Working while starting Adult Nursing full-time at UCLan

Hi everyone, I’m starting Adult Nursing full time at UCLan soon and I wanted to ask about working alongside the course.
How many hours do people realistically work during term time? What kind of jobs work best with placements and lectures? And how do you balance shifts, studying, and rest without burning out?
Any advice or personal experiences would really help. Thank you!

Hi everyone, I’m starting Adult Nursing full time at UCLan soon and I wanted to ask about working alongside the course.
How many hours do people realistically work during term time? What kind of jobs work best with placements and lectures? And how do you balance shifts, studying, and rest without burning out?
Any advice or personal experiences would really help. Thank you!

Hi @Brenda00,
It's great to hear that you will be starting with us soon. I did work whilst studying however it was a different course I studied but I can still give you some advice and my experiences with this. I think the most important thing is keeping on top of your lecturers and studying. I would suggest starting work that is a lower hourly contract like 12 hours and seeing how you manage that. That is around how many hours I worked whilst studying from start to finish of my degree. I then picked up more or asked to have more when possible, if I could fit it in and around my studying.
It's important to stay organised. I would schedule in my classes, my own revision time, work shifts and even breaks and time to recharge. Something that I learnt whilst studying was that it's important to take regular breaks. Breaks allow you to stay motivated and focused. I thought if I take regular breaks I will get less done or I will take longer of a break than planned but that wasn't the case. It's okay to take a bit longer if needed if you are on top of your work but instead of doing less due to the breaks, I ended up getting more done as I could focus more.
You can also find more information about SU jobs or student ambassador roles and other part time work here: Jobs for Students - Preston
If you do have any questions feel free to ask or get in touch with our admissions team via here. 🙂
Best wishes,
^Zac

Hi Zac,
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it. That’s really helpful advice, especially about starting with fewer hours and seeing how manageable it is before picking up more work. Staying organised and scheduling everything in advance definitely sounds like something I’ll need to prioritise.
It’s also reassuring to hear that taking regular breaks actually helps with focus rather than slowing things down.I’ll keep that in mind when planning my study time. Thanks as well for sharing the link to student jobs, I’ll have a look at that.
Thanks again for your help!
Best wishes,
Brenda

I'm a registered nurse, who is also regularly a mentor/practice assessor to student nurses.
I worked alongside my nursing degree. Working alongside a nursing degree is aboslutely doable........ as long as your contract is no more than 0 hours. Yes, you read that right. This gives you the flexibility to work as much or as little as you need to alongside your degree - I worked anything from 0-12 hours a week while on placement, 0-20 hours a week in theory blocks, and up to 30 hours a week in the holidays. I was a bank HCA - a popular choice amongst student nurses. Other students in my cohort, and who I've mentored, have worked in pubs/bars, catering, and retail.