My experience of Diploma in nursing
I applied to Swansea University in March 2003 to start their upcoming diploma in nursing course the following March. My story kinds begins in the fact that one morning I woke up and thought to myself what have I achieve in my life so far and to be honest ... Read review
Advantages: Wonderful job so rewarding Disadvantages: alot of vomit
...start their upcoming diploma in nursing course the following March. My story kinds begins in the fact that one morning I woke up and thought to myself what have I achieve in my life so far and to be honest I could not come up with one decent thing I had achieved, I was 19 and on a road to nowhere, yes I had a job and I was supporting myself but I wanted a career I wanted to do something with the GCSE's I had worked so hard to get. So one day I looked ... ...heart was really in the nursing but I was getting on with my work, attending lectures and passing things like I was expected. Placements were daunting, I had never worked in a hospital before and the thought of dealing with peoples vomit and faeces made me feel ill but I knew that in the long run I would be where I wanted to be in life and I would have achieved my goals so I continued to battle on even when all the time I just wanted to give up I ... more
My experience of Diploma in nursing
I applied to Swansea University in March 2003 to start their upcoming diploma in nursing course the following March. My story kinds begins in the fact that one morning I woke up and thought to myself what have I achieve in my life so far and to be honest I could not come up with one decent thing I had achieved, I was 19 and on a road to nowhere, yes I had a job and I was supporting myself but I wanted a career I wanted to do something with the GCSE's I had worked so hard to get. So one day I looked on the internet and I saw that Swansea University were accepting applications for an upcoming course. I applied, had an interview and in the August I was told that I had been accepted I just had to wait until March before I could start the course.
When March arrived I was really scared, I was moving from Bristol to Swansea not a million miles away but I was still going to be living by myself and I was scared but really there was nothing to be scared of, living in halls was the worst part of the whole thing as you were forced to live with 6 other people in a tiny flat and 7 lots of female hormones equals trouble, I moved out as soon as I could.
Ok so first year of university life was pretty cool, I don't think my heart was really in the nursing but I was getting on with my work, attending lectures and passing things like I was expected. Placements were daunting, I had never worked in a hospital before and the thought of dealing with peoples vomit and faeces made me feel ill but I knew that in the long run I would be where I wanted to be in life and I would have achieved my goals so I continued to battle on even when all the time I just wanted to give up I focused on the fact that I was helping people and that is what mattered. Assignments were intense and I found the academic size of things really hard to do but I battled on and passed things and got the grades that I needed to continue onto year 2. I was so thrilled to be able to continue onto the second year and couldn't wait to get started.
Year 2, well ohh my god I thought year one was intense but things got a lot worse from here, things were a lot harder and assignments were a lot harder to pass and at several points during the year I wanted to give up and just forget the whole thing, I had moved house and I was a lot happier at home but the work load and demand on me was getting to much. I had no life outside of nursing I went to placement, I came home I worked on assignments nights out were very rare as I just didn't have time to go out. I wanted to pass the year and to do that I needed to work really hard so I just didn't have time to party. It was around the time of my 21st birthday that I did go out and I met my now partner on a drunken night out one of very few and since that night we have been together. It was at around Christmas of my 2nd year that I discovered I was pregnant OMG what a shocker that was, how on earth was I going to look after a baby and complete my nursing diploma?? But I continued to the end of the year and took a year off studies to look after my baby, find suitable accommodation for us all and find a reliable childminders that I could trust so that I could go back and complete my final year. Eventually all of this got sorted and I found myself back at university in March 2007 finishing my final year.
Year 3 - Ohh my defiantly the most rewarding of the years but by far the most challenging, the past 2 yrs efforts had lead me to this point and now not only was I struggling with the demands of a baby, a home, full time work and the demands of the academic work but I was living 1hr away from the university and local hospitals so my days became 2hrs longer and much more demanding. I am sat here now on the 12th March five days away from officially completing my course and I am thinking to myself be it all worth it? Would I do it all again? And did I enjoy? The answer to most of those questions is yes but I can say to you now hand on my heart if I had to do it all again would I? And the answer would be NO! It is a long long journey to becoming a nurse and if it is something that you really want to do then I say go for it but be warned it is hard work, you have no money for 3 years, life becomes stressful and you life, breath and sleep nursing.
