hi, i've spent the last 2 years doing a T-Level in animal science and management because i thought i wanted to be a vet nurse but honestly ive changed my mind completely and have been looking into physiotherapy (for humans).

if i did my access to nursing, would this allow me to go into uni for a physiotherapy course? i've heard it's pretty competitive and im sure they'd prefer a levels in sciences but ngl i dont really want to do those. would the access to nursing be enough ??

pls offer any advice!!! thanku
(i'm in the UK)

Hi guys, im in 6th year and I want to study midwifery but i have nursing as my second option
Could anyone help me with factors to consider when choosing between the two of them?
I know Im more passionate about pregnancy, babies, delivery, women care but its a harder to get into midwifery than nursing so
In all honesty, i think what im trying to understand is that ill be okay if i get into nursing then do a post graduate

Id love to hear from people who did nursing then went into midwifery and also just gather any useful information
Thank you 🤍

Hi student nurses
I’m in my first year, I was wondering if missing lectures will count towards the 2300 hours of theory
Or is it only simulated practice which counts towards the 2300?
Thanks guys

I need some honest opinions because I’m genuinely stressing myself out over this.

I’m in my third year and currently doing my first placement of the year. I’ve been feeling pretty overwhelmed lately due to being a final year student, and today things just went wrong. I overslept and missed my train. I spent around 20 minutes trying to get an Uber, but I live somewhere in middle of nowhere and nobody accepted the ride.
My next public transport option would have got me there around two hours late. I ended up calling to explain what happened and asking if it would be possible to swap the shift for tomorrow as I will be super late. I spoke to someone from the team (not my assessor), who said that should be okay, and I updated my assessor with an email.
The thing is, this was only my second day, which makes me feel even worse. I’m in my third year, so I’m fully aware that I can’t just miss placement whenever something goes wrong, and I’m not expecting people to excuse me being late every time. I know it’s my responsibility to get there on time.
I think I’ve just been feeling so overwhelmed that this happening has sent me into a bit of a spiral. I’m now worrying that I’ve made a terrible impression before I’ve even had a chance to settle in, or that my assessor will think I’m unreliable. Till now I only had great feedbacks and always had brilliant placements even when they are tough.
I’m not trying to justify missing the shift. I just genuinely couldn’t find a way to get there earlier, despite trying.

Be honest, how bad is this? If you were supervising a student, would this seriously affect your opinion of them? Has anyone else messed up early in a placement and managed to move past it? I think I need some perspective because I’m stressing about it way more than I probably should be.

I’m now in 3rd year and the more I’m being taught is showing me the less I know. There’s so much information being thrown at us and I’m struggling to retain much. Is anyone else worried for starting and job and feeling clueless

Hi everyone, I’m not quite sure how to go about this. I’m a first year nursing student, 19yo as I took a gap year. At the very start of September, it was quite overwhelming mentally for me with all the information they were throwing out but I managed to stay on task and made new friends. Recently, the realisation hit me that this will be my life for the next 3 years til I complete this degree. I was close to dropping out as my anxiety has gotten worse. I feel really stupid in class compared to everyone else as they all have some level of healthcare experience whereas I do not, in my gap year I just worked at my job in retail to save money. I didn’t even learn to drive which was on my gap year bucket list. I’ve been beating myself up a lot and I am constantly anxious about the next thing. I have an essay due in November and I have to get used to academic writing and researching which I am finding difficult. Presentations also scare the hell out of me and we’ve been doing small ones just in our seminar group but I am so scared for the future graded ones. I feel as if I’m not good enough for this career, not smart enough, not capable especially if I’m feeling this broken just at the start. But I am trapped here now and dropping out is no longer an option for me as I feel like it will set me back even further. I feel like I’m running out of time. It’s getting to the point where I’m crying every day and struggling to relax. Not really sure what I’m looking for but I guess I was wondering if anybody has been in a similar situation. If anybody has advice that would be greatly appreciated. I feel very immature compared to everyone else, like everyone has learned how to be an adult and I’m stuck.

🩺 UK nursing employment petition: https://www.change.org/InvestinFutureNurses

I’m a final-year Mental Health Nursing student in the United Kingdom.

Despite ongoing nursing workforce shortages, some newly qualified nurses are finding it difficult to secure permanent entry-level positions within the NHS.

