Can Someone please Help Me?

[train4good]

Hello everyone,

I want to go back to nurse training next year but I am facing issues.

I started my nurse training in 2004 and left quit 18 months later due to serious issues I was facing at the time. I also failed a module and the university terminated my studies.

Now I want to go back and start all over again. I contacted NHS bursaries and they told me if I could find a university that is willing to take me on that I would get sponsored to study nursing again.

I contacted some universities and was told that under normal circumstances no university would admitt me but adviced me to write a strong personal statement stating that I have done certain things to make sure that if I face challenges again during my course of study that I would not be affected. I was also adviced that I should say what I have done since I left my studies and choose the words very carefully.

I am stuck here! Can someone please help me out? What do I say?, How do I word it? I really want to become a nurse because I enjoy nursing. I've been working as a nurse assistant for 5 years and believe I would be in a better position being a qualified nurse so I do not want to give up!

[LiverpoolJane]

I'll be honest and say that when reading your post there were alarm bells ringing in my ears. I have had to deal with many students with "issues" and it is stressful and worrying and sometimes the best outcome is they never qualify and raise more issues!

However as you don't specify what issues you were facing I am trying to be fair and imagine that somehow they were out of your control and would not compromise patient saftey (especially if you had been a RN when facing these issues)

As you are asking advice about how to word a statement supporting you re-applying for nurse training I would suggest first you need to be honest. My advice to any staff member facing disciplinary is never conceal or try and lie about the circumstances. Acknowledge what happened and try and explain what you have learned from the experience and how you would not allow it to threaten you if the same senario occured again. You need to be humble and be willing to apologise if you have wronged anyone or let people down.

I think it is sad when people start a nursing programme and drop out but I think it is far worse for someone who is ill suited to being a nurse to go through three years nurse training, qualify and then find them on the wrong side of disciplinary / capability soon after.

The NMC is also concerned enough about the increase in students being passed all along their nurse training and being unsafe practitioners at the end, that now they have devised various levels of mentorship and now RNs may be called to account if they have passed studentrs who it later transpires are incompetant.

I know I sound harsh and if you can reflect on all I have said and are still determind that you want to pursue nurse training then I wish you well. It will help if you have a proven track record since discontinuing nurse training to demonstrate that you reliable and have not been affected by similar issues since.