Where to begin exactly?
I suppose the start!
I got into care work due to family reasons and from there ive never looked back.
It made sense when i was looking to become a nurse that i thought long and hard about it and if it was something i knew i would stick at. That i would try my damned hardest and not feel like giving up all the time.
Of course there will probably be days when it feels like that, but im hoping the general ethos of nursing will guide me through!
So i started looking at applying to go back to university to do a nursing degree back in 2012. I started researching the type of nurse i wanted to be, started looking at what they look for in interviews, i began revising my maths and english again. I completed my NVQ 2 and began to watch A LOT of medical shows.
I was in and out of the library, i used my partners university library to my advantage by looking at the reading lists of the nursing courses at his university. I then read some of the books. I talked (or rather nagged on some days) any health care professional i possibly could. This included CQC inspectors, RQIA inspectors, student nurses, recently graduated nurses, long time standing nurses, matrons, sisters, ward clerks, day care workers, student doctors…ANYBODY! You will value their advice to the point you’d be lost without their wise words. I have bugged people no end, but everyone has always been so nice and helpful. I find most people that work within the health care profession always see it as (oops cliche) but one big family. And that’s a good thing. Everyone has to be. You liaise with that many different health professionals that it is imperative you learn to talk to them.
And so after all that, i began emailing universities. I emailed and i rang, asking if my grades and experience would get my application noticed. I asked if they were good enough, was my NVQ (QCF) study recent enough? I asked about private tours as id missed open days. I asked when applications opened, if any applications were ever accepted though clearing etc. And then it went from there! As soon as UCAS applications opened from mid September i was in there!
As i was applying as an individual i had to ensure that i had everything in order to apply. (Including asking my referee if there were okay to do a reference for me, never forget to ask them.)
I drafted my personal statement over and over. I had friends and family look over it. I had family friends who were nurses look over it, I asked them for advice. I researched personal statements online to see what people had written previously. I spoke to people on forums about them. ( all while remembering your statement has to be personal…no plagiarism!) And then i asked my referee if they were okay to be my referee and would they write my reference.
I then also had to make sure i had all certificates of any qualifications i had..if not..i was paying £30 - £50 each certificate! After all that was done and dusted…application was sent off in the November. Deadline closed January 15th..so now..the wait.
So in the meantime to try and prevent myself from going stir crazy checking UCAS and emails constantly. I had a subscription to The Nursing Times and The Nursing Standard. I kept reading them. I also had bought a copy of The Student Nurse Handbook (great advice in there) And read them. I continued with my maths (havent done much since school 10 years ago!)
So the waiting.
Was horrible.