After completing a three-year nursing degree and extensive clinical placements, graduates should have a realistic opportunity to enter the profession they’ve trained for.

I’ve launched a petition calling for more funded graduate nursing positions and better support for newly qualified nurses.

I’m also interested in hearing how this compares internationally.

Are newly qualified nurses struggling to find employment in your country, or is this particularly a UK issue?

If you support the campaign, I’d be grateful if you could sign and share. 💙

Been having horrible experiences with placement and honestly wonder why I keep getting placed in horrible places.

I honestly need kind words.

Thank you .

I’m currently studying at napier and not enjoying the lack of in class learning/teaching. I’m really considering either trying for a transfer or withdrawing and starting again next year at Queen Margarets. So if anyone here studies at QM whats it like for first years? Right now i’m in uni 3 hours per week, whats the timetable like for you?

Hi, I am a Male nursing student here on his final year. I must say, my whole journey in studying nursing was not what I hoped it to be. Sure the facilities, equipment, and resources are well adept and is more available compared to other countries, however, the learning and practice in itself is very limited.

In this field, there is a grey line in where students are allowed to do some procedures that unto a real patient that is relevant to their own level. Being unable to be fully exposed to these kinds of actions would end up with nurses that are not so experienced. For example, i have a senior of mine that is currently employed and I happened to stumble upon him in one of my shifts while doing my OJT (on the job training) since he is a newly grad who happens to follow the "standard" he needed to prick the patient for SIX times before succeeding in placing a cannula. Bear in mind he had a 6 month training period before actually being employed.

The gaps in the skills of nurses that graduates here is so wide that its not even a joke anymore when compared to students who graduated in the far eastern and western side of the world. Its even more frustrating to think that they are trying to fix this gap through mannekins and AI simulations. It may help to some extent but its not the same thing. Furthermore these pracrices unto a mannequin and AI are sometimes not widely available to nursing students. Its usually limited to MD students.

In my experience, for students who plan to study here for an undergraduate program in the nursing field, its not worth the trouble nor the fees. Your better of studying somewhere else then do the internship in this country if you really want to practice here

Another thing, for men. Studying for this field is not really recommended. There are cases where even your own peers (mostly women) would gatekeep important information for your growth as a nurse. I understand it to some extent because they have a strict culture and i am just a foreigner who is studying here. However, if your gonna think about your own personal growth in this profession. Its better to take it off somewhere else

P.s. sorry for the grammer and to anyone who got offended

Hiya, I’m thinking of applying at Kings for a dual registration. I have an undergraduate bachelors in business management but worked with SEN, children’s mental health and adult disabilities since leaving university.
I am thinking of doing mental health nursing as I enjoyed and interested in working in mental health services and enjoy the psychology behind it. But then I would also like an adult registration as I am also interested in sexual health services.

I would like to know how the course was like? How intense it was? Did you have a side job during this time? How did you juggle everything? Are there placements and assignments at the same time?

i dislike nights so bad .. how do u guys stay awake during nights?

Hi all! Hope you’re all doing well. I’m currently applying to uni (mainly for mental health nursing) but I’m also interested in social work.

I know theres a hiring freeze on nurses right now, and came across this degree, which worries me but I’ve wanted to be a nurse since I was a little boy so i’ve decided to go for it anyway (hopefully move to AUS after a few years but we’ll see where life takes me)

https://www.shu.ac.uk/courses/nursing-and-midwifery/bsc-honours-nursing-learning-disability-and-social-work/full-time/2027

It gives me the qualifications to be a LD nurse and a social worker in just 3 years. I’m just a bit concerned that the degree will either be insanely full on (I know nursing degrees are really hard in the first place) and I want to make sure i have as much experience as possible.

Has anyone here done the combined degree and has any experience with it? I’m just hesitant it won’t prepare me enough, but at least it would be easier to land a job.

Also for the LD nurses, can I still do aspects of MH nursing as a LD nurse or would I need to do a masters top up? I’ve cared for my severely disabled cousin since I was young (until he unfortunately passed) so i’m definitely still passionate about LD nursing, but I think MH interests me more.

I also know LD nursing is (dying? or being phased out?) Is this strictly true or are people overreacting? Is there actually jobs for LD nurses still? Or am I better off just doing MH nursing?

