The Student Room Group

Adult Nursing

hey everyone :smile: im looking at studying nursing (mainly liverpool, edinburgh and ntu), could i get some pros and cons ? not just from people at those unis, just nursing courses overall. thanks :smile:
Original post by caitking
hey everyone :smile: im looking at studying nursing (mainly liverpool, edinburgh and ntu), could i get some pros and cons ? not just from people at those unis, just nursing courses overall. thanks :smile:

Hi there! Although I don't personally study nursing, we do have a nursing student available to chat to on our Unibuddy platform who would be more than happy to help answer any questions you have about the course/university/careers! 🙂

Best of luck!

-Alfie, University of Plymouth Undergraduate Student Rep
Original post by caitking
hey everyone :smile: im looking at studying nursing (mainly liverpool, edinburgh and ntu), could i get some pros and cons ? not just from people at those unis, just nursing courses overall. thanks :smile:

I’ll be really blunt 😂😂😂
Pros of nursing:

your doing what you love and it’s your passion

You will be fulfilled in life

NHS has a good pension and has good deals (blue light card)

You are able to leave the country and make money elsewhere

Job security

Cons:

stressful. The job is stressful and there is a high possibility of burnout

You will be expected to work 24/7 in uni for around 156 weeks total in your course and complete 2300 hours. It’s hard to balance a life and nursing.

The pay isn’t great compared to other degrees

NHS is in a crisis so resources are stretched and you may be too

There’s more pros n cons but I can’t think right now
Reply 3
Original post by Georgia_xxxxxx
I’ll be really blunt 😂😂😂
Pros of nursing:

your doing what you love and it’s your passion

You will be fulfilled in life

NHS has a good pension and has good deals (blue light card)

You are able to leave the country and make money elsewhere

Job security

Cons:

stressful. The job is stressful and there is a high possibility of burnout

You will be expected to work 24/7 in uni for around 156 weeks total in your course and complete 2300 hours. It’s hard to balance a life and nursing.

The pay isn’t great compared to other degrees

NHS is in a crisis so resources are stretched and you may be too

There’s more pros n cons but I can’t think right now


thank you!!! this was the answer i was looking for haha
Original post by Georgia_xxxxxx
I’ll be really blunt 😂😂😂
Pros of nursing:

your doing what you love and it’s your passion

You will be fulfilled in life

NHS has a good pension and has good deals (blue light card)

You are able to leave the country and make money elsewhere

Job security

Cons:

stressful. The job is stressful and there is a high possibility of burnout

You will be expected to work 24/7 in uni for around 156 weeks total in your course and complete 2300 hours. It’s hard to balance a life and nursing.

The pay isn’t great compared to other degrees

NHS is in a crisis so resources are stretched and you may be too

There’s more pros n cons but I can’t think right now

Poor pay - starting around £32,000-£39,000 for a newly qualified band 5 nurse ( this is what nurses are paid in my part of the UK) in England I think they start just under the £30,000 per year mark.
If you live in London then the pay is far better.
Original post by caitking
hey everyone :smile: im looking at studying nursing (mainly liverpool, edinburgh and ntu), could i get some pros and cons ? not just from people at those unis, just nursing courses overall. thanks :smile:

NHS Scotland pay there newly qualified staff more than NHS England does... ( You can look at the NHS pay scale for both countries by looking it up). Newly qualified band 5 nurse in Scotland start at £32,000 a year.

Edinburgh has - Edinburgh Napier university, Queens Margaret university and also Edinburgh university that all does adult nursing ( I think Edinburgh university is a four year degree compared to Napier and Queens Margaret as they are three years).

Adult nursing has a vast amount of different specialists areas that you can work in.

University is not 24/7 - you are in generally between 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday doing average of 37.5 hours per week whilst you are doing your university studying blocks week's, placements are 12 hours shifts on hospital ward working various days and shifts, community placements you are working the GP surgery opening hours Monday to Friday with day off during the week plus free weekends, outpatient department hours are the same as the GP surgery opening hours.

You have to complete 4600 hours of coursework over the 3 years ( 2300 hours of university studying and 2300 hours of placement hours).

You can have a social life and do your nursing degree if you balance it out properly.
I managed three years as a student midwife and also held down a part time job throughout it and yes had some time to myself as well.

Registered midwife with NHS Scotland.
Reply 6
Original post by Tracey_W
NHS Scotland pay there newly qualified staff more than NHS England does... ( You can look at the NHS pay scale for both countries by looking it up). Newly qualified band 5 nurse in Scotland start at £32,000 a year.
Edinburgh has - Edinburgh Napier university, Queens Margaret university and also Edinburgh university that all does adult nursing ( I think Edinburgh university is a four year degree compared to Napier and Queens Margaret as they are three years).
Adult nursing has a vast amount of different specialists areas that you can work in.
University is not 24/7 - you are in generally between 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday doing average of 37.5 hours per week whilst you are doing your university studying blocks week's, placements are 12 hours shifts on hospital ward working various days and shifts, community placements you are working the GP surgery opening hours Monday to Friday with day off during the week plus free weekends, outpatient department hours are the same as the GP surgery opening hours.
You have to complete 4600 hours of coursework over the 3 years ( 2300 hours of university studying and 2300 hours of placement hours).
You can have a social life and do your nursing degree if you balance it out properly.
I managed three years as a student midwife and also held down a part time job throughout it and yes had some time to myself as well.
Registered midwife with NHS Scotland.


thank you so much!! as a second part, would you say there are any big differences between being a student nurse and student midwife (other than the obvious)?
Original post by caitking
thank you so much!! as a second part, would you say there are any big differences between being a student nurse and student midwife (other than the obvious)?

You are welcome 🤗 🤗 🤗

Nope no much real difference between them except the extra training you do for how a woman body change when having a baby and also understanding how the baby comes out...... But as a student midwife you are taught what to do.

The pay is exactly the same as a other nurses.
Reply 8
Original post by Tracey_W
You are welcome 🤗 🤗 🤗
Nope no much real difference between them except the extra training you do for how a woman body change when having a baby and also understanding how the baby comes out...... But as a student midwife you are taught what to do.
The pay is exactly the same as a other nurses.


thank you so much!!!
Original post by caitking
thank you so much!!!

Hi

You are welcome 🤗 🤗
No problems trying to assist with your question x

Hope you chose the right university to study at
Original post by caitking
hey everyone :smile: im looking at studying nursing (mainly liverpool, edinburgh and ntu), could i get some pros and cons ? not just from people at those unis, just nursing courses overall. thanks :smile:

Hi @caitking,

It's great to hear you're interested in Nursing courses!

It looks like you've had some great answers already, but if you wanted to chat to any of the students or staff at NTU you can reach out via our online chat. You might also find these videos from the NHS, University life as a student nurse(Youtube Playlist), helpful.

If you've not done so already, I would highly recommend attending open days for your Universities of interest, they can be a great introduction to what studying a course is like, as well as a further opportunity to learn more from fellow students. We have an open day this Saturday, 18th of January, as well as another date on the 8th of March.

Let us know if you have any questions!

-Yaz

Quick Reply