I am totally thrilled that I managed to complete the nursing course and also passed all my assignments 1st time which I think is an achievement in itself, I do not know one person who has managed that! But I think it is such a hard and long course that if your heart is not 100% in it you will struggle and become unsuccessful. I lie not that it is a hard course and yes it it mainly about faeces and vomit but it is also one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever done, I have been privileged to have spent the past 15 weeks in a cancer hospice and I have met some amazingly brave and strong people who I admire immensely they gave are the reason that I became a nurse and they are the reason why I am proud to say that I Kristy Martin am pleased that I spent the past 4 years of my life achieving my goal and why I am proud to call myself a nurse!
Thanks for reading my somewhat long story but I hope it inspires others to become nurses. xxx
Advantages: Rewarding, thought provoking occupation Disadvantages: Can be very emotional and stressful at times.
...University of Sheffield School of Nursing and Midwifery, which is part of the faculty of medicine.
The course will award me with an Advanced Diploma in Nursing Studies, 120 CATS points at levels 1 & 2 and 60 at level 3, which can be easily topped up to a BMed Sci degree after registering as a nurse and beginning post-qualification employment.
I am not sure whether most people realise this, because I didn't know until I began the course, that student ... ...not a massive amount but better than getting in debt like most university courses. Another bonus is that the tuition fees are paid by the National Health Service, so it won't cost you anything to give it a go.
I should stress that I am not one of those people that has always wanted to be a nurse, in fact, before I began the course I can honestly say I NEVER wanted to be a nurse, it was just something I drifted into when I found myself unemployed, ...
sweetheart 30.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Nursing
Nursing Studies- Glasgow Caledonian University.
This is a 4 year course and is no way for the faint-hearted. Before I go into the details of the curriculum it is important to note that Nursing is a vocation and you really have to be the right kind of person to be able to see the course through. So without sounding patronising it is important to think long and hard about whether you will be a suitable candidate for this career path. Remember that you will be dealing with extremely vulnerable and sick individuals. Coupled with long working hours and a demanding study schedule.
There are various ways to complete a nursing qualification at this institution. Full-time-part time degree or diploma level. This course is primarily aimed at those who wish to undertake an adult nursing qualification, however there are opportunities to ...
ickleannie 18.01.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Nursing
Advantages: Good handouts! Disadvantages: Slow blackboard system, short notice on exams, long time waiting for results
London South Bank University is one of the oldest universities in London. It has three campuses, one in Southwark, one in Harold Wood and one in Whipps Cross, though as far as I am aware, Harold Wood and Whipps Cross campus are only used for faculty of health and social care.
I chose London South Bank, mainly, because I did not have a choice! I had always wanted to do adult nursing but left school with no GCSE's so i took a cadet nursing course at LSBU and gained an NVQ level 2 with some extra credits, this meant I had to stay on at LSBU to do my adult nursing. I started Adult Nursing on March 2008 but have been at LSBU since September 2007 due to the cadet nursing before I moved onto the nursing course to gain a degree.
So I currently attend the Harold Wood campus and am doing adult branch nursing. I am currently off with a lot ...
grapesoda 09.01.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Nursing
Nursing a vocation not a career!!!!
How to Get involved
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I undertook my nurse training after many years of soul searching and wondering what my actual purpose for being on this earth actually was. A bit of a wild one in my younger days i actually went into this profession as a mature student. By then i felt that i actually had a bit of life experience to take with me and i am glad that i had. Living in Scotland i had to apply via the scottish system of undergraduate nurses. I believe that the english system is slightly different although as i am unsure of what that is i am unable to comment. Hence i filled out my application via a government website called CATCH which was relatively straight forward. You are given information on all the institutions in Scotland that offer nursing either in ...
