time you are physically and mentally able to carry out the role of the nurse. Depression is only likely to affect your health assessment if it is an ongoing and present thing, in which case I would say to hold off until you're mentally well.

Hope this has been of some help!

Aurora

Reply 2

Oodlesof

Hi, I studied nursing, there were people of all ages, shapes and sizes there with lots of different backgrounds. I've always thought and heard being a little older when you do your nursing is a positive thing because of added life experience. Don't worry about a history of depression, occupational health may have a chat with you but it's really just to check in with people and see if they need added support but it wouldn't stop you getting on the course-again the empathy you gain from experiencing something like this is invaluable in nursing. Good luck :smile: