Routes into Nursing as a mature student in the UK?

[AndyGosling]

Hi everybody. I'm a newbie to these forums so I apologise in advance if I'm going over old ground (most likely) or boring the pants off people (almost certainly). I'm seriously considering going into nursing as my future career and would greatly appreciate some personal advice on what my first step should be.

I'll tell you a little about my background as this may influence what my best options will be going forward. I'm a 35yo male for a start, single and looking to rebuild my life. I'm from London originally but for the last five or six years I've been living in Glasgow looking after my late wife. She was very severely disabled, expecially in the last four years or so, due to a condition which caused her bones to grow too quickly. For a couple of years I had to more or less carry her up the stairs at bedtime before we had a stairlift installed. It caused her massive amounts of pain - towards the end she was taking a cocktail of powerful opioids (fentanyl, oxycontin), lorazepam and zopiclone, not to mention a host of other drugs to help deal with the digestive problems associated with her bowel cancer (diagnosed December 24 2008. Merry Christmas...). She hated the fact that she had to have an ileostomy bag for much of her last few years. It affected the way she perceived herself and caused her to feel extremely depressed at times. In fact she really couldn't deal with it herself so I sorted it out for her, emptying and changing the bag whenever she needed. Effectively, I was her personal nurse, 24 hours a day, dealing with her controlled drugs and all her personal hygiene issues. I got a lot of praise and support from our wonderful MacMillan nurse and it is she who, probably without knowing it, has given me the confidence to start looking at this as a potential future path for myself.

Nursing has been in the back of my mind for a long time. Way back when I used to work as a volunteer first-aider/ambulance-aider with the Red Cross one of my colleagues (who happened to be a nurse herself and far more experienced than I was) asked me if I had considered it as a career and paid me the high compliment of telling me that I'm a natural. I guess at the time I didn't have the confidence and self-belief to take it seriously, or perhaps it just wasn't the right time for me. Now, with everything that has happened over the last few years and especially since my wife's death it seems to me that the time is right for me to take this seriously. The ultimate reason why I hated selling advertising, which I did for eight years, was because I knew in my heart of hearts that it was all so much nonsense (my original choice of word for it fell foul of the profanity filter). I felt unfulfilled by it, I needed to be doing something that actually made a difference to people. I still do, and I'm determined not to make the same mistakes I have done before. Much more important than money, I think. As long as I can keep a roof over my head and food in my stomach and be doing something I actually WANT to do then everything else is window-dressing.

So, I come back to the situation right now. I'm a member on a football club forum with 9,000 odd members and had some suggestions from there from a couple of guys who work in the profession, but all very vague. One idea was that I should try and get work as a Healthcare Assistant initially, before beginning the formal training. This seems to be an attractive option as I need to start earning a basic wage again fairly sharpish. How does one go about that with no qualifications? I mean to say I have a degree from the University of London and Trinity College of Music, but being able to play Brahms's Lullaby on the violin or do a Schenkerian analysis of the first movement of Beethoven's Eroica symphony won't directly help me get a foot in the door, I imagine.

I hope some of you will take the time to read this ramble of an opening post and be kind enough to lend me some of your experience, especially if you came into nursing at a similar stage in your life to myself. Thank you in advance.

Andy

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

I would suggest you check local universities and see what requirements are for nursing.

Some ideas on a few different universities

Glasgow

Huddersfield

Leeds

London

[MaryAnn_RN]

Hi Andy

firstly sorry for your loss.

You probably won't have any trouble with academic entry requirements because you already have a degree but I would contact the uni informally to find out. Also, are they having any open days so that you could talk to someone face to face?

The advice about working as an HCA is a very good one in that it would give you experience and a wage. Try ringing the local hospitals and see if they have any vacancies? I know of several friends who have gone this route into nursing and some who managed to get secondments. However it took them years and the competition for secondments was fierce.

I was a mature student too, and it can be done.

Wishing you all the best

Mary

[AndyGosling]

Thank you both for your comments here. There have been one or two developments.

First off I called my wife's former MacMillan nurse who was very supportive and will be writing a reference in support of any applications I may make, but she did sound a note of caution to me inasmuch as she is concerned that I may not have had enough time to mourn, or even that I may be (possibly without realising it) attempting to replace my role of looking after my wife with another form of caring position. She said that I need to be aware of my own emotional needs first and foremost and forgive myself for not rushing headlong into this. Sound advice, of course, and I'll carry that with me, but I never spoke with her about this in the past as it just wasn't the right time. The fact remains I've been thinking about this for a long time now; this isn't a kneejerk reaction on my part.

I've also got in touch with the HR department at my local hospital and arranged for a meeting with the lady in charge of their 'Return to Nursing' courses. Return to Nursing doesn't really apply to me as I'm not returning to it, rather I'm beginning from scratch, but meeting her on an informal basis to chat about opportunities in the NHS and things that I'd need to bear in mind will be very useful I think. It may even open doors for me in that particular establishment, who knows. There's certainly no substitute for a face-to-face meeting and this is potentially an important opportunity for me to get somebody on my side. The truth is, though, that nothing will happen for me unless I instigate it so I'm glad I've managed to get at least one ball rolling.

My job in the meantime will be to organise my thoughts and perhaps arm myself with some notes for things that I'll need to ask when I meet this lady next Monday or even to try and pre-empt some ot the things that she may choose to ask me.

Hmm. This is going to need some careful thought.

[skylark, BSN, RN]

So when did you study at TCL?

I was there a long time ago, back in the Mandeville Place days.

Guess you arent old enough the remember the annexe opposite the Angel!!

[AndyGosling]

I remember it well - Mike, the fixer was my special friend who always managed to get me a practise room

I was there for three years, graduated in 1997.

Quick update. I've decided that somehow or other I have to get myself back into university. I've been visiting open days and stuff and am just getting my UCAS things together. One obstacle I have encountered is that universities stipulate that I have to have had some sort of learning within the last five years - which I don't have. So I'm doing a couple of modules with the Open University, just to show them that I can handle the academic side of a degree after this length of time.

[skylark, BSN, RN]

I'm not sure where that 5 year rule came from.

When I did my BSc I was asked for previous academic evidence, and cited my GTCL, which at that point was nearly 20 years previously!

No problem, they happily accepted it, (this was London South Bank Uni) and I also received another offer from another uni as well.

But if this 5 year rule now applies, then I guess that OU is the way to go, it tends to be highly regarded because of the self-discipline required for studying alone.

[Vickycon]

Hi andy just a quick note I did an access course to nursing and midwifery at college at night 2 nights per week took about 1 academic year sept-July applied to ucas in the march of that year to go to uni next academic year now in my 2nd year as a mature student myself the best step that I have made in my life, I would try to get work as a HCA to give you that experience that will always help, I sincerley hope that you endeavour to reach your goal, you sound like an absolute natural, and good luck.