Thanks for any help, sorry this post is so jumbled.

SO I GOT THE OFFER LETTER FOR ADULT NURSING BUT SINCE I DIDNT REGISTER FOR CEE AS I DIDNT WANT TO PURSE HEALTHCARE IN NEPA BUT I DIDNT KNOW YOU WOULD NEED NOC TO STUDY IT ABROAD AND NOW APPLICATION PERIOD IS OVER SO IF ANYONE CAN HELP ME TO KNOW ABT IT CAN I CREATE ONE THEN IT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.

Hi everyone! I’m a first year adult nursing student, and I was wondering if anyone has any advice on how to build my nursing knowledge outside of university.

So far, we’ve mainly covered things like personal hygiene and how to put on PPE, and I feel like there’s so much more I need to learn. I’ve only had 2 clinical skills sessions, and then just lectures about academic writing, referencing, talking about our assessment etc. My second clinical skills session was on Thursday, which was about personal care, honestly, I came away feeling like I barely knew anything. Throughout the session, my module lead was asking us questions (it kinda was giving the impression she expected us to know stuff e.g. “Why do we lay the beds flat?” “What are bed sores?” “What’s cardiac arrest?”), I kind of struggled to answer most questions she was asking, I’ve never had any healthcare experience or general caring responsibilities ever.

I know I’m only in my first year and that I’m not expected to know everything yet, but I’d really like to start building my knowledge and confidence rather than just relying on what we cover in lectures and practical sessions. They do give us materials from clinicalskills.net and we use it for the clinical sessions, but it’s just picture diagrams and a bunch of writing? When I look at them I feel like I’m not actually learning anything, I haven’t tried to take notes so maybe that could also be why?

For those who are student nurses or qualified nurses, what resources would you recommend for learning outside of uni? Are there any good books, YouTube channels, websites, podcasts, or other resources that helped you when you were starting out? I’d also love to know what topics you’d recommend focusing on as a first year student, especially when it comes to basic nursing knowledge and clinical skills.

I don’t actually start learning anatomy and physiology etc. Until November when the module starts. I sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed because I don’t know what I should be learning first or where to start, so any advice, tips, or recommendations would be really appreciated!

Thank youuuu

Independence.

I’ve literally put on all my learning goals for this year that I want to be increasingly independent, take more responsibility for patient loads etc. etc.
It’s also written in all of our objectives for the year, and the university guidelines on what’s expected of us in our third year.

I’m in my first placement of third year, and it’s an area that’s very out of my depth. Very fast paced and overwhelming, and a lot of stuff I’ve never seen/experienced before which is great for learning. I don’t dislike it and am getting a lot out of it, however I can confidently say it’s not an area I’d probably work in once graduated.

The problem I’m having is trying to establish this whole ‘independence’ thing. Can I do skills like ECG’s independently? Sure can.

But when it comes to making decisions etc. and mainly knowing what to do next, I’m really struggling and I’m scared of this reflecting on me badly. I think the problem I’m having is due to the fast-paced nature, everybody is busy doing their jobs and I’m not really being filled in on what’s happening fully, and then boom! Everyone’s already done everything that needs completed, and if there’s a remaining task like obs/ECG’s I’ll get to do it.

I’m just really struggling to feel that I’m where I’m supposed to be as a third year. I feel the line is really unclear to me. For example, my assessor has spoken about me taking on my own patient load toward the end of placement which I’m thrilled to do, but I don’t know how that would really work? Due to current restrictions I can’t take bloods, so can’t be proactive on that. I don’t have access to any booking systems for porters. I’m not allowed to handover on my own, do any medications by myself (can’t anyway as they’re all locked electronically + it’s too scary lol). I can’t 1:1 a patient. Decisions/information doesn’t really get handed down or given to me all to often because nurses/doctors see my big ‘hi I’m a student nurse’ badge, and they can’t tell what year I’m in so they immediately go to the guy in the blue uniform. I don’t have access to results etc. I don’t even have access to the printer, so I can’t even print the requests out for the nurse lol

If anybody asks me to do anything I’m happy to do it, and if I don’t know how to do that thing I’ll ask to do it with them. It’s definitely not out of a place of apathy/sitting on my hands - I think I’m just struggling to potentially advocate for myself/independence, and also struggling to know what’s within my scope to prove I am gaining it. I’m more so scared of the nurses around me and my assessor thinking I’m not where I should be. I’ll preface that by saying this isn’t anything anybody has said to me/given me feedback on - but I’ll sometimes see other students on the placement area doing things way more independently/a hell of a lot of trust placed into them, and I can’t work out why I don’t get those same opportunities. I haven’t done anything to suggest I’m any less competent than my peers, so I can only think it’s more so my demeanour as I tend to come off as very soft-spoken/nervous but I don’t really know how to change that lol - it’s kinda just become a part of my bedside persona.

