Getting onto Child Nursing degree with little experience?

I am 23 and will be studying towards an access course in Health Care in September. I have been working in health care since April and have done home care and am currently working in a dementia centre as a Health Care Assistant. I had originally wanted to apply for Mental Health Nursing in order to work with children & adolescents but I am enjoying the clinical care aspect of my job and have started to look into paediatric nursing a bit more and have realised that Children's Nursing is the degree I really want to do. I am now worried that I won't stand a chance of getting an interview as I do not have any work experience that directly involves children. Has anyone managed to get onto a Children's Nursing degree without childcare experience?

Reply 1

Charlotte's Web

Original post by MoglieJ

I'm sure that people have, but it would be advisable to try to get something before applying, even if it was just a day or evening shadowing at a support group, for example. Applications tutors appreciate that it isn't always possible to get lots of children's nursing experiences but it would certainly be beneficial for you to have something. Too much experience in other areas of nursing can make you seem confused about your career pathway, so it's helpful to have some relevant experience to talk about.