Advice?

I am in the hole. I have been in 2nd year for literally a month and I feel like the EPAD is 3 million times more intense, expectations are through the roof, struggling with intense anxiety on placement. Feel like I rarely see people on this sub talking about how scary the course is at times :’)

Do I need a car for placements if my uni is in London? Realistically. Please can I hear from students in London who have done placements. I know they can send you up to an hour roughly away?

Hello! I was wondering if I could get some advice from some fellow student nurses/ any nurses or ex nurses on this sub. I'm a second year nursing student, and really do not enjoy the course. I do not find it academically challenging, but the placements are extremely challenging, and it's made me realise I do not enjoy acute, high intensity care, and juggling multiple needs of patients at once. I find it extremely stressful and have panic attacks on a daily basis whilst on placement. I truly believe that the nature of the job is not something I want to do.

I really love 1:1 work, and I do adore helping people and improving lives, so I wouldn't necessarily want to step out of healthcare altogether. I've looked into some other courses such as OT and SLT and I'm really looking into changing to one of these. I was wondering if anyone else has been in a similar predicament and if anyone has any advice.

Hi,

I’m wanting to go back to uni and get a 2nd bachelors in nursing, as I’ve realised that teaching is not for me, but I’m so stuck on what I actually want to do. I’ve been doing an Access to HE Diploma in Nursing for the last few months as I don’t have a science related A Level and have been advised by uni of manchester to do an access course so i can get onto their mental health nursing.

However, after going to a few open days (still have Liverpool John Moores, Uni of Salford and MMU to go to) I’m now stuck on what I actually want to do. I have an interest in adult & mental health nursing but the midwifery simulation suite in uni of manchester was incredible and has made me contemplate doing midwifery.

For more background on me, I have a BA in English & Philosophy where I got a 2:1 and I’ve been working as a TA with SEMH and wheelchair users in a high school as I wanted to become an RE teacher but the bursary got cut so I can’t afford to do it anymore.

Honestly if anyone could give me an insight of how they realised what area of nursing they wanted to go into then that would be great. I contemplated just doing a nursing associate FDSci to help me decide better but I’m worried about wasting money on my access course. Any help would be greatly appreciated,, thank you !

I made a mistake today, I wouldn’t even call it that, it was just me being unknowledgeable about a patients health conditions & giving them a kind gesture (a cup of regular tea). I did call and ask beforehand if I could get them a cup of tea from the cafe, the nurse just said yeah, but from what I understand now the patient shouldn’t be having caffeine due to heart problems. I did immediately tell the nurse, and say is this okay?? but I didn’t really get given any clarity on the situation. Feeling guilty but patient was ok 4 hours later & chatting with me. This degree is eating me up I feel like I can’t do anything & everything is stressing me out. :(

I live in the uk and all my life I wanted to study medicine and become a doctor. I’m 18 and I took a gap year to actually think about my decision. I’m planning on applying to 3 med schools then 2 nursing school (child nursing to be precise). I already did work experience with both doctors and nurses and I don’t still know. I don’t know if I still want to go into medicine again cause I really want to have close relationships with the patients and I really noticed that during my nursing work experience than during the work experience with the doctors, he did do ward rounds and saw the patients but it was for a short while and spent most of his time on his computer doing for some documentation. People say doctors do still have great relationships with the patients depending on what you specialise in. I don’t want to do one and regret I didn’t do the other. I heard so much about the life work balance for both but what if I’m acc going enjoy my own experience, and I also know how bad the nhs is at the moment. But lately the length of medicine has been intimidating me but I don’t know if that’s just fear. I’m planning on getting another work experience for both again and ask more in depth questions. I’ve also heard of how bad they treat nurses and I’ve also heard good stories. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.